Living the RV Dream

We visit Sabino Canyon Tucson, AZ

2012-03-03T11:40:00.002-08:00

These trams took us 8 miles up into the canyon.

There were hikers everywhere.

View back down the canyon from the tram.

Absolutely beautiful.

This was an interesting rock formation on top of the south wall. Below is a zoom showing some detail. I thought the formation on the right looked like a coyote howling at the moon.

My next camera will have image stabilization.

Sabino creek ran alongside the road most of the way up the canyon.

There were Saguaro Cactus everywhere.

This boulder looks ready to slide down into the canyon.

This is thimble peak, visible from Tucson.

At the Tucson Rodeo

2012-02-26T13:13:00.001-08:00

The bucking chutes and main pressbox at La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros

Notice the little guy hanging on for dear life in "Mutton Busting" for 4, 5, and 6 year olds.

Junior Barrel Racing

Junior Tean roping

Aren't we a cute western couple?

Opening Ceremonies by "The Quadrille"

The end of the National Anthem

Bareback bronc riding...or falling

Four in the air!!

This cowboy really wants to stay on, or he's asleep

Steer wrestling

Saddle bronc riding

Calf Roping

he won't get up if I sit on him.

More Tucson Rodeo Pictures

2012-02-26T12:54:00.000-08:00

Saddle Bronc rider four in the air

Three more saddle bronc pictures

Calf Roping

Gotta tie him good for at least 6 seconds

However you can hold that calf down.

Nailed him...now to stop

Team roping

Ladies Barrel Racing

Heading for home!

Rodeo clown just before the bull riding

Another bull rider abusing his body.

One cowboy bites the dust.

And another one bites the dust!!

Rodeo Days in Tuscon

2012-02-26T08:18:00.001-08:00

We spent the day in Tuscon at the 87th year of Fiesta De Los Vaqueros. The rodeo was just great. They started with the children (5-11 years olds) and everything on up. The kids were such fun. They rode sheep, barrel raced, calf touch, and goat roping. These kids were fantastic the little 6 year old girls riding these hugh horses around barrels going as fast as possible. We went with 3 other couples and the seats were great right across from the chutes so we felt up close and personal and could see everything. They had lots of venders so I got a cowboy hat because the day was hot and sunny. I still have trouble with why a perfectly smart,young man would want to ride a bull? They are either very brave or just crazy. It was such a fun day. Then we all went out to dinner at the Brooklyn Bar and Grill. Great burgers and pizza.

Chiracahua National Monument

2012-02-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

We took a drive over to Wilcox again and then headed about 35 miles southwest to the Chiricahua National Monument. What a wonderful day! The sky was clear and the temps were in the 60's, even up at 9800 feet at Massai point.

An interesting formation just outside the Visitor Center. Below is the long view from the same place.

Somewhere along the 8 mile drive to the top.

We saw lots of these balanced rocks. I wish we could have hiked down to the one in the below picture.

The Apache called this the land of standing rocks. Kind of reminds me of the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

Massai Point lookout

Just to the right of Massai point

My two pets

Fantastic spires and pinnacles.

More of the same.

My intrepid honey on the trail up to sugarloaf. Yes, that's snow on the trail ahead. We didn't do the whole trail, but we'll be back. I couldn't resist this beautiful blue bird, I don't know the species.

Valentine's day at Butterfield's

2012-02-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great time Tuesday evening at the Butterfield RV Resort Valentine's Day dinner dance. We had a really outstanding meal and danced to a local duo called the Partner's Band. Our hall is only large enough to accommodate 94 people at dinner and have enough room for a dance floor so ticket sales were cut off several days before the 14th. Folks are still talking about how it was the best event of the season. Our resident photographer, Jim Case of Gray Wolf Photography shot this picture of Kathy and me just before dinner.

I had an apron on as I was helping to serve the dinner.

Snow in Benson

2012-02-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

This was the view out our front door about 1PM today. The temperature dropped to 35 degrees, the wind was blowing about 25 and there was LOTS of snow coming down. Not sticking, but cold and windy. Now at 4PM the sun is out and the clouds are gone. The temp is heading towards 50 but the wind is still with us.

We're heading over to the event hall for a Valentine's Day dinner and dance. I'm sure glad the rain and snow are gone.

A short trip to Wilcox, AZ

2012-02-13T16:09:00.000-08:00

These first three pictures are in the Dragoon Mountains about 15 miles east of Benson on I-10. Some of the rock formations along the interstate are spectacular and these pics from a moving car don't do them justice.

This is a roadside pull-off with awesome long vista views of the Dragoon Mountains and the valley to the east.

Wilcox is the birthplace and hometown of Western star and singer Rex Allen. This is his gravesite on the edge of town and across the street from the Rex Allen Museum.

Another hometown boy was singer and actor Marty Robbins. There is a lot of Marty Robbins memorabilia in there.
Below are some of Rex Allen's costumes from his singing career. The silver mounted saddle is a parade saddle made in California for him.

During this quick trip we found the oldest continually operating store in Arizona where Kathy and I purchased some western wear on sale. It is the Wilcox Commercial, owned by only 3 families since 1880. All these attractions are on Railroad Ave. in Wilcox.

We will return to Wilcox in the next several weeks to see the approx. 30,000 Sandhill Cranes that winter here. Then we will go up to the Chiricahua National Monument in the Chiricahua Mountainssouth of Wilcox. This is also the location of the Cochise stronghold where helived out his days. We’ll do a blog post when we go.

