MERRY CHRISTMAS

                        FORT McDOWELL INDIAN RESERVATION

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.  We are staying at Eagle View RV Resort here on the reservation.  The picture above was taken from behind our motorhome.  It's a beautiful place and a wonderful area to walk out in the high desert.  The Verde River is also right behind us and you can see the trees that line the river are changing colors. 

We will be celebrating the holidays with Alex's brother, Matt and his family.  We will also be throwing a birthday party for Chris' Uncle Gene on January 1st.

In case we missed telling someone, (and we can't believe we would have missed anyone) we are going to be Grandparents sometime in May.  Bill and Heather are having a baby boy.  They are in Bogota, Colombia and we will be visiting them soon.  To say that we are thrilled and excited would be an understatement. 

We still love our new lifestyle and can't believe that we will be starting our third year on the road in April.  We hope that there will be a summer in Alaska in the next year or two.

Please keep in touch and, again, Happy Holidays and a wonderful 2012.  Chris and Alex

Here's a few more pictures of the area.  https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/EagleView2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPbiveSqqPDY_AE#

Tucson and Saguaro National Park

We've spent a couple of weeks in Tucson.  We stayed at one of the highest rated Military Campgrounds,  Davis Monthan AFB.  It is very nice and we both enjoyed our stay there. 

While in Tucson, we did a lot of everyday chores and planning.  Two notable events were visits with family and a day trip to Saguaro National.   We got to visit with our niece, Jill and her husband, Dean.  They met us for dinner in old downtown Tucson to celebrate Alex's 60th birthday!  We had a great time with them.  Alex is coming to terms with his new decade.

Our drive through Saguaro National Park had a purpose.  We were collecting information and pictures for our friends in Japan, Kenji and Junco.  They wanted us to send something interesting to their grandaughter, Moeka.  We went to the park's visitor center to get some of their printed material and we bought post cards and other items to send along.  We are hoping she can share all of this with her classmates.  We took about 100 pictures while we were there.  Unfortunately, our computer blew up with smoke pouring out.  So that delayed sending out pictures to Moeka.  We were able to save our hard drive from the old computer and had some geeks transfer all the info.  So, now we've sent the Picasa album to her. 

We thought you might like to take a look.  If you are ever in the Tucson area, you should try to take a drive through this beautiful park. 

As usual, click the link, select slide show and hit F-11 to enlarge the screen.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/SonoranDesert2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKzMw5eHqKSNCg#

THIS AND THAT

We've been chasing the warm weather.  We ran out of luck just north of the Mexican boarder.  We're at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona.  Sierra Vista's elevation is a little over 5,000 ft.   It's been pretty chilly.  At least for us.  What's unusual is that it's rained at least 3 times in our two weeks here.  Nice for the desert and for us.  It's raining this morning and we are very cozy in the coach.
Fort Huachuca is in the foothills of the mountains surrounding Sierra Vista.  The Forts goes back to 1877 and is home to the Buffalo Soldiers.  They have a few interesting museums about the Fort and the Soldiers.  http://www.huachuca.army.mil/site/Visitor/index.asp?pages=History

Here's some pictures of the base...   http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Fort+Huachuca&qpvt=Fort+Huachuca&FORM=IGRE

We visited the cemetery here on base.  It's a lovely spot in a small canyon.  You can see how tough it was to live here in the 1800's.  Many children died much too young.

(You can click on the pics to enlarge).


The campground here is very comfortable, quiet and well run.  The camp sites are well spaced for a little privacy.  It's tucked away in a corner of the base. 

Sierra Vista has grown into a nice little town.  It now has all the usual shopping conveniences and a few good restaurants.  One that we went to was a small German restaurant that Arizona Highways magazine named as one of the best.  It was pretty good except that the waitress got very busy and we left without the cake we had been eyeing.  We didn't need it anyway.

Tomorrow we head to Tucson and we hope to get a space at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.  They don't take reservations.  This base campground is consider one of the best in the country.  We've stayed there before and hope to be able to stay for about 3 weeks.  While there we plan on visiting with our niece Jill, and her husband Dean.  They are wonderful people and a lot of fun.

Now to catch up on a few things.   Here's a picture of our neighbors from when we lived in Corpus Christi.  Susan and Bert now live in Denver.  They are doing great, except for a few serious medical issues which they have under control.  We got to visit them in Denver. 

That's Bert and Susan on the left and Lotsi, Ava and Alex on the right.  Ava is Susan's sister.  They came over to the US from Hungary when they were little girls.  It was wonderful seeing them all again. 

After Colorado we headed into New Mexico.  We went to Santa Fe, as neither of us had ever been before.  We weren't that enthralled with Santa Fe.  We felt we missed it by 25 years.  It's turned into a big city.  We did get to the Georgia O'Keeffe gallery and the Chuck Jones Gallery.  Chuck Jones was the artist who worked for Warner Brothers and animated Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. 

Here's Alex sitting with Daffy outside the gallery.

