On the Road to Texas

Quanah, Texas

Today is the day we returned to Texas. Our route brought us back to the same interstate we were on when we left Texas, 49 days ago. We passed through Santa Rosa, New Mexico, where we had spent our first night on this seven-week trip. Memories already!

Today our gas mileage reached almost 11 miles per gallon. It's probably due to the long flat stretches of road and cruise control. It doesn't sound like much but it sure beats the 8 mpg we usually get. Strange to be excited about attaining a whopping 11 mpg.

It feels like we know so much more now about this form of travel:

• Chris has figured out how to turn off the clock display on the rear camera video screen, giving him a better view of traffic behind him.

• We've stopped using the child gate to keep the dogs in the back; they just know to stay back there now.

• We've learned you can use the bathroom while we're moving if you really have to.

• Chris now flashes his lights at truck drivers to signal when it's safe for them to pull in front, and they signal back.

• We now bungee cord the refrigerator doors closed as they have flown open a few times on some of Chris's crazy fast turns.

• I no longer physically lean over when we are passing close by something; apparently it doesn't help.

• We've learned the house heater can run off either propane or electricity. Wish we had known that sooner instead of using up our propane instead of the free campground electricity.

• The vehicle towed behind a motorhome is known as a "toad".

Shortly after we entered Texas, there was a huge spread of those giant wind turbines. Even more than we had seen in Wyoming and Oregon. I didn't remember seeing so many the first time we passed this way.

Texas Panhandle wind turbines

Tonight is our 12th campsite while living in our RV for the last 3 1/2 weeks. We are near Childress in the Texas panhandle. The office for this RV Park is an old cotton gin. 

Ole Town Cotton Gin RV Park

As we spend our last night on the road in our house on wheels, I have to testify that the saying on my shirt is indeed true:

Home is Where You Park It

On the Road to New Mexico

Santa Fe KOA Campground

We're getting closer to home now, as we headed south some more from Colorado to New Mexico. Passed close by Taos, New Mexico, where we skied once, long ago. Went through Santa Fe where the kids skied their first time.

We had a day to hang out since we were spending two nights here. The campground was 14 miles from the historic downtown of Santa Fe. Too far to bike, taxi would've been $50 one-way. Rental car places weren't open on the weekend. We even checked uber but it was not available. So we settled in for a day of sitting outdoors, enjoying the nice weather. Chris turned on the Astros game on the outside TV.

Just then, our luck changed. New neighbors pulled in to the space next door. We got to chatting with them as they set up their fifth wheel. When they asked if we had been into Santa Fe yet, we explained our situation of having no car. Without hesitation they invited us to ride in with them as they were planning on going anyway. We somewhat hesitantly accepted, thinking we could just bail out and taxi back if we wanted. Well we ended up having a nice lunch together and a walk around the plaza and a pleasant time with them. Plus it was nice having someone to take pictures of us.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

That evening, after a heavy rainstorm had passed on, we sat outside for our last chilly night before heading into the warmer Texas weather the next day. Chris got a nice campfire going (eventually 😊) and we had the Olympics on the outside TV.

This was the night that Michael Phelps swam possibly his last race and earned his 23rd gold medal. Also, Simone Manuel from the Houston area swam for the USA gold in the relay. Simone's dad is with Shell. It was an exciting night of hearing our national anthem several times. I realized this would be one of those times that you always remember where you were when you were watching the 2016 Summer Olympics.

On the Road - River View to Royal View

Royal View Campground - Canon City, Colorado 

We had two more nights in Colorado as we continued our journey south. Driving through Denver, we noted we hadn't seen a city skyline since Seattle.

Denver, Colorado Skyline

Last night we were at River View RV Park; tonight Royal View. This campground has a distant view of the Royal Gorge Bridge, one of the world's highest suspension bridges, built in 1929. We had been to the bridge when the kids were young.

Royal Gorge Bridge from realcoloradotravel.com

View of Royal Gorge Bridge from RV Park

I've noticed that the town markers on the highways in Colorado give the city's elevation instead of its population. There's a "high" joke here somewhere; I'll let you come up with it.

The weather continues to get warmer but it's a "dry heat" so it's not unbearable. Our site is on the end so we have an open view which is nice. We can't pick up a satellite signal here or any local channels and the wifi is weak, so it's a good thing we have a pleasant place to sit outside. Once again, the nighttime stars put on an amazing show.

Our Campsite

There's not much to do here so we soaked up some sun at the pool in the RV park. The pool water was cold but it was refreshing. We cleaned up the RV a bit as it is showing some grime after three weeks of living in it. It's so nice to be able to do laundry in our own onboard washer and dryer.

Moon over Canon City

There were lots of hummingbirds, lizards, beetles, and a little bit of cactus here. There was rain, wind, clouds, and sun all within an hour. 

We discovered a clever feature: when the side awning of the RV is out and it gets too windy, the awning automatically retracts to save it from wind damage. It's all about adapting to the changing conditions I guess.

On the Road - Colorado Here We Come

Riverview RV Park - Loveland, Colorado 

From Wyoming, we headed south to Colorado. Nice short drive today: 1 1/2 hours.