We go horseback riding

2012-02-09T13:40:00.000-08:00


This is a beautiful rock formation on the way to Ft. Huachuka I call The Tierra

We decided to join a park activity of a monthly ride from the Buffalo Roundup stables at Ft. Huachuka last week. These first few pictures are the rock formations and mountains on the way from Benson to Ft. Huachuka.

These pictures were taken at 60 mph so the foreground is a little blurry.

In about 2 months, this desert area will be alive with blooms. Unfortunately, we won't be here then.

Here we are arriving at the Buffalo Roundup Stable.

This facility is actually open to the public with a picture ID to get on the base. A one hour guided ride is only $15 and includes all gear except a padded seat..lol.. This part of the base is quite beautiful with long vistas and interesting terrain.

This burro is a pet and has free reign of the property.

Here is the farrier re shoeing the horse that Kathy would later ride.

Looking off to the east from the stable parking lot.

Some of the many horses available to ride.

I've never seen a horse cross his back legs like this.

This last picture is taken atop Roscoe, my trusty steed for this endeavor. This was my first time doing this and after the last picture was taken, the camera was bumped from my pocket and I didn't realize it for about 10 minutes. No one found the missing camera that day, but I was called 2 days later that the staff had found it. I only wish I had a picture of Kathy and I getting off after an hour or so. We haven't been that sore in a very long while. I'm not sure we will do this again soon, but who knows?

Saguaro National Park

2012-01-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

A Barrel cactus with fruit

These are the spines of a Saguaro Cactus

probably won't take much to topple this

A few interesting shapes

A small ramada built by the CCC in the 30's

This trail led up to many petroglyphs

A long view atop signal hill

Looking West

A visit to Davis Monthan AFB - The Boneyard

2012-01-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

My neighbor and I returned to the Pima Air Museum to take the tour of the 309th AMARG otherwise known as "The Bone yard" at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson. The tour took a little over an hour and covered about a third of the place. There are approx. 42oo aircraft stored there and about half are in either flying condition or can be made that way quickly.

The Blue Angels are moving up to the Super Hornet

One of several one of a kind prototypes

This is a highly modified KC135 Tanker used in an electronic warefare role

An A-10 Thunderbolt

This Admiral's plane kind of looks like a presidential aircraft but isn't

One of many F-4 Phantom jets awaiting conversion to target drones

Lots of KC-135 stratotankers awaiting disposition. My son flew in these and wanted me to photo tail numbers.

ditto

Old Air Force Pave Low special forces helocopters

Pima Air Museum

2011-12-21T10:04:00.000-08:00

The Pima Air Museum is located in Tucson near Davis Monthan Air Force Base. The museum is non-govt. supported and charges a fee for entry. They have over 300 historical aircraft from WWII to the present with several rare one of a kind aircraft. We took a narrated walking tour of four of the huge hangars and then a narrated tram tour of the 300 acres of outdoor display.

This is a WWII era Martin PBM flying boat and it is HUGE!

This is a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Reconnaissance plane which still holds many speed records for manned aircraft.

This is a Consolidated B-24 heavy bomber, WWII era.

Waist and ball-turret guns on the B-24. Hard to believe there was a gunner inside that tiny ball turret.

This is a B-25 Mitchell light bomber of the type that Jimmy Dolittle flew off a carrier to bomb Tokyo early in WWII

A beautiful restoration of a P-51 Mustang.

Many people believe this Lockheed Constellation was the most beautiful airliner ever built.

This modified Boeing 707 is also know as the "Vomit Comet" used to demonstrate weightlessness while flying the profile painted on the nose section.

This is one of only four remaining B-36 heavy bombers. The six pusher prop engines weren't enough to take off so the 2 jet engines per wing were added.

This is a restored B-17 part of the 390th bomber group memorial. This is a museum within the main museum.

Looking forward in the B-17 showing the waist guns and the top of the ball-turret.

Looking aft in the B-17 towards the tail gunner position.

Head on view of the B-17 showing the 4 .50 caliber machine guns facing forward. All together, there are 12 of these on the B-17.

Another view of the Constellation.

We spent over 3 hours at the museum and we had lunch in their new flight cafeteria. There is also a gift shop. On week-days, they run tours of the "Bone Yard" at Davis Monthan AFB where thousands of decommissioned aircraft are stored in the dry desert for possible sale and used for spare parts.

Historic Homes Tour at Ft. Huachuca

2011-12-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful outing yesterday as we visited a number of the original buildings at Ft. Huachuca, all constructed in the mid 1880's. They were constructed of brick and adobe with walls over 20 inches thick. Some of these were the Hospital and others were Officer's quarters. Today, they have been renovated with modern kitchens and utilities and are senior officer's quarters. The folks in costume are hosts and are from the Tombstone Vigilantes organization. The men in vintage uniforms are from "B" Troop, a ceremonial organization of mostly ex-servicemen. Both these organizations are involved with charitable work and this Tour of Homes benefits several local charities and also scholarships.

I only took one interior picture as I was informed there was to be no photography inside the homes. Too bad as some of them were spectacular.

Most of the homes have these small staff quarters behind them. This one housed two teen aged sons of the house resident. How cool!

The Pershing house is the largest house in the group and has historically been the residence of the base commanding general.

A ballroom was added to this house in the early 1900's.

