Home sweet Lapeer!

Indiana

The trip home from Saint Clair, Missouri was uneventful. Joan failed to spy even one camel today so that was good. We started the day at 54 degrees and it just got better and better after that.

As I mentioned yesterday we were very pleased with “Budget Lodging” and will plan to stop there in both directions again next year.

Because Joan has a bladder the size of a nickel we are able to pass everything on the road except a rest area. There was at least one RV unit that I passed and re-passed three times today because of our frequent pee stops.

On the way home we listened to 15 of the 18 discs of the Jeff Shaara book "Chain of Thunder" a historical novel about the siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. It was very good and we plan on sitting in the driveway to finish the audio book during the next week. Just kididng, we'll finish the book on our various upcoming trips. Our thanks to my sister Pam for the book. It helps make the time go much faster.

Even with all the stops we were able to make the 600-mile plus trip in just nine hours. Once at home we found the house in good order and this year I didn’t arrive home to a pile of dirt and rocks in the front yard, the results of a broken well pipe last year.

Back home in Michigan at 2:09 p.m.

We celebrated with an EG’s Pizza and Joan has promised to go shopping soon so we can get into our normal routine. The fine weather at home – temperature was 68 degrees in Lapeer when we arrived home – made the return that much easier.

So as we close this chapter of our winter adventures we sincerely thank you for your interest in our travels and now close this down until the next great adventure.

Mileage out: 18608

Time out: 7:14 a.m.

Mileage in: 19227

Time in: 5:15 p.m. 

The long slog home is nearly complete

Hooked and ready to fly

The long slog home is nearly over. But not before a little work and fun was completed at The Voyager. As I promised in my last post I spent nearly six hours washing and waxing the 33-foot trailer. By the end of the work my arms felt like two dead logs.

But the trailer looks good and it was ready for storage. After returning the rented ladder (the one I used to risk life and limb on the trailer roof) I cleaned up and we attended our last Tuesday potluck at the resort.  Still a lot of folks on hand and we said our good byes to the pot luck crowd until next year.

On Wednesday, I returned our mailbox key, settled up our utility account and then began the final process of readying the trailer for towing. At 3 p.m. I backed up the Tahoe and hooked up the trailer in preparation for a really, really early departure from Tucson.

Our last Voyager supper for this year

Before that we attended “Mary’s Spaghetti Dinner” in the Voyager ballroom, which is the season ending event for most folks. It works on a couple levels because the dinner is good and Joan doesn’t have to cook or clean up on our last night at the resort.

We returned to the trailer which was only connected to the electric service. I had removed the water supply and sewer connection before hooking up the trailer. After we finished watching our Wednesday TV lineup I went outside and disconnected our cable line.

We turned in early and the alarm woke us up at 2:50 a.m. We quickly brushed our teeth got dressed and unhooked the electric service before sneaking out of the park.

This has to be a crappy job

The travel was easy, the air was cool and we arrived into Flagstaff about 8 a.m. well early for our 9 a.m. winterization appointment at Camping World down the street from our storage facility. In preparing the trailer at the resort I noticed that two of the trailer tires are starting to crack (probably from the heat and the fact the tires are 8 years old). So before we left Camping World we set up the process for putting on new tires when we return next winter. It was 51 degrees when we left Tucson and only 35 degrees when we arrived in Flagstaff.

Michael's resting place

During out gas stop in Phoenix I noticed a car painted with a Poop911.com logo which struck us funny as Joan’s mother was always fixated on people’s regularity. The company apparently provides a service of coming to your house to pick up dog and cat poop if for some inexplicable reason you’re unable to perform that service for yourself.

After the service on the trailer was complete we drove the ¼-mile to the storage facility and backed the trailer into spot 157 and began the long trek home. First we had to off load all the luggage, souvenirs and leftover non-perishable foods from the trailer into the car. Each year it seems we bring home more and more stuff. If this continues we’ll have to tow the trailer with a 26-foot box truck.

Joan at the Canyon

Before the actual start home we made a 197-mile detour to the Grand Canyon to pay our last respects to my brother Mike. In accordance with Grand Canyon policy we found an appropriate spot to spread his ashes and said a few words. My brother worked at the Watchtower gift shop many, many years ago and it was a place with special meaning to him.

The weather was perfect, the sky was perfect and the Canyon, as always was stunningly beautiful.

After saying good-bye to Mike we completed the circle around the mountain range near Flagstaff and started the real trip home. We cruised through Gallup, New Mexico and arrived at our first overnight stop The Route 66 Hotel and Casino near Albuquerque.

Sign at rest stop

Let’s just say we had a fruitful stop there and Joan and I won enough money to pay for the night’s lodging with about $100 left over. (We ended up giving back about $50 of that at a brief stop at the Buffalo Run Casino near the border of Oklahoma and Missouri two days later.

Day 1 Home:

Mileage out: 16830

Time out: 3:14 a.m.

Mileage in (Flagstaff storage) 17127

Time in (storage) 8:05 a.m.

Mileage in: (Route 66 Casino) 17589

Time in: (casino hotel) 7:20 p.m. (MDT)

Our first night stay

Anyway, we headed for our next stop in Oklahoma City after the night at The Route 66 hotel. We always stay at Governor’s Suites on S. Meridian in Oklahoma City and eat at the Texas Roadhouse nearby when we pass through. Because of our late arrival we had a wait about 20 minutes for a table on Friday night.

While enroute we passed a little black Chevrolet Spark and Joan thought it was funny when I was side-by-side with it and mentioned that “it looks like our Tahoe had a baby.”

Just before crossing into Texas we stopped at Russell’s Truck & Travel Center which we have always passed before. They advertise a “Free Car Museum” so we needed a break from driving so we decided to check it out.