We had to high tail it out of northern New Mexico because of a snow storm and ended up in Sierra Vista after a few nights in Deming, NM at the Escapee park, Dream Catcher.  It's not the prettiest Escapee park but it is a great stop if you are traveling on I-10.  Nice people.

So, that catches us up.  We've been taking it somewhat easy.  We've been working on a few projects around the coach that needed to be done.  One was to clean out all the cabinets and closets.  We did and they work better the way we rearranged them.  Easier to get to the things we use the most.  We also did some paperwork that we've been putting off.  Mundane things that needed attention. 

Now we are going to start concentrating on the holidays.  We usually try to stay under the radar during the holidays.  We like it quiet. 

We'll send out a blog entry around Christmas.  But in the meantime, enjoy and thanks to all of the readers of this blog from all over this wonderful world.

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK

We left Yellowstone by driving back through the park, headed south.  Yellowstone National Park runs right into Grand Teton National Park. 

We knew the weather was going to be "different" this week, but we figured we'd give it a try.

It was rainy, cloudy, windy, cold and sometimes the sun would come out for a few minutes. 

We stayed in a commercial campground in Jackson (Hole).  We couldn't figure out what the real name of the town was.  We think it's Jackson, but a lot of people call it Jackson Hole.  Besides the fact that our campground was terrible, the rest of the time there was great.

Yellowstone is certainly beautiful, but Grand Teton is stunning, shocking and very dramatic.  We think the weather even added to the adventure and beauty of it. 

We saw a lot of Bison and we finally got to see a MOOSE.  A BABY MOOSE at that!  He was deep in the bushes next to a bridge.  His mom was close by in the bushes also.  The baby popped out once in awhile and seemed to enjoy the people watching him from the bridge.  His mom stayed hidden while we were there.   He (she?) was very, very cute.

Here's our pictures from Grand Teton.  They are best viewed by using the full screen.
Click the link, select slide show and hit F-11 to enlarge to full screen. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/GrandTetons2Moose?authkey=Gv1sRgCIGP9sauu43ilAE#

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

We took a chance and went to Yellowstone end of Sept., beginning of October.  The weather this time of year, in this area, can change one minute to the next.  We lucked out.

The summer crowds where gone and we had a few beautiful days there.  The campgrounds in the park were closed, except for one, and it was full.  We drove from Cody all the way through the park to the west side of Wyoming to a little town just outside the park called West Yellowstone.  We stayed in Grizzly RV Resort and yes, it's expensive, but it's worth it as it is only 4 blocks to the west entrance of the park.

Yellowstone is the first National Park established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1872.  We really need to thank him.  Our trip there was wonderful.  We just saw a little of what is there and we will need to go back a few times at least.

We were able to see a lot of wildlife.  Bison, elk, coyote, eagles.  We didn't get to see a Moose, bear or a wolf.  But will try next time. 

We took over 200 pictures.  Here is our best 49.   As usual, click the link below, select "Slide Show" and then hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge the pictures.  That makes it more enjoyable.


https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/YellowstoneNationalPark?authkey=Gv1sRgCPq6xpKR04PotQE

Cody, Wyoming

After working on the Habitat for Humanity Build, (see entry below) we headed to Cody, WY for a few days to rest up.  Cody is a great place and they have a Buffalo Bill museum not to be believed.  The Western Art exhibit is reason enough to stop.  They also have the largest Winchester/Western gun exhibit in the country.  You need at least 2 days to go through this museum.  If you have any interest in anything to do with the West, then you should go to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center  

More pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/BuffaloBill?authkey=Gv1sRgCPvZ0Ov8s7jvEw

Devil's Tower and How To Gain Lots Of Muscle Mass in 3 Weeks

Our experience becoming Care-A-Vanners for Habitat for Humanity was good.  It's a lot of work.  Hard labor work.  Lots of heavy moving things, such as piles of wood, compressors, piles of dirt and tools of the trade.  You also find yourself climbing up and down scaffolding and ladders.  You take down or put up that scaffolding all over the build.  Within an hour of starting on the first day, Chris was high up on a ladder with a nail gun putting up siding.  3 weeks was one week too long.  Most Care-A-Vanner builds last 2 weeks. 

It's a good way to build muscle.  Some morning we couldn't get our bodies to move. It was painful, but in a good way.  Kind of.

The idea behind Care-A-Vanners is that they show up as a group of 2, to maybe 8 couples.  We all park in the same RV Park.  We Care-A-Vanners work hard for two weeks and this gives a huge boost to the build.  This helps out the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate managing the build.  Our 6 couples, and one single women, put the build a month ahead of schedule. This means the family may be able to move in by Thanksgiving.  It was worth the work to have our Construction Manager tell us that.  We will do it again.

Before we left the Gillette area after the Escapade, we took a day trip to Devil's Tower.  It was a beautiful drive through the rolling hills of Wyoming.  Half way there we ran into a trial ride.  However, instead of cows, it was sheep going right down the middle of the highway.   The sheep dogs were doing a good job of containing about 200 sheep.  The cowboy on the horse and the cowboy on the 4 wheeler were working it also.  Pictures below.