Our intrepid group of tourists. Our friends and next door neighbors, Stephen and Barbara Vanderleest along with Kathy. Did I mention it was COLD yesterday and a little snow was falling when we arrived.

5000 feet, no wonder it's cold.

Check out the mountains in the distance. Probably an Indian behind every rock back in the day.

This is one of the original barraks across the parade ground from the Officer's quarters.

Winter is on it's way

2011-12-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the high was in the 50's and we had about 1/2 '' of rain spread out most of the afternoon. Looks like more of the same with low temps in the mid to high 20's for the next two days. At least we have had a little sunshine each day and our winds have only been in the 20's to 30's. Winds over 100 are to the west in California and to the north in Utah. Yuck!! Today is our last work day 'till next Tuesday so we'll just tuck ourselves in and snuggle. Monday, Kathy has an ultrasound and a meeting with a surgeon to determine when that pesky gall bladder will come out. Apparently it's an outpatient procedure using laproscopic techniques. We'll keep our readers and listeners posted.
We finally sold enough CD's of our shows to pay for a new headset for Kathy to use in our broadcasts. That way, she won't have to look over or around a large microphone to read copy. I'll be ordering it tomorrow.
This Sunday is the open house of some of the historic homes at Ft. Huachuca. These are some of the first permanent buildings on the post built in the 1880's. They are now senior officer's quarters and the residents decorate them and open them up for a few hours on the first Sunday of December each year. I hope to take lots of pictures and post them here for you.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

This has been quite a week. Sunday night, Kathy woke me up at 1:30 AM with severe stomache pains. We got up and after a few minutes, it was obvious it wasn't going to go away. The Benson Hospital is only a block away and we went to the ER there. After a number of tests, they determined she had pancreatitis. Later tests confirmed this and gall stones as well, so that gall bladder will have to come out soon. She spent two nights in the hospital on IV to settle down her pancreas. Hopefully, this surgery will be as simple as we have been told as there is no infection. So, it's a lo to no fat diet two days before thanksgiving, oh boy!! We had a wonderful meal in our banquet hall with the park providing 6 turkeys and 3 hams and most everyone else pot-lucking everything else. We reassembled at 6 PM for desert. What fun. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Gammons Gulch Movie Set and Museum

2011-11-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

We took a trip to Gammons Gulch Movie Set and Museum today with our next door neighbors, Steve and Barbara. It's about 13 miles from Benson out along what used to be a stagecoach route. Our host was Jay Gammons, owner, curator, construction foreman and tour guide. He and his wife have been building this place for years and collecting items for much longer.

Here we are in front of the first building. Jat is the fellow with the hat. Inside is this gorgeous bar imported from England in the 18 somethings.

Below is a fully operational blacksmith shop used occasionally on weekends.

Below is the jail built on site several years ago.

A couple of jail birds.

This saloon is the newest building in the town completed a year ago. We spent several hours in there drinking sarsaparilla and listening to jay tell about his history in movies as an extra including some John Wayne movies when he was an 11 year old.

The saloon is a homey place and Jay is quite the musician as well.

This is the general store filled with turn of the century things.

"Come on, you have to see this""

Apparently, the undertaker also was the furniture maker.

People are just dying to come here.

This Church has seen several weddings and doubles as a school house by removing the cross.

Here is our happy group in front of the saloon getting ready to depart. This was quite a fun day trip. It is open 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Wed. thru Sun. Call ahead to guarantee they will be open at 520-212-2831. Donations accepted.

The Train is coming!!

2011-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

Today was an interesting day in Benson, AZ. The Union Pacific Railroad has spent a great deal of money and several years restoring a vintage steam locomotive. This was not some little switch engine, but rather a main line engine with 8 drive wheels. Apparently this is part of the upcoming centennial celebrations of Arizona and New Mexico. The train arrived about 10 minutes late and stayed at the Amtrack stop for about 30 minutes. This was a well publicized event and there were easily 3 to 4 thousand people there to see it. Some schools even excused 5th thru 7th grades and kids were all over the place.

There were lots of Union Pacific personnel and police on hand.

Part of a crowd of several thousand.

Here it comes! This thing is BIG and it is LOUD!!

There's the proud engineer.

Everyone was allowed to get really close to see this rare sight.
There was some vintage rolling stock including a dome observation car.

A beautiful and cool Saturday morning

2011-11-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, our propane furnace kicked in about 4AM and ran intermittently for about 4 hours. Yesterday we were at 80 degrees, but a front came through and along with it came a half inch of rain. I know this because last week I mounted my birthday present weather gadget.

I was also able to confirm that yesterday's wind peaked at 28 mph. Usually when we have strong winds, the dust causes the mountains to get fuzzy and sometimes blocks them from vision. The rain cleaned up the atmosphere to give this view from the campground entrance looking directly south.

Little more than a week ago, we attended our park's Observatory Show and were rewarded with images from our solar system and well beyond as well as spectacular views of the planet Jupiter and four of its moons. These are views of the 16 inch reflector telescope inside the observatory dome.

We were late this week, but we finally got the latest edition of Living the RV Dream posted to www.livingthervdream.podomatic.com . We talked about our visit to Fort Huachuca but unfortunately, I had a sore back and I didn't get many good pictures, but we will be going back there. Below are some of the original buildings constructed in the early 1880's.