Leaving Wyoming, we passed a stand of evergreen trees planted in rows. A sign said it was a Living Snow Fence. What a neat idea to use trees to hold back snow from the highway. When I later saw this row of trees in Colorado I knew what it was:

Living Snow Fence

As soon as we entered Colorado, there seemed to be more trees and hills. We saw interesting rock formations, some rocks precariously balanced on others.

Our campsite for these two nights backed right up to Big Thompson River. The dogs swam in the river and then got very muddy as the whole place was like a dust bowl. We'll be cleaning dirt from the inside of the RV for awhile. 

Our next-door campers were from Kansas; just like us they were escaping the heat. The weather made it into the 80s but cooled down in the evenings.

We got to visit with another friend from the old Shell days. Mark was kind enough to come pick us up and take us to see his fantastic home in the mountains overlooking Boulder. He and his wife also showed us the neat downtown Boulder area where we had a nice dinner. It was great catching up with them. 

We borrowed Mark's car to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, about an hour away. More amazing scenery!

Rocky Mountain National Park

In one day we had these animal sightings:

In Rocky Mountain National Park:

• Elk (a herd grazing below us in a meadow)
• Marmot (a large squirrel)
• Chipmunks

From the side of a highway where some people had pulled over to look:

• Bighorn sheep (a herd of about 20)

Across the river from our campsite:

• Rooster
• Cattle (a herd being driven along)

Walking the dogs around the RV Park:

• Snake (Chris nearly stepped on it, but it was probably dead as it didn't move)

Cattle drive across the river from us

We went back a second day to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, this time leaving early in the morning, hoping to beat the crowds. We arrived at 9 am and it was already crowded. This national park was the third most-visited last year. We hiked by four lakes: Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, and Emerald Lake. All were spectacular.

At Emerald Lake, lots of hikers were sitting around, enjoying the view, maybe lunching, perhaps basking in the success of reaching the end of the 1.8 mile uphill trail. We had some entertainment when a hiker stripped down to his underwear and, with encouragement from the crowd, plunged into the icy cold water. He received a round of applause. Then a yodeler serenaded us. More applause. 

Emerald Lake

We had time, and just barely enough energy, to also hike to Alberta Falls. It was well worth the climb. 

Alberta Falls

I learned something new. Some hikers had large, rectangular, folded pads strapped to their backs. I thought it was a new kind of backpack, like a mattress with belongings folded up in it. Silly me. They were crash pads that cushion rock climbers' falls. I embarrassingly learned this when I asked one of the hikers if it was a new type of backpack. 

While we were at the park, a windshield repairman came to the RV park and fixed the chip in our windshield. Good feeling to get that done. 

It was also a good feeling to have hiked about 8 miles and to have experienced such natural beauty. We were definitely tired that night. 

On the Road - Utah to Wyoming

KOA Campground - Laramie, Wyoming 

Today's tour of states took us through a little bit of Utah and a lot of Wyoming. I saw many tall, skinny, white steeples when we passed by Brigham City, no surprise I guess. My ears started popping as we traversed through the mountains.

 

With the mountains come the pretty mountain streams. It's cool when the highway meanders right next to a rock-laden, swiftly-flowing creek. I imagine travelers from long ago carving out a trail along the stream as it cut a natural path through the mountain passes, and over time the trail became a highway. I saw some white-water rafters floating along. 

We drove right by a neat rock formation called Devils Slide. I didn't get a picture but here's one from the Internet:

Devils Slide, Utah

When we entered Wyoming, all of a sudden it seemed like billboards appeared. Also, wide open spaces. 

With such amazing, expansive views, I'm bummed that the splattered bugs on the windshield mar my photos. We saw spectacular scenery around Green River and Rock Springs in the southern part of Wyoming.

Big gusts of wind on the highway were scary while driving through the Great Divide Basin near the Continental Divide. It was not the most pleasant drive today, especially towards the end with the constant, strong wind. And I wasn't even driving.

We saw more wind turbines near Laramie, and these were moving really fast.

I learned about snow fences, which I had never seen. They are fences positioned to collect snow into drifts to keep it from blowing across the highway. I'm glad we are here in the summertime. 

At the Laramie KOA campground, we had access to wifi; our last two stops did not have it. So we spent time catching up and I was able to publish some blog posts. We also rode our bikes into the cute, western-themed, downtown Laramie and had lunch. It was a cold miserable ride back to the RV in pelting rain. We made use of our "fireplace" to warm up. Then the rain quit, the sun came out, the wind died down, and it was perfectly pleasant. Lucky for the dogs, since they got to go for a walk and take a dip in the Laramie River which was close by. 

This was the first time that we didn't spend any time at all sitting outside at our campsite. The first night it was too windy. The second night it was too wet, plus there was hardly any room between us and the giant RV next to us. So we hung out inside and watched the Olympics. 

Overall, our visit in Wyoming was good. We got to see an interesting variety of scenery and weather. 

On the Road - Oregon to Utah

Hyrum State Park - Utah

After nine awesome days in Oregon we entered Idaho. It took about four hours of driving time to cross the southwest corner of Idaho into Utah. We passed the exit for Shoshone Falls and had fond memories of our visit there on the way up through Idaho.