Devil's Tower was amazing.  It certainly draws you to it.  You can't take your eyes off of it.  There were at least a dozen people climbing it.  There is a trail that goes around the bottom that's a little over a mile and it's paved.  A nice walk but your neck gets a cramp from looking up.  Like I said, you can't take your eyes off of it.  It does have a spiritual feel around it.  Here's the National Park info on it.   http://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm

Here's some pics of the sheep and Devils Tower.  As usual click the link below, select slideshow and hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge the pics.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/HerdingSheepAndDevilSTowerWyoming?authkey=Gv1sRgCMiAxPj0iZPQ-gE

2011 Escapade Rally And A Change of Plans

This past week we have been attending the 2011 Escapade Rally in Gillette, Wyoming.  What is an Escapade you ask?  Well, it is everything to do with RVing.  Part time and full time RVers come from every direction to attend classes, be entertained, shop for neat things for your RV and learn how to join in with groups that may be of particular interest to you.  It is put on by a club we are members of....Escapees.  See this link:

http://www.escapees.com/escapade/2011/

For instance, Alex and I joined the group for Habitat for Humanity.  The group is called Care-A-Vanners.
We were going to head into South Dakota to check out the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, etc.  However, we are now going to back track and return to Sheridan, Wyoming where there are two "builds" going on that we will help with for about 3 weeks.   There will be 6 teams (1 couple = a Team).  We will help on a house that is almost finished for a couple of days and then start another house with the Care-A-Vanners for a two week period.  We will work for 8 hours a day and Habitat for Humanity will pay for part of our campground fee.

We knew we wanted to do this before we even started full timing.  We are willing to give it a try and see if it is for us.  We'll let you know how it goes.  http://www.habitat.org/rv/about_cav.aspx

The Escapade was great.  Alex attended everything he could.  I did as much as I could, but it wore me out after a couple of days.  They had so many things going on from early morning till 9 or 10 at night.  It was fun and we would recommend anyone thinking about buying an RV or going full time to attend one of these rallies.  You will learn a lot and meet some fantastic people from all walks of life with one thing in common,  RVing.    LOVED IT.

Here are a few pics.  We didn't take many.  We were too busy.

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/Escapade?authkey=Gv1sRgCMbMsoLRsrjxmwE

Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming

While in Sheridan, Wyoming, we took a day drive into the Big Horn Mountains.  We took route 14 A.  We would not recommend this highway for a fifth wheel or a motorhome.  However, Hwy. 14 is OK and will take you west into Yellowstone.

It was a beautiful day.  Our purpose in this drive was to try to find a Moose.  We did not succeed, but we will keep trying.  The drive is beautiful and it gives you a real feel for Wyoming.  It's a beautiful State.


https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/BigHornMtnFlowers?authkey=Gv1sRgCJug84-r9dKz_QE#5648941628398575698

Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill Cody AND JOAN RIVERS?

The Occidental Saloon

We decided to check out the historic hotel in Buffalo, The Occidental.

http://www.occidentalwyoming.com/

As you may have seen on the web site above, Butch Cassidy, The Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane and Buffalo Bill Cody, among others, all came to The Occidental.  Especially the bar.

We went to the bar first.  It certainly looked original, and we found out it was.  Copper ceilings, wonderful long bar.  Everything you would expect in a Western bar from the 1800's. 

It was packed.  On a Tuesday evening.  Seemed to be all locals and they all had on cowboy hats and boots.  Then we noticed some young folks running around with equipment and talking to each other on something like cell phones.  They seemed pretty stressed and busy. 

No sooner did we realize that something was up, these young folks started passing out Press Releases for us all to sign.  They were producers from the Joan and Melissa Rivers television show on WE. For filming, Joan was going to come in and talk with the owner at the bar.  They had a few of the cowboys and cowgirls stand around the center of the bar.  We were are the end.  After waiting about 30 minutes, Joan came in with many people and did her thing filming with the owner and cowboys at the bar while two cameras caught everything.  I'm afraid they may have caught us also. 

Afterward Joan did a little comedy routine for the crowd.  She was very funny, and, being Joan Rivers, she didn't hold anything back. 

She did say that she, Melissa (her daughter) and grandson had been coming to a Buffalo dude ranch for 3 years and that they all loved it there.

We think that, even though Buffalo is a small, little town on the edge of the Bighorn Mountains, there may be many "famous" people that come to the area and probably have ranches nearby.

It was a fun way to kill a few hours.  The people of Buffalo are certainly friendly and mostly hard working ranchers who enjoyed the evening as well.  Here's a link to Joan's TV show:

http://www.wetv.com/shows/joan-melissa-joan-knows-best/cast/joan-rivers

Chris Drove the Motorhome Today

http://www.buffalowyoming.org/photogallery/buffalo/dhb-pg-buffalo24.jpg

Chris drove the motorhome once before, last summer, in a very contained area.  Well, today she drove the beast from one campground to another, with a stop at a gas station!!