Ft. Huachuca, AZ

2011-10-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a ride to Ft. Huachuca to get Kathy's ID card renewed. We had been here several years ago, but didn't explore at all. This is a LARGE base. We found the ID card office and then went looking for the Post Exchange (retail store). After a few wrong turns, we finally got there and checked it out. Then off to the Commissary. We never get close to one without feeling the need to buy some groceries.
This post was established in the 1880's as a cavalry post and there are museums with some of the original buildings. We will visit another time to see them and report on them.
Then it was off to Sierra Vista and a trip to the Mall there and the western clothing store. My western shirts don't fit any more and we are having a hoe-down as the kick-off entertainment next week. We spent an entire summer in Rapid City without going to the Mall there. We've been here only a few weeks and there we were in the Mall. Fortunately, we escaped without too much financial damage. I hope there wont be too much dust in the air next time we go that way, as the scenery is awesome. I'll take the camera next time and post some pictures here.

Helldorado Days

2011-10-23T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took a trip to Tombstone, AZ 20 miles south of Benson. In 1929, the town was dying with the playing out of the silver mines and the county seat was about to be moved. The city fathers came up with a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the town to raise awareness of Tombstone. This came to be known as Helldorado days.

Many folks dress in period costume and there are many shops selling period clothing and accessories, including guns. This is one of the rental shops in town and we saw lots of dance hall girls around town.

The famous OK Corral where the Earps and Doc Holiday shot it out with the Clantons and the McLowerys. Gunfights go on all day long here.

The equally famous Birdcage Theatre. Part gambling hall, part bar, and part bordello, it is preserved in its original state with all the original furnishings, complete with numerous bullet holes.

A couple of soiled doves perhaps?

Lots of folks dressed in 1880's clothes.

There were several different coaches available to haul you around town.

There was even a miner.

We had a lot of fun in Tombstone, and we will go back when the town is a little less crowded to visit some of the historic buildings including the inside of the Birdcage.
We continued to head south leaving Tombstone and heading to Bisbee, a major copper mining center with many original and restored buildings. We will go back to Bisbee and take pictures for a future blog post.

Butterfield RV Resort

2011-10-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Better late than never. We have been here 10 days already and busy the whole time. Work, shopping, settling in, excuses, excuses. The park is pretty empty now, but the first snowbirds will arrive 1 Nov., about 30 of them. All activities start in Nov.

Well here we are in sight 8 in the workamper row. I haven't put up everything yet, but I'm almost there.

This is my work for the winter, keeping the pool and spa clean and warm. Some of my favorite work.

This is the first park we have been in with an observatory. Astronomy shows nightly at 7:30 PM.

For the golfers, there are these two driving cages and a putting green.

Here's your friendly storekeeper. She's a beauty!

Here are two views of the clubhouse and event kitchen.

There is another building next door with a large room and another kitchen for dances and musical events.
We are so happy to be here at this beautiful park. There are 173 RV spaces with several park models available for monthly rental. We are located in the center of town right behind the Safeway and Ace Hardware stores. Couldn't get much handier.

We have arrived!

2011-10-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

After 1442 miles and 190 gallons of diesel, we have arrived in Benson, AZ at the Butterfield RV Park. We will workamp here for the winter. Kathy will be at either the front desk or the store and I will be working the swimming pool. We actually got here yesterday after a stop at the Dream Catcher Escapee Park in Deming, AZ. That had been over 310 miles and we were tired. Yesterday's run was an easy, flat 170 miles. For the entire trip we averaged 7.7 mpg on the motorhome, not bad considering we had some serious hills to climb in New Mexico. We will start our jobs tomorrow and then we will get a better handle on what there is to do in this area. We know there is a lot and we are constantly hearing about more cool stuff to see. I will get better about taking the camera and do a better job reporting.

Haven't seen even one alien

2011-10-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Roswell, NM. We had an easy run down here from Amarillo with good roads most of the way and all 4 lane!! We will only stay here to nite and get going early for a 240 mile run over the mountainous Apache reservation by Riudoso, NM on down to I 10 and on to Deming for a night at the Escapee park there. Next day we have an easy day in to Benson, AZ. We checked out the Visitor Center and Civic Center Museum today. I forgot to take the camera. Too bad because they had a recreation of Robert Goddard's workshop where he manufactured the earliest rockets during the 30's and 40's. We are in a very nice park on the South side of town called Countryside RV Park. This is a very clean park with excellent utilities and 65 channel cable TV system.

Amarillo, TX

2011-10-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

We rolled in to the Palo Duro RV Park yesterday about 2:00 PM after a 220 mile run from Garden City, KS. We left US 83 in Liberal, KS and headed southwest on US 54 thru OK. Great road and 4 lane most of the way. Then we turned south on US 287 ,also 4 lane, thru Amarillo and on to I27 for the short run down to the campground. Last nite we went to the Big Texan restaurant for steak. What a fun place! This is the home of the free 72 oz. steak dinner, if you can eat it in an hour. Hard to believe, but the current record is 8 min and 52 seconds. Whew!! It was Saturday nite and the place was pretty full but the service was fast and friendly. No takers on the giant steak while we were there though.

This is the "Big Texan" 72 oz steak with the trimmings barely visible on the sides.

Who is that fool in the picture??

Today we want to see Palo Duro Canyon state park. It is billed as the Grand Canyon of Texas and the pictures we have seen show it to be beautiful. Tomorrow we're off to Roswell, NM for a day or two and then on to our destination of Benson, AZ. Seven states and 1400 miles.

