Spring Trip 2015: Cortez, Colorado to Frankfort, Kentucky

Monday, 5/25:  427 miles and camped at the KOA in Tucumcari, New Mexico.

Cortez, Colorado to Tucumcari,New Mexico

Tucumcari KOA, site 35

We left Cortez about 8:00.  I was expecting more traffic since it is Memorial Day, but it actually turned out to be not bad.  The only busy spot was the connection to Interstate 40 in Albuquerque.  We arrived at the KOA about 3:00 and found it nearly empty.  Everybody had all ready left after the three day weekend.  As we checked in, the owner commented on Judy's T-shirt, which she bought at Main Street Brewery in Cortez.  Come to find out, the KOA owner knew the brew master in Cortez, and they had shared recipes before.

It was sunny and 81 out.  What a pleasant change from the last two weeks of cold , snow and rain.  We ended up grilling over the grill.  It was a really nice day!

Tuesday 5/26:  378 miles and camped at the Oklahoma East KOA in Chocktaw, Oklahoma.  Good thing we reserved a space, because when we arrived, there was only one space left.

Tucumcari to Oklahoma City

Oklahoma East KOA, site B-02

Today was an Interstate day.  We drove I-40 the entire way.  I-40 replaces, and in some cases, parallels the Historic Rt. 66.  It often is referred to as the "Will Rogers Highway."   Route 66 was designated in 1926 as the highway to link Chicago and Los Angles.  Then, of course, it became famous because of the TV show in the 60"s.  Not much of the original highway is left, as it has been rerouted, updated and replaced by Interstate over the years.  But there are still original sections left.

We saw lots of flooding damage today from the series of storms that preceded us.  Fortunately, we are one day behind them as we travel east, and not in them.  There were flooded farm fields, over flowing rivers, and washed out stream beds.

That said, traveling was easy except for the brief stretch on I-40 through Oklahoma City during rush hour.  All part of the adventure.  :-)   The fact that the weather was sunny and 80 made up for the stress.  On the other hand, as I write this at 9:00 in the evening, the TV is warning of possible severe thunderstorms tonight.  Oh joy!!

PS: All of the severe storms went around us, and not over us.  :-)

From here we are headed toward St. Louis.

Wednesday, 5/27:  469 miles and camped at the West St. Louis KOA in Eureka, Missouri.

Kansas City to St. Louis

St. Louis West KOA, site B-03

Today, it was Interstate 40 all the way.  We passed through the Ozark region of Oklahoma and Missouri.  The scenery was beautiful, and combined with the sunny 85 degree weather, it was a beautiful and pleasant drive.

We arrived at he KOA Park about 4:00.  This is a beautiful campground with lots of shade trees and green grass.  The sites are large and easy to get in and out of.  On top of that, the park was less than half full.  How can you predict??   We got lucky with this choice.

Thursday we head for Frankfort, Kentucky and then on to Matt and Jaime Sipher's home in West Virginia on Friday.

Thursday, 5/28:  349 miles and camped at Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Eureka, Missouri to Frankfort, Kentucky

Elkhorn Campground, site 64

As per our routine, we were on the road about 8:00 AM.  We had a shorter travel day today, but we also have to go through a time zone change, so that was going to add a clock hour to our travel.  We traveled the interstate highways today as well.  First, I-40, then I-44 and finally I-64.  Actually, I-64 was a pretty drive with not a lot of traffic.  We saw a variety of geography, starting with the Ozarks in Missouri, then the flat farmland in Illinois and Indiana, and finally the rolling hills of Kentucky.  We crossed three major rivers today too.  The first was the Mississippi, which separates Missouri and Illinois.  Then the Wabash River that separates Illinois and Indiana and finally the Ohio which is the border between Indiana and Kentucky.

It was muggy and 85 when we set up at the campground in Frankfort about 3:00.  Frankfort, by the way, is the capital of Kentucky.

Friday we head to see Matt, Jaime and family in West Virginia.

Spring Trip 2015: Cortez, Colorado

Saturday 5/22 and Sunday 5/23

Saturday:  272 miles and camped at the Mesa Verde/Cortez KOA in Cortez, Colorado.

Torey, Utah to Cortez, Colorado

Mesa Verde/Cortez KOA, site 27

As we left the campground 9:00 AM, it was 36 degrees and raining.  Shortly after leaving Torey, we passed through Capital Reef National Park.  We did not take time to explore the park.  That will be for another trip.  We did stop for a few quick photos in the rain.

As we approached Moab, Utah about noon we were met with a line of cars about a mile long waiting to get into Arches National Park.  And downtown Moab was mobbed.    I have been to Moab four times, and have never seen anything like this.  Must be the Memorial Day Weekend.  I can't imagine how crowded Arches National Park must have been.