She did pretty well.  It scared her a few times going down hill.  She was up to 75 mph a few times and with a little wind the coach can move around pretty fast.  The coach is easier to drive than you would think.  The difficult thing is all the items you have to take care of before you put it in drive.  Well, once Chris forgot to put it in drive and couldn't understand why the darn thing wouldn't move. 

We need to make a list of all these items and things to check, then she needs to drive more to get a better feel for it. 

It's important that she tries to drive it and that Alex lets her do it.  We've heard many stories of husbands breaking a leg, getting sick or some other reason why they can't drive and the wife has no idea how to drive or to do the "blue" jobs (blue=boy).   So, that means Chris needs to learn how to empty all the tanks and stow everything outside, bring the slides in and put the jacks down.  She's done those jobs a few times, but now she needs to do it all together. 

Then when we arrive at a campground, she needs to learn how to connect all the hoses, put the jacks down and slides out. 

It's a lot of work.  Alex can do most of the pink (girl) jobs, but he needs to practice those also.  It take us about 30 to 60 minutes to break down and about 20 to 30 minutes to set up.  It's a good workout also.

Where are in Buffalo, Wyoming.  We are going to sit here till Friday morning when we will drive a hour to Gillette to the Escapade.  It's a RV rally and it's a big one.  We'll try to remember to take some pics and will let you know how it went and if we learned anything. 

Here's some info on Buffalo, the Escapade and the great campground we are staying in. 

http://www.buffalowyoming.org/

http://www.escapees.com/escapade/2011/

http://deerparkrv.com/

MONTANA

I PUT MONTANA IN CAPITAL LETTERS IN HONOR OF THE STATE ITSELF.  MONTANA IS A BIG PLACE.

And we liked it.  There appears to be more horses than people.  Big, beautiful horses everywhere.  Pilot felt like a little poodle. 

We stayed in a place called Anaconda and one called Hardin.  I wouldn't recommend either place unless you want peace and quiet.  Lots of peace and quiet.  You'll save a lot of money because there's very few places to shop in either place. 

We didn't get to enjoy Butte, Bozeman or Billings.  I'm sure there's many opportunities to shop and entertainment to enjoy in those towns.  But we will be back and visit all 3 of those places.

One place we did visit, very close to Hardin, and the reason we stayed there, is Little Bighorn National Battlefield.  This is where Lt. Col. Custer lost his life and over 250 other lives.  Compared to soldiers, there were very few Indians that lost their lives. 

One of the park rangers held a 30 minute explanation of what happened there.  It was a very sad story of promises broken and humans being human.  Our campground host lent us a DVD to listen to as we drove through the park.  It became very clear what happened, why and the mistakes made.

Instead of me trying to explain, here's our pictures that tell a little of the story.  Then a link to the park itself, for more info. 

Click the link, select slideshow and hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge screen. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/103645060086585742201/LittleBighornNationalBattleground?authkey=Gv1sRgCOHEuc_YnJigOQ

http://www.nps.gov/libi/index.htm

You've Got To Have Friends

While we've been in Washington, we've run into a few friends.  Some old and some new.  We'd like to share a few pictures of them because they are one of the main reasons why we love this lifestyle.  Making new friends, and more importantly, being able to touch base with people who were friends with us during the good times and the bad times.  Friends from our time in the military are particularly special as we all supported each other when we needed it the most.  So a few pics of some great folks.


This is our friend Dana.  Dana and her husband, Cliff, were in the squadron with us.  Dana saved me one time by being there when our son, Bill, had to go into the hospital suddenly.  He was about 7 months old.  I hadn't slept in about a week and Dana came down to our house and got both of us to the Doctor and then helped me get Bill into the hospital.  Of course, Alex was flying out to the aircraft carrier and wasn't going to be around.  Dana, you really came through as a true friend.  Thanks Dana.




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Some blogs friends that we've corresponded with for a few years, came by the park for a few days and it was nice to finally get to meet them in person.  They have been full timing for quite a few years and their blog and advice helped get us on the road.  Here's a link to their blog in case you may be interested in how someone else lives this lifestyle.  http://www.lifeintheslowlane.net/

We had fun with Lu and Larry and their friends Karen and Galen.  Thanks for the visit.  See you on the road. 

I have a picture of Lu and Larry, but I have to figure out how to get it here!  But you can see their picture on their  blog. 


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Of course we got to visit with Georgia and Carl again this summer.  They live in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.  We're so glad we kept in touch with them for the past 29 years.  Here they are with Alex.  It's really a pic from last summer.   I guess we didn't take any pics this summer.    We had some great dinners together and lots of laughs as usual.  We've known them almost as long as Dana.  We rented a house from them in Whidbey way back in 1982.  See you next July guys!