On our Way by Kathy

2011-10-07T12:51:00.001-07:00

Well we are in Kansas and the wind is whistling down the lane at hurricane force. Really it's not that bad but we have not had this kind of wind at so constant a force. We spent 2 days in McCook Ne. At a nice city park with 50amp only but we were in the shade and down in a little glen so we were protected from most of the wind. We move on to Garden City Ka driving in high winds but we made it here. We are in the nice little park called RJ.RV Park it's a old KOA but it's a little run down. We decided to go to Dodge City and visit the old west. They have preserved the old boot hill area and have built a street with the Long Branch Saloon and stores of all kinds,a school, church, and a home. As I looked at the Kitchen I thought of all the great gadgets we have today and how blessed we are to have the ease of todays things. The wind was again strong and it was hard to drive in the car. I was glad to get back to the rig and get in out of the wind.

We are planning on moving to Amerillo tomorrow if the weather holds calm. I like being back on the road. The different scenery as we go down the road is awesome. We went though the sand hills of Ne I didn't know they even exsisted. What a wonderful country we live in and how diverse it is. Something new around every corner. Well today we need to get a show done so listen in and find out more about our travels. Safe travels, Kathy.

Blown away in Kansas

2011-10-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is our third day in Garden City, KS. We stayed another day to dodge the 35 mph constant winds here and all the way down to Texas. The gusts top 50 and shake the rig to where it scares Charley. Yesterday we decided to go on and brave the wind and go to Dodge City, about 50 miles east of here. We toured the Boot Hill Museum and found it quite interesting and well worth the $9.00 entrance fee.

Lunch at the Boot Hill Casino was pretty good too. The driving there and back was exhausting as the wind and dust hit us from the side and made driving "interesting". Today we produced issue 128 of the Living the RV Dream podcast detailing our adventures. We may look around in Garden City later and then we must get the rig ready for travel and an early start tomorrow morning. We have about a 235 mile run to a park on the edge of Pala Duro Canyon near Amarillo, TX. We'll spend at least 2 nights there.

Garden City, KS

2011-10-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

Missed blogging yesterday so I'll catch up. We spent two nites in McCook, NE at the free city park so Kathy could go to Harlan County to check on some genealogy stuff to prove there is an Irish connection in her family. There is. Today we did 185 miles in constant wind from 15 to 25 with a few higher gusts. This really dropped our mileage. We fueled up where US 83 crosses I70. Cheapest diesel so far at 3.72.9/gal cash price. We also picked up a new Flying J/Pilot fuel card two days ago that saves 3 cents per gallon. So here we are in Garden City at RJ's RV Park, a former KOA. Its a nice enough park although the spaces are a little narrow. Nice to have sewer and water after 2 nites but the cable TV is the best. Tomorrow we will go to Dodge City, KS to tour as well as look around Garden City. We may stay an extra night here as the wind is expected to last 2 more days. Then its on to Amarillo, TX 220 miles down the road.

The best camping is Free camping

2011-10-03T17:42:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty easy day today. Only 220 miles from Valentine to McCook, NE. We are in a city park with seven 50A sites and it is FREE camping for up to 3 days. Water and a dump station is available. I am impressed with our route down US 83. The road is 2 lane so far, but in good repair with decent width shoulders. Of course we had the requisite road work but only for about 20 miles. The first half of this day was through the Nebraska Sand Hills which were scenic in our eyes. Not much civilization, but beautiful nonetheless. Then it was 100 miles of corn country with drying feed corn as far as the eye could see. At least there was a little more man made stuff to see. We made a fuel and Walmart stop in North Platte. This is a fairly sizable town at the junction of US 83 and I80. The Walmart was right off US 83 and with lots of large vehicle parking and easy return to US 83. We fueled at Flying J 2 miles East on I 80 and then went back west to US 83.

Valentine, NE

2011-10-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Happy Campers!! We got a late start this morning as we had to air up the Motor home tires. Should have done it when we got the oil changed. We finally left the park at 10:00 AM and hit the road for Valentine, NE. We fueled up at the Flying J in Rapid City but we probably should have waited. Diesel was 25 cents cheaper in Murdo and I should have waited. Someday I'll get some patience. We stopped for lunch at a rest area just west of Murdo and then we headed south down US 83. So far, it has been 2 lanes all the way, but with little traffic and even less road construction. Really pretty country if you like range land. We are stopped at the Fishberry RV Park 5 miles North of Valentine. Nice park with all pull-thru sites mostly level. Full hook-ups with 50A electric for $20 is pretty good. We unhooked the car and went into Valentine for dinner and to scope out a good fuel stop for the morning. We had a great dinner at the Pepper Mill restaurant. We would return if we come thru here again! Today we drove about 220 miles. This is our first driving in the motor home for 6 months, so it was a good run to get our feet wet. Tomorrow is even shorter as we will do about 190 miles to McCook, NE so as to stop and visit Regen, NE to check out some genealogy stuff on Kathy's family. Then its off into Kansas somewhere and then into Amarillo, TX for a few days. I'll try to post each evening if I have Verizon signal.