Leaving Moab, we did run across Wilson Arch on public lands. And would you believe, no one was there.  Sometimes it pays to go off the beaten path.  :-)

We arrived at the KOA in Cortez, Colorado about 3:00.  It is a large park adjacent to a lake with a two mile walking path around it.  The dogs will love it.

Judy discovered, on the Internet, that there was a micro brew pub in town called Main Street Brewery. So we went there for a brew and dinner.  It was very good.

Sunday:  First thing Sunday I took the dogs for a walk around Denny Lake, which is adjacent to the KOA.  It is a beautiful small lake and a great hiking trail.

We started the day at Mesa Verde National Park.  We got there about 9:30 and the visitor center was all ready a zoo.  We decided to not drive up on the mesa and fight the traffic.  I guess that's what you get for visiting a National Park on a Holiday Weekend.

Park Headquarters.  Photo from NPS.

We had read about the Anasazi Heritage Center located in Dolores only 10 miles away, and so that was our backup plan.  Boy, did we get lucky.  What an amazing find, and there were only eight cars in the parking lot.  There was an amazing display of exhibits, most of which were hands on.  It was really well done and informative.

Outside there was a mile long interpretive walking trail, and since this was on BLM property, dogs were allowed on the trail.  That was great news since they needed some exercise.  The trial led to the Escalante Pueblo remains that had been excavated and stabilized.  The ruins were discovered in 1776, and is the first record of an archeological site in present day Colorado. Based on tree ring data, the pueblo was probably built in the 1120's, and was last occupied around 1200 A.D.

Later, we stopped at the Main Street Brewery and grabbed a brew and some lunch.  We finished out the day with grocery shopping at Walmart and dinner at the campground.

Monday we are back on the road again heading east for home.

Spring Trip 2015: Roseburg to Torey, Utah

Wednesday, 5/20:  347 miles, and camped at Days End RV Park, Standish, California.

Rising River to Days End

Days End RV Park, site 14

Days End RV Park was only half full.

We were on the road about 8:30.  We started out on Interstate 5 for about 80 miles, but the rest of the day was spent on two lane roads.  Crossing into California we had to stop at an Agricultural Inspection Station, and they confiscated two limes and a lemon.  However, they were much nicer about it than the US Customs officials were last year when we entered Maine from Canada.

We saw a verity of terrain and weather.  Mountains gave way to valleys which gave way to dry plains which gave way way to more mountains, etc.  Standish is located on a dry, dusty plain.  We dodged rain showers all day.  All in all, it was a relaxing day with little traffic.



Thursday, 5/12:  398 miles and camped at the KOA in Ely, Nevada.

Standish, California to Ely, Nevada

Ely KOA, site 51

Today we got started about 8:00.    We are crossing a region of the US called The Great Basin.  The Great Basin is the largest contiguous area in North America where water does not drain into one of the oceans.  Water is only lost through evaporation.

Most of the day was spent on two lane roads today.  A good part of the day was spent driving US Rt. 50, often called "The Loneliest Road in America."  Actually, US 50 goes from Sacramento, California to Ocean City, Maryland.  Life Magazine in 1986 referred to the Nevada portion as the loneliest road in America.  Nevada officials seized on the expression and now use it as a marketing tool.  By the way, after driving it, it really is lonely and isolated.

We dodged rain storms again today.  In fact, we even hit a small patch of hail.  The Great Basin area is a mix of flat plains, and mountain ranges.  Some of the road was as flat as a pancake, while other sections curved up and down mountain passes.  The "scariest" section was a series of cliff hugging switchbacks at Austin, Nevada.  All in all, it was a beautiful drive!

Gathering storm clouds ahead

Taking a break on The Loneliest Road in America

More weather ahead

Storms coming over the mountains

Friday, 5/22:  286 miles and camped at Thousand Lakes RV Park, Torey, Utah

Ely, Nevada to Torey, Utah

Thousand Lakes RV Park, site 43

We traveled along US Rt 50 again for most of the day.  It is easy to see why Life Magazine dubbed this highway as the loneliest road in America.  At one point we saw a sign that said, "Next Services 83 Miles."  Wow.  Can you imagine living at the mid point and having to drive 42 miles either way to get gas or groceries?  We did see one or two houses, but that was it.

Rain storms were predicted, but we missed most of them.  It was actually a very nice drive on two lane roads for most of the day.

Torey is near Capital Reef National Park, and so a lot of visitors use this campground as a base point. I'm glad we had reservations, because by nightfall, every site was taken and even the dry camping overflow section was filled.  We saw several RV's pull in and then leave because the park was full.

View from the campground

Another view from the campground

Saturday we head to Cortez, Colorado for a couple nights.

Spring Trip 2015: Roseburg, Oregon

Monday, 5/18 and Tuesday, 5/19:  80 miles and camped at Rising River RV Park, Roseburg,  OR.