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Cleveland and Ron

Next up are some pictures of Ron and his family.  We met Ron (Lobo) when he and Alex worked together at NAS Corpus Christi.  Ron use to come over to our house on Sundays.  Usually with a redfish or two that he had caught that morning.  Ron is the type of guy that can catch a fish anywhere.  He truly knows where they are, what they are eating that day and what they are thinking. 
It was wonderful having him stop by in Whidbey for a visit after a fishing trip or working on his property.  We got together with his wife, Nichelle and their two beautiful children.  They came over to our campground for hamburgers and smores.  We went to their home for some of Ron's fish and got to meet all the animals they have, which I lost count of.  Thanks for all your help Ron and for the boat trip with Bill and Heather to the San Juan Islands and dinner at Friday Harbor.  See you next July.

Here's some more pics of Ron and family.
Click the link, select slide show and hit F-11 on your computer:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/NichelleGangAnacortes?authkey=Gv1sRgCMbrvI_RkN3hwAE#

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Now, we have the 4th of July gang.  We met the four of them last summer in Prosser, WA.  We had so much fun sharing bottles of wine from the Prosser vineyards, they decided to come our campground in Whidbey for Canada Day and 4th of July.  We repeated this event this year.  And we already have reservations for next year's Canada Day and 4th of July.  Here's some pics of the gang.  Mikie and Cheryl are from the Seattle area.  Rocket, Kelly and her mom, Bev are from Vancouver, Canada.  Can't wait till next year guys!

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/4July2011Gang?authkey=Gv1sRgCPujyuucltiNoQE

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We met a lot of Canadians this summer at Pioneer Trails RV Park.  We had a great time with the Colemans and the rest of their group.  But I can't find any pics of them.  Canadians are very friendly and they love meeting new people as do we.  Thanks everyone.

Deception Pass State Park Hike

It was a beautiful day here in Washington, so off we went to Deception Pass State Park.   It was a good workout and took us about 90 minutes.

Deception Pass Bridge is also know as Conception Pass Bridge to all of us military folk who were stationed here.  Most did not leave the area without going back over the bridge and with a new baby.  Not much to do in the winter when it was rainy and cold. 

We took quite a few pictures of the hike but I'm only posting a few.  As usual the pictures say it all. 

Click the link, select slide show and hit F-11on your computer to enlarge.
 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/DeceptionPassStateParkHikeJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKPs_ve7wof26gE

More info on the park:

http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Deception Pass&subject=photos

Forgotten Lighthouses

I just found some pictures that I forgot to do a blog entry on.  In early May we were in Newport, Oregon.  We stayed at a great park, Port of Newport Marina and RV Park.

http://www.portofnewport.com/index.php

This is a nice place to spend a week.  You can walk around the Marina and watch the seals swimming around looking to score a snack from the fishermen.  The aquarium is a short walk from the park.  There are State Parks all up and down the coast of Oregon.  We've never seen so many State Parks in one area.  There are nice restaurants in town and they fix fantastic clam chowder once you finish your tour of the lighthouses and State Parks. 

In Newport there are two lighthouses.  One on each end of the town.  Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was built first, but it turned out not to be positioned correctly for ships to see it, so they had to build another one at the other end of town, Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  Lucky for us as we get see two in one day.

Here's our photos of Yaquina Bay Lighthouse.  As usual, click the link, select slide show and then hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge the pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/NewportLighthouses?authkey=Gv1sRgCITqjtvbgv3EaQ#

Next up, Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  Lots of sea birds nesting nearby.  It was very tight inside the lighthouse and difficult to get pictures, but we got a few.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/NewportLighthouses02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLLMn52tmoDAoQE

Here's some more info on the Lighthouses.

http://www.yaquinalights.org/

Bill and Heather

This is the first set of pictures from Bill and Heather's visit.  Hopefully they will send the pictures they took and we'll add some of them later. 

We had a great visit.  They loved the "cottage" in the campground we rented for them.  They got to use the fireplace inside the cottage and the fire pit outside the cottage.

We did some great hikes, walks and runs (Bill and Heather ran, we watched) in the area and got to eat a lot of seafood. 

We left them lots of time to just sit and relax.  They looked pretty rested and relaxed when they left.  We enjoyed their visit very much and we can't wait till we get to go to Bogota to visit them. 

They are in DC while Bill gets some training and Heather checks in at her office.  They have a nice apartment near Dupont Circle.  They are having fun and enjoying being back in the US and in DC.  Life is good.

Click the link, select slide show, hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge the pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/BillAndHeatherComesToVisit?authkey=Gv1sRgCK6_wOzNga2pKQ#

Anacortes and Whidbey Island

We are back in the beautiful state of Washington near Anacortes and Whidbey Island.  We are kind of in between those two places.  Great campground.  We are going to stay here for two months.  We will see our doctors and a dentist while here. Catch up on some other boring stuff and just hang out, enjoy the rain and the "Sun Bursts".   That's what the locals call the sunshine when it pops out of the clouds.  It happens seldom and everyone has to run around and look for their long lost sunglasses.

We are very excited that our son, Bill, and his sweet wife, Heather, are coming to visit for a week starting tomorrow.  Bill was born at the Naval Hospital here on Whidbey.   We left when he was 3 weeks old, so he's excited to see where he was born.  They will head to Washington DC for 1 month and then to Bogota, Columbia for two years once they leave here.  