One more day

2011-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well, Saturday the 1st is here and so are we. We decided to stay on one more day because we aren't in any particular hurry and Kathy wanted to rest a little after her last work day on Thursday. That's the beauty of this lifestyle! Go where you want and when you want. So tomorrow, Sunday, is our day of departure. I want to thank our readers for the comments you have left. I will answer questions if you leave your email address in the question. PJ, there is an Ipad app for the Next Exit but its around $14.95. I'm not sure if it will update each year without additional charge. The last thing I have to do today is to clean our windshield and front side windows and apply RainX to them. That stuff really works! Yesterday, Kathy and I cleaned and arranged all the basement compartments on the curb side. By using plastic tubs of the same size, we saved enough room to empty several overhead cabinets inside the motorhome! After that we will straighten up the inside and move all the clutter from flat surfaces (countertops, etc.) that would slide all over the place when in motion. With that done, all we need to do in the morning is unhook power, water and sewer hoses, pull in the slide and move out to the far side of the campground to air up the tires and hook up the car and then we're off. It sounds like a lot, but we have done it so many times, it will take no more than 10 minutes. We only have about 220 miles to go tomorrow and we will overnite in Valentine, NE. I'll try to blog daily as we travel, but please forgive me if I miss a day or two.

One week to go

2011-09-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Our hitch itch is rising fast now. This is Sunday the 25th and we leave in 6 days on Saturday morning the first of November. Kathy is still working and I am doing the long list of things to get ready for a long trip. Yesterday I greased the leveling jacks and lubricated the slide-out mechanism. Monday I'll finish straightening out the basement storage bays and test the generator for proper operation. Kathy is finishing up the laundry and straightening up the inside of our home on wheels each evening after work. I know we are close when I put the towing gear on the car late this week and turn in all our park issued stuff like keys and uniforms. The weather here is awesome! Cool evenings and warm sunny days in the low 80's. Perfect fall weather. We're not sorry to leave though because the cold and snow and wind is just around the corner.
I started to gather up the books we use when we travel like several maps, The Next Exit which tells us all the stuff at the interstate exits, our travel log book for daily travel entries, and new this year, our new Ipad with lots of campground locator apps and several GPS apps. We'll take 2 weeks to travel almost 1500 miles with stops in Valentine, NE; McCook, NE; Amarillo, TX; Roswell, NM; Deming, NM; and then arriving in Benson, AZ for our winter work assignment at Butterfield's Campground. We have a lot of touring to pack into this short 2 weeks and I hope to blog daily during some of it.

A beautiful lazy Sunday

2011-09-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today is the best and warmest weather for several days. After 30's at nite and rain and clouds for 2 days, we have been blessed with an awesome fall day. Sunshine all day and high in the lo 80's make for a perfect day to either loaf or do some of the projects Kathy has for me to get ready to move south for the Winter. I did both. Several projects like cleaning out our slide side compartments, putting the large front bra on the motor home, and dumping the black tank led to several hours of sleeping in my chair. It just doesn't get much better than that! We are 10 days away from heading out towards Arizona and our Winter gig at Butterfield's in Benson. 3 days on and 3 days off is hardly much work after what we have been through this Summer. It should give us plenty of time to explore that part of Arizona and report on it on Living the RV Dream. I made a big mistake after the last show by posting the previous week's audio file. I have edited the posting now and all is as it should be. It must be all this week-day work stuff.

More Pictures from the Needles Highway

2011-09-15T12:57:00.000-07:00

These are some more pictures from our trip on the Needles Highway.As you can see, the road is narrow, but most people made room for us. The tunnel is one of three on this route and is 10 feet wide by 12 feet high. The small lake is Sylvan Lake at the end of the Needles Highway.

Another week

2011-09-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

Another week has gone by and I can hardly believe that only 3 more weeks and we will be heading to Benson, AZ. I am really looking forward to getting on the road again. This last week has been busy for us. There is a lot to do to close down a park. I have learned so much about the maintenance of a park. The 4 man maintenance department here a Hart Ranch has answered 1844 service calls since May 1st. That's water issues, electrical problems, washing machine and dryer problems, even to helping find lost people. The had a lot of people that didn't know there own rig and how to get the TV to work or their WiFi. We had people plugging their electric cords into the wrong recepticals, but that's life at a RV park.
This last week I have gotten tired of beading and decided to start doing some more of my genology. So, I pulled out the books and starting looking into my grandparents. You know it is such fun just to have something interesting to do. I have been working on this thing on and off for 15 years. I discovered my Mott side back to 1670 in the Great Neck of Virginia and the Jungjohann's to the 1840's in Iowa they came from the Schwige/Holstein section of Germany. Then there was my dad;s mom a Mccammon. The last time I look which was about 4 years ago I was stuck on her grandfather Thomas Paskins Mccammon. Well, I found him and the one before him was Samuel Mccammon in Kentucky. Anyway, Thomas was buried in NE and we will stop in that little town on our way south. Having some kind of hobby or actually having several hobbies really can give focus to the RV lifestyle.
Sept 11 just passed and I watched all the action on the TV. I was amazed at all the people that we never heard of until now. I hope we never forget that day, but I also hope we will move forward with our lives and live as if today was the last day of our life and live it with meaning. Helping someone else always brings some kind of blessing. Just a thought. Till next week Happy Camping, Kathy

A Sunday Road Trip

2011-09-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today is the tenth anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington by Muslim terrorists. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the victims and the heroes who saved so many and so many of them died trying to save more.