Site 51, Rising River RV Park

This was a very short drive.  Cory and Molly both had to get back to work Monday morning.  We moved the camper to Roseburg to be closer to them for the next couple days.  Rising River is probably the most well kept up park we have been in.  The sites were not large, but every site had a patch of green lawn and a privacy fence to hide the neighbor's utilities.  Each site had a nice shade tree.  There are a lot of long term residents here, but the park is amazingly neat.  And it's less than a five minute drive to Cory's house.  We were lucky to get a spot.  I called Monday morning to hold a space and was told there was only one available.  We got lucky.

Cory took Monday afternoon off and we met him at his place about 2:00  We had time to get some laundry done, and use his internet.  Molly got home about 5:00, and we grilled flank steak for dinner. Of course some great Oregon red wine went with it.  We said good bye to Molly because she had to go to Bend for a few days for work and we wouldn't get to see her again.  She is a real treat to be with.

Tuesday, Cory again worked just the morning and took the afternoon off to spend with us.  We went to the Lighthouse Bakery for lunch.  The Lighthouse serves only vegetarian, organic and non GMO food.  Judy had a Portabella "burger" while I had a vegetarian "Reuben."  Both were amazing!!

Then we visited our favorite Oregon winery, Becker Vineyard.  The winery, owned and operated by Charlie and Peggy Becker, is truly a "Mom and Pop" winery, and I say that with the highest respect.  They are members of the Oregon Artisan Family Wineries group.  They started out in 2006 selling about 400 cases of wine, and have grown to sell about 1,000 cases this year.  Their grapes are dry farmed, meaning they get no irrigation.  This causes the roots to grow deeper, and the vines to become stronger.  Because of the very warm Spring, the grapes are about two weeks ahead of a normal growing season.  We ended up buying a case of wine here too.

Becker Winery

Becker Winery

Oregon Artisan Family Wineries requirements.

We closed out the day with dinner with Cory at the McMenamins Roseburg Station Pub.  We said our good byes to Cory and crashed at the camper for an early evening.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, we start the eastward trip home.

Spring Trip 2015: Eugene and The Big Surprise

Thursday, May 14th to Sunday, May 17th.

Thursday:

One of the points of this trip is that we had decided to get married in Oregon.  While a few close friends and family were aware of this, most of my social network was not.  My son Cory and Judy's daughter Terri were going to be the witnesses.  Terri lives in Manhattan, NY and her flight was arriving in Eugene at 1:00 Thursday afternoon.

Thursday morning we went to the Lane County Clerk's Office in Eugene and applied for the marriage license, which turned out to be much simpler than I expected. We had to pay a nominal fee to wave the three day waiting period.

Friday:

Friday was our wedding day.  Molly and Terri set up a beautiful table setting on the picnic table.  The wedding officiant was Susan Sanford who specializes in ceremonies.  She had interviewed us several weeks ago by FaceTime, and she did a great job of personalizing the ceremony.  It was simple, short and private.  Just what we wanted.

 We broke out the champagne and grilled tenderloin steaks for dinner.  It was a very nice day!!

Saturday:

Today we went wine tasting, along with Terri, Cory and Molly.  Cory and Molly's best friends, Dustin and Jaime also came along.  We visited three wineries, King Estates, Sweet Cheeks, and Sarver.  We ended up buying a case of wine at Sarver.  Terri bought a case and had it shipped to NY.

All three wineries had incredible views with outdoor seating.

Sweet Cheeks Winery

Lunch at King Estates

View from Sarver Winery

We have noticed a pretty yellow flowered shrub along the countryside.  You can see some in the pictures above.  However, it turns out to be a pesky invasive plant.  Scotch Broom is  thriving in the Northwest.  We have seen it everywhere, especially along road sides and areas of timber cutting.  It is a pioneer species and moves into disturbed and open land.  It grows fast and then shades out new tree seedlings, thus slowing forest regrowth.  The damage to the Oregon timber industry is in the millions.

Sunday:

Cory and Molly picked us up at the campground and we went to the Cornucopia for lunch.  Molly's parents, Dan and Cathy,  joined us.

Micro brew tasting was the afternoon activity.  Dustin and Jaime met up with us again and we made three stops.  We visited Oakshire Brewery first, then Hop Valley and Ninkasi Brewing Company for tastings.

Hop Vally Brewing Company

We dropped Terri off at the airport about 6:00 PM for her red-eye flight home.  It was sad to see her go.  She and her dog Ollie had a great time with us in Eugene.

Cory and Molly headed back to Cory's house in Roseburg.  Judy and I ended the day around a campfire back at the campground.  Tomorrow we take the camper to Roseburg, where Cory lives, for a couple days.