We love this  area.  Lots to do and it's beautiful.  Here's a link to our blog with pictures from last summer's visit and a few other web sites about the area.

http://aroundthebendrv.blogspot.com/2010/06/whidbey-island-and-anacortes-may-2010.html

Here's some more pics of Anacortes:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Anacortes&rlz=1B3GPCK_enUS368US368&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1280&bih=639

Pics of Whidbey Island:
http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&rlz=1B3GPCK_enUS368US368&biw=1280&bih=639&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Whidbey+island&btnG=Search&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park is EYE CANDY

Bryce Canyon is way out in the middle of nowhere and it is high up, 9000+ ft.   There's no place like it.  We camped just outside the park at Ruby's.   Chris had a little trouble with altitude, which slowed her down, but we loved it there.  It was very cold when we were there April/May.

Just so you will know, we sometimes have to wait to do our blog entries as we need a good internet connection to upload the photos so it can be weeks before we get it all done.

Bryce is one of the places that everyone should see.  Kind of like the Grand Canyon.

We took over 200 photos, here's the best 20.  Click the link below, select slideshow and hit F-11 on your computer, this makes all the difference in the quality of viewing the pics. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/BryceCanyon?authkey=Gv1sRgCL7NsLbm46uYNQ#

Here's some more info and pictures.

http://www.utah.com/nationalparks/bryce.htm

The Easter Bunny at Zion National Park!!!!

No kidding.  We were in Zion walking back to the shuttle stop area and there, in front of the Lodge, the Easter Bunny was walking towards us.  He was very happy to see and made us take a picture with him.  He was pleased that we were putting it on our blog and he gave us candy!

Zion is beautiful of course, and the shuttle system worked great.  We were advised by a fellow camper to ride the shuttle all the way to the end/top of the park and once we decided which stops we wanted to see, we could take the shuttle down to wherever we wanted to go.  As you go up in the shuttle you hear a little about each stop which makes it easier to decide where you wanted to stop.

We took over 100 pictures, we got the best down to 12.  Click the link below, select slideshow and hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge the screen.


https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/ZionNationalPark?authkey=Gv1sRgCKbz_-PIi-jjcw#


Here's more info and pictures on Zion. 

http://www.nps.gov/zion/photosmultimedia/photogallery.htm

A Special Tour in the Grand Canyon

Our niece, Jill, has a friend from college.  Her name is Leah and she is married to Brian.  Leah invited us to visit them in the Grand Canyon.  She and Brian live in the Canyon along with 3,000 other people employed by the park and other businesses there.  Brian is a Park Ranger who goes out into the canyon for longer periods of time and also on the Colorado River through the canyon to check on things.  He looks for missing or injured tourists among other things.  Leah works for the Grand Canyon Association.  A group who raises money for the Grand Canyon preservation.  Alex and I had been to the Grand Canyon many times before but we were very excited to get a tour from two people who's life is everything Grand Canyon.

Leah came to our RV park just outside the National Park to pick us up.  The first stop in the tour was to see the housing area in the park.  It reminded us of any military housing area except for the fact that it's in a beautiful forest.  We picked up Brian and headed to The Kolb House.

The Kolb brothers were photographers who settled in the Canyon in 1901.  They built a house on the edge of the Canyon and started taking pictures and movies.  Building a house in the Canyon and taking pictures and movies was not an easy task.  They would sell their pictures to the tourists once they started coming to the Canyon.

Part of the house is opened to the public in the form of a bookstore and an exhibit hall.  We quickly took a look around the public area and met some of Leah's co-workers and then headed down to the main living area of the house which is closed to the public.  I'm not sure why it's closed to the public as I forgot to ask Leah, but my guess it that it would be very difficult, and unsafe, to have thousands of people going through each year.  You'll see why when you see the house and our pictures.

What makes it so special to see The Kolb house and learn about their life, is the fact that it was such a remote, dangerous, and unforgiving place.   Below are some links to the story of the Kolb brothers.  An amazing story of the Canyon and the brothers.  Also below are the pictures we took of the house.
It was a wonderful afternoon.  Thank you Leah and Brian!

http://www.grandcanyon.org/kolb/kolbbrothers.asp

Here's our pictures:  Click the link, select Slideshow and hit F-11 to enlarge the pictures.  Pay attention to all the beautiful lamps in the house.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/GrandCanyonAndKolbHouseStudio?authkey=Gv1sRgCKGSt6fezsyPOQ#

Here's a good video of the Kolb Brothers' story:   

http://www.azcentral.com/video/bcplayer/48592718001&pop=1

Montezuma's Castle, Arizona

While at Camp Verde we drove down the road to Montezuma's Castle.  We had gone to see Montezuma's Well a few days earlier.

http://www.nps.gov/moca/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/moca/montezuma-well.htm

Montezuma's Castle was settled by the Sinagua Indians around 900 years ago.  Montezuma was never in the area.  The National Park Service does such a good job with these special places.  10% of the walls needed to be restored. They used the same materials the Indians used.  They dug the clay and dirt from the nearby river.  You can see the color change on the Castle.  The white color is the unrestored walls and the coffee color is the restored area.  The Indians used ladders to get up to the castle.  You should be able to click on the picture below to enlarge it to see the color change. 