We got up this morning and decided to do a road trip to Custer State Park and especially the Needles Highway. We last traveled this road in 2006 and I wanted to take new pictures and also try out the "Buddy Night-Owl" video camera from tt-i. I talked about it on our radio show but we haven't had a chance to try it out. There it is stuck on the windshield as we travel. The video was great after I downloaded a new video player that can handle HD. Once I figure out how to edit the video, I'll try to post some of it.

These pinnacles are also called "the needles". The next picture is of the "Needle's Eye". This was a great road trip on an equally great day, sunshine and high in the 90's.

Winding Down

2011-09-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

The camping season here at Hart Ranch is winding down with the closure of the Activities Department this week and the pool on Monday. Shortly after that the store will close for the season, but not without a super sale on Hart Ranch merchandise of 50% off. We couldn't resist that one. This week has been the best weather of the year with mid 80's daytime and lo 50's at night. We moved off our seasonal site yesterday as that part of the park will be shut down and winterized soon. Charley has a whole new set of smells and new friends here to get used to. The move reminded us of all the things we must do to get our motor home road ready. We have a list now and with only three weeks remaining, we are doing a little each day to get ready to depart.

Get out the Space Heraters!

2011-09-04T19:05:00.000-07:00

This morning, the temperature dropped to 42 degrees and we were COLD! Then Kathy said ever so sweetly, "Honey, will you take the dog out?" Brrr! After I came back in I found one of our space heaters and plugged it in so it would heat the bedroom and bathroom. There have been times I would welcome 42 degrees as a relief, but not 2 days after 95 degrees. Down to 50 tonite so extra blanket time is here. We sure are snowbirds now!!
About 25 days to go now and "Hitch Itch" has hit us both. We're looking forward to hitting the road again, even if only for a few weeks. Amarillo, TX and Roswell, NM are definite on the itinerary and we will expand that as we get closer to departure.
My sons bought me a weather station for my birthday and I'm trying to figure out how to mount it. This is something I have wanted for several years now. This one has wind speed and direction as well as a host of other weather stuff on the display. I am ever the gadgeteer.
More in a couple of days.

Last Holiday Weekend

2011-09-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

Today starts the Labor Day Weekend and the end of the Summer Camping season here at Hart Ranch. All our sites will be filled this weekend, but next week, the place will empty like a glass of lemonade on a hot day. It's a sad time with amenities like the pool and tennis courts closing with netless courts and waterless pool. Very quickly the campsites on the outer rings of the campground will close and water lines drained for the Winter. Not so bad for us, however, as we look forward to leaving for a new job in Arizona. We will have 2 weeks to get there and we will do some touring along the way. For two weeks we'll be back to RV'ing!! We'll make the most of it.
Last night we had a sudden thunderstorm with intense lightning and brief but heavy rain. We were just at the last 2 minutes of our Living the RV Dream show when it hit. I left it in for the fun of it. Tomorrow we will go to a yard sale by our friends P.J. and Don Bahr. They are getting rid of their "stuff" in preparation for full time RV'ing. How cool is that!! Hopefully we'll be able to pick up some books on rock hunting. I still remember our two day sale. How could we have accumulated so much junk?!? Letting go of all that stuff was the beginning of our freedom in the RV lifestyle and we haven't looked back.

TGIF

2011-09-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Thank God it's Friday, I really like my job, but I'm ready to have some fun and hit the road. As the secretary for the maintenance department I handle all the paper work and today we had lots. There were 42 moves from the storage lot to the park and lot of people needing propane which we sell for $2.50 a gal. not bad. With the weather turning cooler and the sun shine it's a great time to do something outdoors. I feel like I was in a cage for the last month with this really hot weather, but fall has arrived and the weather is just perfect to be getting out and doing rock-hounding. I haven't talked to John about doing some tomorrow, but I am sure he will get the bug too. Living in the RV is so nice, housework takes no time at all and there is no yard work to do. I remember almost every Sat. being out in the yard at our home in Fl. working to keep everything under control. You can't kill a plant in Fl. It just grows and grows. We had a beautiful bird of paradise plant and one year I cut it down to the roots. The next year it bloom unbelievably. I thought I had killed it but is was the talk of the neighborhood.

A day at the escapee's rally

2011-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

We both had the day of so we drove over to Gillette WY. It's was only about a 3hour trip, but what's 3 hours when you get to spend some time with friends.while John went shopping in vendor row I was busy seeing old friends. I ran into my escapee dad.(when you join escapees at a rally they have you adopted by someone or couple and they help you learn the ropes so to speak)anyway here it was 7 years latter and their was John. It was fun to let them know all the things we have been doing and to thank them again for all their help. We decided to attEnd the Geeks on Tour seminar on blogging just to see them and to get the full treatment. I'm telling you if you need to know anything about starting you own blog these are the people to get in contact with. They sell dvd's that explain just how to do it, and in Easy to understand terms. If I can do this everyone can. What a great way to keep everyone up to date. Unfortunately we had to get home to Charlie so we could't stay to long. But next year it will be a little later in the season so we are going. It will be in Sediona Mo. Around the 16th of Sept. Well, I will close for now. Love all Kathy.

