Rivers, Roads, Reunions and Rain

We have passed over the big muddy Mississippi, crossed southern sections of Illinois and Indiana.

We have been staying at beautiful state parks along the way.  They are wonderfully private and much quieter than the commercial parks but we don't get internet and mostly don't get phone service either.  Not a bad price to pay.

We made a side trip up into northern Indiana and southern Michigan to visit with Millie's brother's family.  We had a great time with Joel, Kerri and little Danner with a nice spot for the RV on their basketball court.

Danner fell in love with Aunt Grandma Millie and rode with us up to Adrian, MI.  He settled into the trip and really liked the Hooked on Classic music that we forced him to listen to.

We have been lucky enough to visit the wonderful people in Adrian, MI several times over the past few years and this reunion was just as crazy as ever.  Since we are running late for our Washington DC tour reservations we only had one night to visit but it was great.  Thanks to Lauri and Don for hosting us once again and we hope your lawn recovers.

We have returned to US 50 and drove through the hills of West Virginia where we stopped at a Walmart got to listen to a good ol boy explain how he shot a deer down in the holler and kilt his coondog at the same time by mistake.  Wish I had a recorder!  We are now in Virginia and will be in Washington DC tomorrow.  Expecting 3-4 inches or rain tonight from T.S. Nicole but we are high on a hill and should stay dry.

Heartland USA

After leaving Denver we drove across the plains of Coloroado and on into the grasslands of Kansas.  Very flat (they call it level) but a wonderful drive.  The weather is getting warmer... mid 90s.

If there was any doubt that we are in the heartland of America this sign says it all.

We took a quick side trip off US50 to go visit Kathy & Mike at Lake Eufaula, OK.

Judge Mikie worked, Lee took a nap and the girls had a whole afternoon to themselves to just relax and catch up on their lives.

Then we were off again on our wonderful little road heading east.

OOPS!

Side Trip to Littleton, CO

US 50 follows the Arkansas river down a winding, narrow absolutely beautiful canyon down to the mile high plateau that Denver sits on.

Since we were only a few hours south of Littleton, CO we took a quick side trip up to visit Lee's son and family.  We got the chance to spend some good time with little Zoe (oh yeah, her parents too....who are expecting their second in March)

Grandma Millie and Zoe hit it off really well.

While Grandpa Lee was required to wear Zoe's hat while performing car pushing duty.

East bound US Highway 50

After Sacramento, we headed out on our US Highway 50 trip, over the Sierras and around beautiful Lake Tahoe.  The lake is as fantastic as ever but the shoreline is packed with tourists and on the Nevada side, casinos.

Heading across Nevada you can see why this stretch of highway has received the nickname of the Loneliest Highway in America.  We were out here on a Sunday and only had to share the road with a series of ore haulers.

Outside of Fallon, NV is this curious tree which has received hundreds of shoes thrown into its branches over the past several decades.

We didn't happen to have any extra shoes with us or we would have added our contribution.

We left the flat desert and entered the beautifully colored rocks and formations of the canyonlands area of Utah.  We had a slight problem in Utah with an exhaust coupling coming loose from the engine which filled the motorhome with fumes.  Luckily, it reminded Millie of her days as a long haul trucker so we closed off the back and kept on going.  We found a local mechanic in a small town who took good care of us.

Next up was the Gunnison area of Colorado with its high desert valleys and beautiful lakes.

The climb up into the Rockies was beautiful, steep and pleasantly uneventful.  We climbed to 11,500 feet.  Very nice to have a machine that will do that without complaining.

Tonight we are parked right next to the Arkansas river with beautiful Colorado mountains all around.  Tomorrow we head in to Littleton, CO to visit with Lee's son and family for a few days.

Mt. Shasta and Brother Bob

The weather was perfect for our drive south.  Mt Shasta was out in all her splender as seen from the magnificient Weed rest area.

We had a nice visit with Millie's brother, Bob.  Millie took him up to their old home town of Colfax to look around and reminisce.

We head east on Highway 50 tomorrow.

Headed out on the road again

 

We are at Jumpoff Joe's Waterfalls RV park in Grants Pass, OR on our way to Sacramento.  We plan to tak US Highway 50 across the US to Washington DC.  Highway 50 is primarily a two lane road that goes through dozens of small rural town  It will be slow going but it should give us another wonderful view of America.  We plan to tour the White House (if they will let us in) and the Pentagon, then head down to Florida to catch a cruise to St Thomas to visit the last National Park (other than Alaska) that we have yet to visit.  We should be back home sometime in November.

We don't have a dog but really appreciated the dog-run that the campground provided.

Lee had to explore the creek above the falls.  He stayed dry this time!

Ye Old Swim'in hole if one is so motivated....We weren't!

Stay tuned.

Amsterdam and Home

They finally kicked us off the river boat on Sunday morning and we spent the day taking a boat tour of the Amsterdam canals.  It is a great way to see lots of the city in a short time.  It was a very warm day which felt great for both of us who had very bad head colds.

Football (our soccer) is huge in Europe and the World Cup fever was in full view.

The old locks which protected the city (sort of) for centuries are only used now to flush the canal three times a week.  The water is surprisingly clean (although I wouldn't drink or swim in it) but we were a bit disappointed that the city was as dirty and unkept as it is.  It is a beautiful city and they could do better I think.  We took a walk through the red light district just to say we did it.  Lots of noise and people acting strange but not much different than Bonney Lake on a Saturday night.

We must be in Amsterdam.  A bike rack  just outside our hotel with thousands of bikes.

For our final night in Europe we took a canal dinner boat trip through some of the smaller residential canals.  Lots of houseboats and modified barges with permanent mooring.

We said our farewell to Amsterdam and a wonderful trip.  After a tiring 27 hour day and 18 hours in the air (note to self: don't fly with a bad cold - very painful) we arrived back home at about 2am.  We have been sleeping and coughing since our arrival but are on the mend and looking forward to our next adventure.....wonder what it will be?