We lucked out when we arrived just as one of the Park Rangers started a talk about the Castle and the Sinagua Indians. Very informative and inspiring.

To see more, click the link below, select slide show and then hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/MontezumaCastle?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaX4Zjl-5bQjAE

Red Rock State Park, Sedona, Arizona

We drove over to Sedona to see and hike Red Rock State Park.  http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/RERO/index.html

It's a good thing we decided not to take Pilot with us as NO DOGS are allowed in the park.  We took the Apache Fires Trail.  Alex let Chris lead the way.  This made it possible for Chris to do the hike and not have to try and keep up with a Marine trying to get to the end as fast as possible.  We were able to stop and smell the roses so to speak. 

It was a beautiful day to enjoy such a beautiful place. 

Here's a few pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/RedRockStatePk?authkey=Gv1sRgCJT1p7y78tbFtgE#

Sedona Snow

We've been hanging out in the Prescott/Camp Verde area while the weather clears/warms up in the Flagstaff/Grand Canyon area.

Now, we are staying at Distant Drums RV Park in Camp Verde.

We decided to go for a ride to Sedona to see the snow that fell yesterday on the red rocks.  Being a beautiful Sunday, everyone else had the same idea.  Because of the traffic it was difficult to stop and take pictures.  Most of these are from a moving car.  They turned out pretty good. 

Yes, Sedona has become a big tourist trap area but you cannot deny the shock and awe effect when you come into town.  We've been to Sedona about 15 times and it still amazes us with it's beauty.  We were first in Sedona long ago in 1981.  It was a one street village with a little motel that we stayed in.  I think there was a gas station and a cafe. 

Here's our pictures.  Click the link, select slideshow and hit F-11 on your computer to enlarge. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/SedonaSnowApril2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCK6xnJLSxbiougE#

Evening hike

Here at Eagle View RV Park, on the Yavapai Indian Reservation, there are trails you can hike.  It's a beautiful area, especially right now.  It rained not long ago and the desert came alive.  Spring is here.  It will be a short one as the temps are in the 90's already. 

Here's some pictures of our hike.  Click the link, select slideshow and hit F-11 to enlarge your screen. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/EagleViewHike?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPSoOvvwLquIw#

ONE YEAR

Today, April 2nd, is our one year anniversary full timing in our motorhome.  We can't wait to do 20 more years!!!!

When we look back on this blog we can't believe all the places we've been and wonderful people we've been able to visit and meet in just one year.  We feel very fortunate.

Everett

Our nephew, Andrew and his wife, Melissa, had a baby boy while we were in the Phoenix area.  Everett came about 5 weeks early.  He had to stay in the hospital for two weeks, but he was fine.  He just needed to gain some weight. 

Here's some pictures of this beautiful little guy.  We love you Everett.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/EverettAtHome?authkey=Gv1sRgCPmj5qzzyt7QlQE#

Balboa Park in San Diego

Chris went off for adventure one day in San Diego leaving Alex and Pilot home in peace.  She walked around the beautiful area and went to a few museums.  You have to go if ever in San Diego.  The Zoo is there and one of the best in the country.

http://www.balboapark.org/

Here's a few pics that Chris took.

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/BalboaPark?authkey=Gv1sRgCPfln8u4_K-jDg#

Pictures from Coronado

While we were in Coronado we stayed at a military RV campground.  They did not have any hookups, but did have a nice shower, fresh water access and other important things to campers. 

Here's some pictures.  First one is of Alex next to our coach, the rest are of the view out our front window of San Diego Bay.  Pretty nice!!!  Pilot had about a mile of beach all to himself.   The weather was great and we loved this spot.  We did walk thru much of Coronado and brushed elbows with the wealthy and beautiful. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/CoronadoRV?authkey=Gv1sRgCNyn1brUyKaWeQ#

We did get to spend an evening with friends from our squadron days, Jim and Vera Baker.  We had a great dinner at an Irish Pub.  Jim and Vera are a lot of fun and we really appreciate them driving down to see us.  We just wish we had gotten a pic of them.

Updates soon, but until then, something to think about......

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”


~ Mark Twain

San Diego, CA

We've spent the last week or so in Temecula, CA at an Escapee Park, Jojoba Hills.  http://www.jojobahills.com/tour.htm

It's a nice park in the foothills above Temecula.  We enjoyed walking around Old Town Temecula and going to lunch with another couple in the park.  We took walks around the park which is pretty hilly so you can get a good workout. 

We did not do a lot of touring or hiking.  Honestly, we just did a lot of mundane things that you don't want to hear about.  Sometimes you just do the same things you do at a regular home.  Nothing much.