We go to the Escapade

2011-08-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today we traveled a scenic and easy 140 miles to Gillette, WY for the 51st edition of the Escapees RV Club annual rally called Escapade. Our own Carey Keith, manager of Hart Ranch, was there promoting the park in the vendor area, along with about 50 other vendors of everything RV. From sewer hoses to RV Insurance, it was all there. I recently acquired a Blue OX Aventa II Tow Bar from a friend, but I needed the connector pins and an adapter for our Roadmaster base plate. Wouldn't you know but both companies were there and had exactly what I needed. This saved me from mail order and shipping chargers. After a good look around, we moved on to "The Row". This is an area where Escapees Chapters, Parks, and special interest groups or BOF (Birds of a feather) groups have tables with information about their organization. Lots of good information to be had here. Then it was on to a Geeks on Tour seminar on blogging. As a result, I learned about putting in a feature where you, our readers can follow us by e-mail. I always learn from those guys! After that it was time to return to Rapid City and walk Charley who had been patiently waiting for several hours. Such a good boy! We'll talk more about Escapade on our next Podcast edition of Living the RV Dream.

A Milestone birthday

2011-08-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I've spent a lot of time thinking about getting old and I figured at 65, someone must be pretty old.......NOT!! I feel younger than most of the folks here at Hart Ranch who come here to veg out for the summer. Since we got Charley, I have walked more than in the last two years and we hike on our outings. So I guess what I'm saying is that 65 isn't the end of anything, just the beginning of Medicare. Tomorrow, we both have the day off and we will be heading for Gillette, WY to spend a day at the Escapees Escapade Rally at the Camplex there. Hopefully we'll renew some old friendships and meet some new folks. We will probably spend some time at our booth for Hart Ranch as well.
Rained almost all day here at Hart Ranch and we closed the pool for lack of interest. Lots of empty spaces here until Friday. We're supposed to be fully booked for the holiday weekend and then it will drop off and we will start closing parts of the park down for the Winter. Kind of a sad time, but quiet and peaceful as well.

Finally, a day off together

2011-08-27T20:26:00.000-07:00

We had some fun today by looking for Agate beds that have Fairburn Agates. These beautiful stones are getting quite scarce and therefor valuable. Unfortunately, we aren't sure exactly what the raw stones look like. We have a few friends who do, so we'll get educated this week before our next trip across dirt roads and through creeks and ruts that challenge our 2 wheel drive Santa Fe. It was a lot of fun though and we took Charley with us. Then we went to Custer, SD to have some awesome fresh fruit pie at the Purple Pie Company. With Blue Bunny ice cream!! Too good!
This was our first Saturday off together in quite some time and we made the most of it. We're about five weeks away from leaving Hart Ranch and heading South to Benson, AZ via Amarillo, TX. Oh, we do have Hitch Itch!

Happy Friday

2011-08-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone has had a good week. I'm really ready to get moving again. There is just so much to see. We met the goals we wanted to this summer and it feels great. We both have the day off tomorrow and are trying to decide, what to do. I want to go find Fairburn agates. The only place to find them is here in western SD. There is also an agate call Tee Pee and it can only be found in one canyon here in the Black Hills. I'll let you if we find anything. Till later.

Hot, Hot, Hot in South Dakota

2011-08-25T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today we hit 100 degrees +. The wind is blowing outside and it's like a blowtorch. Even the swimming pool water was hot. Perhaps we get a storm to-nite to cool things off. We will post a new Living the RV Dream podcast tomorrow which will include our interview of Chris and Jim Guld, The Geeks on Tour. This is the weekend of the end-of-Summer Board of Directors meeting here at Hart Ranch, so I'm sure some more folks will come in for that, otherwise, we have a lot of empty sites in the park. Well, that's all for now, check out our show tomorrow.

Hanging with the Geeks

2011-08-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

We did a great interview yesterday evening with Chris and Jim Guld, The Geeks on Tour. They will have been here at Hart Ranch for about a week and they did two of their seminars. They convinced us to start blogging, so here it is! Things are winding down here with the Labor Day Holiday as the last big weekend of the year. We will stay on until the end of September to attend the Custer State Park buffalo round-up on the 26th of Sept. Then it's on to Benson, AZ via Amarillo, TX. We hope to see all our Arizona friends this Winter.

Gathering of friends

2011-08-22T20:08:00.001-07:00

Today was a day of heat, boy did it get hot about 97% but the air conditioning was working just great. We got together with several couples who are vendors at rallies. Of course Geeks on tour, Chris and Jim Guld, (we spent last night learning how to blog) a couple who sell jewelry, inflatable boats, and Rv vacume cleaners. It was interesting learning the pros and cons of being a vender and living in a Rv. These folks work really hard. If you are thinking of becoming a vendor on the road make sure you talk with those who do this in is not easy but they are successful, and they all seem to enjoy what they do. Have a great day.

John's first post

2011-08-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we have finally started a blog. I will try to post several times per week, time permitting. We have a beautiful day here at Hart Ranch near Rapid City, SD and the temp may get as high as 95. We were able to open the pool after a major mechanical breakdown yesterday. Wow! Dodged a bullet this time. Chris and Jim Guld held a Google Earth class this afternoon. What a great program, but it demands a high speed Internet connection. I hope they will return next year and teach some more classes. Well, time to head out for happy hour. We have a lot of Escapees here getting ready to head for Escapade in Gillette, WY next week.
Till next time, I'm John and I'm living the RV dream!

Hello Happy Campers!!!!

2011-08-21T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, we are moving into the blogging world. Life here is great and we are having a great time with the Geeks on Tour. Our good friends Chris and Jim Guld.. Check them out at Geeks on Tour.com they are helping me get going so look for move the this blog every now and then.