Bananas at Love's, Sixties music on the radio and snow in the mountains

More snow here than Michigan

Another long day on the road and apparently I didn’t smell quite as good as I did previously because there was no mention made of this morning.  Joan is now crediting the brand of shampoo provided by “Budget Lodging” for the good smell of yesterday. No such luck with the Governor’s Suites shampoo.

The day started out cold (window scraping required) and ended with clouds and a threat of rain in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Just outside Oklahoma City we were warned by a road sign that we had 61 miles of road construction ahead of us. After driving the 61 miles they were only about 60.5 miles off.

“Invisible construction” continued through parts of Texas and New Mexico, but I am not complaining about a lack of construction zones, no sirree.

Large cross near Amarillo

We spent the morning listening to our favorite XM disc jockey – Plash Phelps and then listened through the afternoon to the disc jockey who came after, Pat St. John. Both are very entertaining and make the miles roll by.

We love having fruit in the morning and Love’s Truck Stops seem to have the best bananas, so we partook of a couple. For the first time in several trips we were not plagued with the high winds blowing across the plains of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. There was wind, there always is, but not like we’ve had in the past.

My father, who did his basic training in the Army Air Corps in World War II, in Texas once told me that Texas is the only place where you can be up to your waist in mud and get sand blown in your face. I think he also told me the only thing in the panhandle that slows the wind is the barbed wire fences.

Only our Buffalo friends will get this reference: This was a
"Huuuuuuuuge" car.

There was plenty of evidence of last week’s blizzard in the Panhandle, but the road was clean and green and we had no traffic issues today at all.

Also in the Panhandle Joan was fascinated by giant flocks of small birds flying in formations and in such numbers that they looked like low moving black clouds. We’ve got to do a little research to find out just what the birds were, but they were pretty much throughout the Panhandle.

A forest of giant windmills grew up in the Panhandle as well, most since our last trip through. We can’t imagine how so many of them were constructed so quickly, but there they were. I can’t imagine a better place in the country to use the wind though. One of the sad effects of the windmills is they now dwarf the giant cross at a church just east of Amarillo.

Of course, we had the usual plethora of stops for Joan who admitted she has a bladder the size of a shot glass. (I think it is more the size of a syringe).

Hello New Mexico!

There’s a tourist trap in New Mexico along I-40 called “Cline’s Corners.” The advertisements for it stretch for many, many miles and all seem to be directed at luring young children into pestering their parents to make a stop there. “Snake Stuff” was my favorite sign, but there were many other signs advertising Indian curious and other souvenir type stuff.

I remember as a boy traveling with my parents seeing these same kinds of places on our many travels. One lasting memory is the famous “Mystery Spot” which is advertised as the only place in the world that water flows uphill. Actually the only thing at those places the flows in any direction is the money from the tourists into the pockets of the owners.

Up near "Cline's Corners" in New Mexico

In my travels I have now come across several “Mystery Spots” that advertise they are the only place in the world were water flows uphill. The only mystery to me is how they stay in business.

As we moved across New Mexico the sun hid behind a growing number of clouds and as we climbed up the temperatures fell to 33. (We started the day at 29 in Oklahoma City) and ended it at 44 at our stop at the Route 66 Casino and Hotel outside Albuquerque.

As I write this Joan is enjoying a few minutes in the casino and I’ll join her for dinner later. We will turn in early and rise early for the final leg of our trip. We pick up the trailer and then head south to Tucson.

Not sure I will have time to post after our arrival, but I’ll catch up on Wednesday.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Mileage out: 34962

Mileage in: 35522

Time out: 8:06 a.m. (CST)

Time in: 3:20 p.m. (MST)

Casino stop, turkey sh**, and I found out I stink at home

You just never know how a day will start out. Today was a good start, but then came an interesting conversation with Joan as we departed “Budget Lodging” in St. Clair, Missouri and headed west on I-44.

“I need to tell you something,” Joan said. My immediate unspoken reaction was “uh-oh this could be bad.” Now what I am going to relate to you is my best recollection of the ensuing conversation and my admission that I may have somewhat over reacted to what Joan said, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.

Me on the road, according to Joan

“You know when we’re on the road, when you get up before me and shower I notice how good you smell when you get out of the shower,” Joan said. (So far, so good). “I always notice that when we’re traveling.” (She should have stopped there).

“When we are home we live in that big house and you get up and go to the gym and when you come home it’s just not the same,” she said.

“So what you’re saying is that I smell good on the road and stink at home,” I said.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, I just notice how good you smell in a small hotel room,” Joan said.

“But, I don’t smell like that at home,” I said.

“That’s not what I’m saying, I just don’t smell you like that at home,” she said.

Me at home, according to Joan

“OK, I get it, at home I stink and on the road I smell good,” I said. The conversation continued like that for a dozen or so miles until she realized I was collecting as much info for this essay as I could.

“You’re not going to write about that, are you?,” she said.

“Of course not,” I told her.

Anyway, I reminded her all day about how much I stink at home and how good I smell on the road.

I also learned a new valuable tool for getting her on the road in the morning. Last night before we headed for bed, I told her that if we got on the road early we might have time for a brief stop at the Buffalo Run Casino just inside the Oklahoma/Missouri border later in the morning.

Well, let me tell you, she was up and at it and performed her morning makeup ritual in record time.

Lesson learned.

Joan is behind Door No. 2

We did make a quick stop (about an hour) at the Buffalo Run Casino and left down just a very few dollars. It was a nice break from the road and because we don’t eat lunch actually cost less than a fast food lunch.

I spent my usual time waiting for Joan outside restrooms.

The morning at departure time was crisp and 31-degrees, although it briefly dropped to 29-degrees, coincidentally enough during our “smells good on the road and stinks at home” conversation.