Shoshone Falls, Idaho

Somewhere on today's journey we got a small chip in our giant windshield. Bummer.

The Utah state highway signs have a beehive on them. Utah calls itself the Beehive State, symbolizing the hard work of its residents. The early Mormon settlers saw the beehive as an example of all the workers cooperating in the construction of something much bigger than themselves, as a model of a properly run society.

Utah Highway Sign

We stayed two nights at a small state park on Hyrum Reservoir, about 60 miles north of Salt Lake City. Two couples staying next to us said they book their sites four months in advance to be able to grab adjacent full-hookup spots.

We had lovely views like this one:

Hyrum Reservoir, Utah

While sitting outside, white flakes of ash were falling from the sky. There was a rosy layer of smoke on the horizon sandwiched between blue sections of sky. It made for a pretty sunset but it was sad to think a wildfire was causing it.

On the Road - Farewell to Oregon

          

This state park is named for the place where the Oregon Trail pioneers said farewell to the Snake River as it made a bend northwards and the pioneers kept heading west. 

In this state park there is no wifi and limited cell phone service. My watch battery has died, my Fitbit watch battery is dead with the charger at home. A sign on the highway had said we were entering Mountain Standard Time, but this park is still in Pacific Standard Time. I struggle to know what time it is and then I decide it doesn't really matter! What a great feeling. 

While I'm lamenting our limited internet access and feeling cut off from civilization, I wander through the park and read the historical information signs.

Okay, compared to what the pioneers endured, I don't have it so bad at all! We have plenty of water, electricity, air-conditioning, food. We even have a satellite signal to watch TV. The pioneers were happy when they could catch fish in the river. Now excuse me as I go throw a load of laundry in our washer and grab a cold beer from our fridge. 😀

The weather is so extreme here. Take your choice of hot or windy during the day. Then as soon as the sun goes down, it's downright chilly. The stars at night though... What a show they put on! It's so dark and clear that the stars light up the sky.

Our second night here was incredibly windy. I mean RV-rocking windy. Like maybe we should pull in the slides on the RV so the awnings don't get ripped off. Thor proved how tough he is, surviving without a scratch. 

In the morning we loaded up with a steady warm wind still blowing. I can't help imagining being a pioneer, leaning into the wind, journeying onward. 

We say goodbye to Farewell Bend and I say "Farewell WIND!"

On the Road - Changing Scenery

Today's journey was a transition from the Pacific Northwest to the hot, dry eastern part of Oregon. After four awesome days at Mount Hood Village, it was time to head east. We had a final glimpse of the backside of Mount Hood as we drove around it. 

Oregon has some cute town names such Zigzag, Bend, and Boring, which has a sign saying it is a sister city to Dull, Scotland.

We drove through an area called the Fruit Loop where there are many apple and pear orchards, peaches, berries, lavender. You can shop at one of the many fruit stands or pick your own. We didn't stop this time as we had a trek across the state to make, but maybe next time.

We went through the Columbia Gorge, a canyon where the Columbia River crosses the Cascade Mountain Range. The highway went alongside the wide river and we could see Washington on the other side. This must be a very windy area because there were a bunch of huge wind turbine windmills stretched along the ridge.

The scenery and weather changed when we crossed from the west side of the Cascades to the east side due to the mountains trapping the moisture from the Pacific Ocean. One minute we were looking at lush green forests; in about an hour's time, the landscape was treeless, dry, barren, but still pretty.

Columbia River

Where did the trees go?

We noticed the sharp blue sky turning hazy and thought it was part of the landscape change. Turned out to be smoke from a wildfire burning up ahead. Near Pendleton, firefighters were battling the fire and we could see small burning patches right beside the interstate. Just two days previously, the interstate had been shut down in both directions due to the wildfire jumping the highway. We luckily timed our crossing right, as the interstate again had to be shut down later on the day we drove it.

We were back on the historic Oregon trail that the pioneers took when they were heading west, only our direction was eastward. We made it to the Oregon/Idaho border and stopped for two nights in a place where the pioneers likely camped near the Snake River.

Good night!

On the Road - Reconnected and Refreshed

Mount Hood Village RV Resort - Welches, Oregon

Another picturesque drive, along the Oregon Scenic Byway this time, took us to Mount Hood Village in the northwest part of the state.

Mount Hood

Mount Hood, in the Cascade Mountain range, is the highest point in Oregon. At this campground we had made plans to meet up with a retired Shell buddy who now lives in Oregon.

It was wonderful reconnecting with Rick after 13 or so years. He and his wife recently purchased a motorhome as well so we traded RV stories. We were able to park our RVs at adjacent sites and our two dogs made friends with their two dogs. Rick has a helpful book of the best hikes in Oregon. I have to say the Salmon River trail we hiked was one of the best I've been on.

 

Salmon River

We found the perfect spot for a picnic lunch on the bank of the river where the clear water rushed over rocks. Dipping our feet in the icy cold water was so refreshing.

Our lunch spot

Our four nights' stay flew by as we shared stories, walks, beautiful scenery, meals, dice games, and lots of laughter.