Today we drove about 85 miles to San Diego, over the Coronado bridge, which Chris almost had a heart attact as you have to stay in the right lane and there is not much between you and a lllllooooonnnnnggggg fall into San Diego Bay.    Anyway we are staying at Fiddler's Cove RV Park.  Another military park.  It's on the strand after you drive through Coronado.  http://www.mwrtoday.com/Sandiego/lodging.htm     We've been to Coronado a few times at North Island Naval Air Station.  It's a beautiful area and to be able to afford to stay on the island is a real benefit for military people. 

The park has no hookups so we are boondocking.  There is a place to get fresh water and a dump.  We are parked right on the bay overlooking the skyline of San Diego out our front window.  Pilot loves walking on the beach and does not mind the helicopters flying overhead.  It's a good place to be. 

We'll get some pictures and post them soon. 

July, 2010 Glacier Nat'l Park

Just testing out our ability to put a video on the blog.  This is just a short one at Glacier.  As you will see it was beautiful day. 

Beverly Hillbillies

After Death Valley, we went to Edwards Air Force Base.  Interesting place.  If you ever saw the movie "The Right Stuff" (one of our favorite movies  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/ )  then you should be familiar with Edwards.  They do testing there.  Mostly aviation type. 

The campground at Edwards was not very nice.  Very small spaces and you are right in the middle of nowhere.  The base is not very populated or big in that sense, but in size, it is huge.  That way if you have to crash your airplane, like Chuck Yeager had to, you'd have a place to do it.  http://www.chuckyeager.com/#/HOME

One day we decided to go to Hollywood.  Chris loves everything about Hollywood and movie stars and movies, etc.  We drove west over the snow covered San Gabriel Mountains (we think) and down the Topanga Canyon to Hwy 1.  We went towards Santa Monica and the pier.  We then ended up on Mullholland Drive and Beverly Hills. 

http://www.santamonicapier.org/location/

We didn't stop anywhere except some pull offs that had fabulous views.  It was everything you would think about the area.  It was a beautiful, cold day and area.  It was President's Day so the traffic was reasonable.  There were a lot of "For Sale" signs in Beverly Hills, so if you ever wanted to..... go for it.

Click the link, select slide show and F-11 to enlarge the pics:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/BeverlyHillbillies?authkey=Gv1sRgCNKHyeee3daRZg#

Death Valley National Park

Left Vegas and headed to Death Valley.  We didn't spend more than a couple of hours there, which really doesn't do it justice.  We had goofy campground reservations and that shortened our time in the valley.  However, the time we did spend was great.  Believe it or not, Death Valley is a beautiful place. 

Here are the best of the pictures we took.  Select slide show and hit F-11 to enlarge. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/DeathValley?authkey=Gv1sRgCJKVtZ3Wh9nTNQ#

For some reason, my computer would not pull up Death Valley National Park, but you can google it and hopefully get the site for more info. 

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

While in Vegas we drove about an hour north and went to Valley of Fire State Park.  Wow, we didn't really know what to expect.  We were blown away.  This State Park rivals some of the wonderful National Parks that we've been to.  We would describe it as a Sedona, Arizona without all the traffic and commercialization.  And, they have petroglyphs.  Hundreds of them. 

It was special to stand very near these petroglyphs and figure out what these people where trying to tell us. 

Hmm, when asked, Alex says "women could learn a lot from these petroglyphs, keep it short and to the point".     Oh my, ladies have at him.  I'm sorry I asked for his opinion.

Let the pictures do the talking.  The last few pictures show the reason why the Indians settled here.  The trail lead to a natural tank (water).  It was hidden and protected by the rocks.  We took 244 pictures and below we picked out the best 30.  As usual, click the link, select slide show and hit F-11 to enlarge your screen. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/ValleyOfFireStateParkNV?authkey=Gv1sRgCJLcvZr0-cbfaw#

http://parks.nv.gov/vf.htm

Las Vegas and Nellis Air Force Base

We headed to Las Vegas last week.  It had been over 20 years since either of us had been there and we wanted to see the changes. 

We stayed at Nellis Air Force Base. They have a nice campground.  We were able to use our satellite, cell phone service and air card service.  It's nice when you can watch TV and communicate.  The problem with Nellis is the jet noise.  We are use to it since Alex use to fly a jet, but at Nellis the jets go into the break right above your head.  Nellis is home to the Thunderbirds.  So, while we enjoyed our stay, we wouldn't want to stay there long term. 

We went to the Vegas strip while we were there.  We headed to the Belagio Hotel.  They have free parking and one of the best buffets in town.  $20 for lunch.  We had a nice late lunch and then walked up and down the strip until it got dark.  We didn't gamble.  Just watching the people and the Vegas lights is enough fun for us. 

We went back to the Belagio and watched the fountain show.  The fountain show at the Belagio is worth the effort to go to Vegas in itself.  It's a beautiful show in the middle of a lot of crazy things going on.  It was the highlight of our Las Vegas strip visit.  See it if you do nothing else in Vegas and it's free. 

Our pictures turned out OK.  The fountain show picture didn't turn out very good, so don't judge the show by it.