Somewhere about mile marker 151 in Missouri I approached a large truck carrying a large number of live, caged turkeys. There had to be hundreds of medium sized turkeys on this truck. Feathers were flying like rain and suddenly so was some obnoxious white liquid turkey poop which painted the front of my Tahoe and windshield. The windshield was cleaned fairly well with the wipers but the front of my car is speckled with turkey crap.

I could swear I saw a couple turkeys smiling as I passed them to the left. I simply smiled back with the knowledge that Thanksgiving is only 10 ½ -months away.

The Missouri highway department has some clever lighted warning signs, my favorite today was a reminder to potential drunk drivers: “Drive Hammered. Get Nailed.”

We finished the Shaara book “A Chain of Thunder” and after leaving Buffalo Run we listed to the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets game which came out in favor of the Bills which made Joan very happy.

Joan also spotted several fields full of cows and pronounced “they look happy.”

“Probably because they don’t stink like me at home,” I said. As you can see I had a lot of fun with that conversation all day, and likely will continue on with that theme for awhile.

Our usual OKC stop

We made good time (speed limits on the Oklahoma Turnpike are 75 mph) and checked into our old standby “Governor’s Suites and headed to dinner at Joan’s favorite “Texas Roadhouse.” We didn’t have to wait (although it soon became packed) and ate dinner surrounded by a couple dozen utility workers who are here on business, perhaps cleaning up lines from the recent storms here.

Tomorrow’s destination: Albuquerque.

Mileage out: 34496

Mileage in: 34956

Time out: 7:55 a.m. (CST)

Time in: 4:15 (CST)

On the road again....

Blue skies and light traffic greeted us in Illinois

Welcome to Day One of our journey back to Tucson. With all the Christmas and New Year’s activities getting organized and on-the-road this year was a big challenge. Each year I have refined my efforts and have created a check list sheet to make sure I don’t forget anything vital for our trip.

A Missouri house in the middle of a flooded plain 

The process has worked well for me, but I didn’t take into account that the trip involves two of us and so about two hours into the trip, Joan looked at me and in a pleading tone asked me sheepishly if I brought the keys to the trailer. (Hint: I did). But she forgot her set of keys which leaves us with no back up in the event I lose mine. Additionally, she forgot our trailer box that contains all our historical records on stops and our “Last Exit” book that we find so helpful while traveling.  So check one for me on being organized.

My checklist requires that I first make a check mark that I have the item and it is ready to load into the Tahoe and then a second check indicates that it has actually been loaded. All of MY items have two check marks, you’ll have to ask Joan about her system.

Traveling on Saturday morning meant that I set the cruise control for 72 mph when we got onto I-69 and Lake Nepessing Road in Lapeer and didn’t have to touch the brakes or cruise control until we stopped at a truck stop in Indiana more than two hours later. Dry roads and light traffic make for an easy travel day.

Joan messing up my travel time

As usual we left under cloudy skies and didn’t see any glimpse of the sun until we were a short distance into Indiana. It got clearer as we traveled on.

The temperature was 31 when we left Lapeer and was 50 when we arrived at our destination in St. Clair, Missouri tonight.

Each year in Indiana Joan has a moment when we pass the Vera Bradley plant and reminds me how much Elin is not a fan of the Vera Bradley line of handbags.

Leading up to getaway day we have been following with more than passing interest the flooding in and around St. Louis from a major storm last week. The area received 7-inches of rain in less than three days and rivers overflowed and I-44 was closed for nearly 30 miles just outside of St. Louis. The major traffic artery was closed on Monday and remained closed through New Year’s Day, but opened mid-morning on New Year’s Day which really uncomplicated our travel plans. Had it remained closed we would have taken I-70 which would have greatly extended our travel time.

Mississippi River is high

Joan snapped some photos of a swollen Mississippi River as we entered St. Louis and grabbed a quick picture of cleanup crews preparing to open Highway 141 just east of St. Louis as we passed through. About an hour after we passed the road was reopened after being closed for more than four days.

We could see plenty of evidence of the flooding, but it did not slow us down. Joan also noticed many deer herds through Indiana and Illinois lurking close to the freeway. But this was one of the best first travel days we have had since make our winter pilgrimage to better weather since 2009.

We continued listening to a book on CD that we almost finished on our trip home last year and will likely finish tomorrow. It’s Jeff Shaara’s historical novel called Chain of Thunder about the siege of Vicksburg. It gives me a chance to wow Joan with my extensive knowledge of the Civil War, which in turn keeps me bright and alert while driving. A win-win for both of us.

A picture of Joan taking a picture of a flooded off ramp

Outside Indianapolis we passed the Lucas Oil Stadium the scene of the Spartans recent Big Ten Championship victory. The fact they got smeared in the National Championship semi-final game means that I won’t have to scrounge up a ticket for the National Championship game next week in Phoenix. How’s that for finding the silver lining?

I snapped a couple photos of Joan messing up my travel time with unplanned rest stops. 

Last year we found “Budget Lodging,” a motel in St. Clair, Missouri that is pretty much as advertised, except it is run by really nice people and the rooms are neat and clean and what more could we ask for. We had dinner at Gibby’s, a nice little sports bar near the hotel where we ate on our way home last April.

Highway 141 getting ready to reopen

During a short stretch this morning, while Joan slept I reflected as to how blessed we both are having the means and freedom to travel each year. In addition, we are blessed with wonderful family and friends. I will write more on this later. Tomorrow: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The folks at the Budget Lodging are very spiritual people and we were greeted in our room with a Gideon Bible opened to a very appropriate passage. 

Time out: 7:10 a.m. (EST)

Now I am going to lay down in peace

Mileage out: 33867

Time in: 3:55 p.m. (CST)

Mileage in: 34495

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"