1955 Chevrolet Corvette at Russell's Truck Stop

They had a pretty nice collection of vehicles but the one I was most interested in was a 1955 Chevrolet Corvette that was identical to the one my father owned back in the day. I took way more photos that I can post here, but I’m sure my Dad will appreciate the fact that there are still examples of this fine ride around.

We had some exciting moments as a crop dusting airplane soared back and forth across the freeway spreading something on the fields on both sides of the freeway. The pilot dove and then soared up and over the freeway traffic and then dipped right back down. The pilot banked sharply and did this several times before he flew directly over our Tahoe.

Mileage out: 17589

Time out: 9:34 a.m. (MDT)

Welcome to New Mexico

Mileage in: 18148

Time in: 7:15 p.m. (CDT)

We had a quiet night in Oklahoma City and woke up to thunder and lightning, but the storm moved through quickly and we only drove in the rain for about an hour before it cleared up.

Now here’s a story that has nothing to do with our trip home or anything else for that matter, but it was something I forgot to write about previously.

One morning while working out on the treadmill at the resort during our last two weeks a nice man joined me on the adjoining treadmill and because the televisions weren’t working we struck up a conversation. He mentioned that he had been in Detroit recently because his son is directing a movie and they were shooting it there.

Welcome to Texas

Turns out his son is Zach Snyder, who directed the movie “300” and is currently directing the major motion picture “Batman and Superman.” His father lives at the Voyager. So that was pretty cool.

OK, back to our trip home. While crossing Missouri on Saturday afternoon Joan claims (I didn’t witness this myself) she saw two camels in a field along I-44. I will say in her defense that she saw them before she had a couple of glasses of wine for dinner so it is possible that she did see them.

On Saturday night we stayed in a new city, one about an hour closer to home that where we usually stay. I was worried about the hotel – It is called “Budget Lodging” – but the hotel is nice, the people who run it are nicer and there is a nice little family restaurant about ½-mile down the road. We may make this a regular stop on our way to and from Tucson. The price isn’t bad either.

Welcome to Oklahoma

One more day of traveling and we will be back home in Michigan.

Mileage out: 18148

Time out: 8:55 a.m. (CDT)

Mileage in: 18608

Time in: 6 p.m. (CDT)

One more post before we leave Tucson

Spartan fans in the desert

OK, so I lied. This will likely be the last post before we head home to Michigan. The work of preparation to put the trailer in storage is underway and our Thursday getaway day is approaching quickly.

Since the last post we have been busy with friends and activities so I thought I would update things pending our imminent departure.

On Monday, March 30, we invited our friend Walt, a widower from the Men’s Bible Study, to go to dinner with us before he departed from the Voyager on April 2. He suggested we try the Silver Saddle, a steak house in Tucson, which is a place we had not eaten at before. It was very nice, but the company was even better.

Walt’s son arrived in Tucson on Wednesday and they left together on Thursday for Minnesota.

Another glorious sunset

In the past ten days we have attended another concert on Wednesday, April 8 – the Arizona Symphonic Winds – which we attended last year and which we equally enjoyed this year. I went on my favorite hike into the Chirachua Mountains on Tuesday, March 31.

We had a smaller hiking group than normal as many folks in the park have already started the trek home but the folks that showed up were a lot of fun and the hike was simply great. The drive there and back is long but the incredible views from the hike are well worth the long drive.

Thursday night we attended Maundy Thursday worship services in the ballroom and then on Friday we attended Good Friday services in the Catalina Room. The darkening service was very moving.

And now it's just us!

Also on Friday, April 3 – which just happened to be our 16^th wedding anniversary – we joined some friends at their home in The Cove – which is the home section of the Voyager park – for a wonderful dinner and social time with some of the friends we have made here.

Darcel and Barry were the hosts and they are the same friends who accompany us each year on our wine tasting trip. They just purchased a small motorhome for shorter trips while they are here or back home in Idaho.

Then on Saturday some other friends – Jerry and Marcia who are fellow Spartan rooters – invited us to a MSU Alumni Association basketball playoff viewing party at the nearby Radisson Hotel. We joined about 60 other Spartans to watch our team get manhandled by the Duke Blue Devils.

Despite the loss we all agreed the team exceeded all expectations and we enjoyed the company of like minded folks.

Me at "Inspiration Point"

After the viewing party we joined some folks who are friends of Marcia and Jerry at a sports bar restaurant for a Wisconsin viewing. The four people who joined us are from Vancouver, Canada and we enjoyed a raucous fun time learning about each other and telling funny stories.

On Sunday we attended Easter worship services in the park and then after returning to the trailer we watched a little NHL and I started the process of preparing the trailer for storage. I crawled under the trailer and lubricated the slide-out portion and removed the tire covers from the east side of the trailer and torqued the lug nuts on the trailer wheels.

On Monday I will pick up a ladder so I can get on the trailer roof on Tuesday so I can scrub down and clean the roof and maintain the seals. Following that I will wash and wax the trailer so it can be put into storage in Flagstaff on Thursday.

Big Balanced Rock

You are all allowed to pray for me while I work on the roof of the trailer. Two years ago a man fell while cleaning his roof and he died. I know this because every time I get on the roof every Tom, Dick and Mary who walk by my trailer when I am on the roof let me know.

I know a number of you follow our blog and we appreciate your interest in our travels. I will likely post a couple times on our way home from Tucson so stay tuned. We have been treated to some of the finest sunsets since we have been here in the past two weeks.

If you scroll down you can see some additional photos from the Chirachua hike.

More hike photos

Just one of the many beautiful vistas

My last hike this year with "Jim"