Joan on the Road

Search complete! At least so far :) We did not go see the 10 month old puppy because we got a call from the other basset rescue that they had a 1.5 year guy that we might like. And we did! We went to see him this morning up near Milwaukee, much closer than Gomer was.

We both immediately liked his looks and his behavior. He is pretty frisky and strong but when he hopped in the car he settled right down and rode the 45 miles with no problem. He seems to be adjusting well and has "bonded" with us already. He also seems to like the recliner chairs :) ....so some adjustments will need to be made. Oh...his name is Flash. Don't know if we'll keep that but he does respond to it. So far so good :)

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These gorgeous roses from ProFlowers are now four days old and slowly opening. Just passing along a good online shopping tip :)

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Renee's family gave me a lovely birthday bouquet,,,and a good excuse to shoot some close ups. These are taken in super macro mode. The lens is about 1" from the flower.

These are about 1.5" across.

And these lilies are about 6". There are 5 blooms on one stalk.

Now all I need to do is figure out what the flowers are!

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We were feeling lots better so Saturday we headed for a dose of family. We actually hadn't seen anyone since Christmas. Several family members made it over to Renee and Tom's for a bit and of course baby Evan was there. At 15 months, stacking and knocking over blocks, I think Ill have to stop calling him a baby :).

Thanks to his mom, Naomi, we got to see Evan playing with these nesting blocks that we brought from Saguaro National Park. He played along with stacking but really only wanted to knock them over.

Son Jim stopped in to say hi and bye. He and his kids, Jim and Mary, plus cousin Hilly left Sunday for a 4 nights cruise out of Ft. Lauderale. Seems it's a Carnival Cruise featuring the Barenaked Ladies band...a favorite of the kids (I have no clue). Today we got text messages that they are out to sea and having a blast.

While they enjoyed 80 degree temps we were all freezing here. A heavy frost devasted SoCal and fruit crops over the weekend and there is no end in sight. In fact snow is in the forecast again for our area. Yikes! So there's very little sitting outside in the sun visiting with neighbors and sipping beer :) We talked to daughter Laura in Montana and she's reallllly cold...below zero temps.

I did get over to the Hemet Library and as a "resident" of Golden Village I got a library card. This is a very nice library.

I picked up another Amy Tan book, The Hundred Secret Senses, and got lost yesterday in the ghosts of Chiangmain.

Today we really needed some exercise so we biked around the park and noticed lots of new residents. In the last few days our street has almost filled up with Canadian snow birds. Hopefully, next week the wind will die down and we'll get some warmer weather so we can meet the neighbors.

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Here's our spot at site 202, Santee Lakes. I think it's about 35' x 75' which is pretty large for a campground. There are four sites in each curving row and about 10 rows. The sites are nicely offset so that everyone probably has a pretty good view of the low hills. I forgot to mention that we are very near to Miramar Air Base so we often see formations of jets cruising by. It's a very clean, comfy, quiet spot.

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Check out the patient, on the phone with admirer's. Jim is in the hospital for a few days for surgery which went fine. Now we wait for test results. Looks like we'll continue to enjoy Florida weather for another few weeks.

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Taken from our car window...we sure hoped he'd move over!

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Couldn't resist a picture of this lovely County Courthouse in Dade City, FL. I'm beginning to think that Court Houses are among the most beautiful buildings in the country. Dade City looks like it is on the downward trend but this is a gem. So much of Florida has suffered from hurricane damage that you'd almost like to take a rake to clean up the detritus and start over. ....but this is wonderful.

(Note: This picture has been altered. There was a nasty telephone line going through the sky and the clock tower which, through the wonder of digital photography, I removed.)

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Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is one of the oldest tourist sites in the country with 360 miles of underground caves identified. We took the 2 hour, 3/4 mile tour going 200 feet down, and of course back up!

We were in a group of about 40 people with several little kids who asked some interesting questions. I think it's actually harder on the knees to go down than up. Some places were so narrow you had to turn a bit sideways.

And then you come out into wide open spaces and feel you can breathe again. I was a little apprehensive about this. Would it be too strenuous? Would I get panicky being underground? Well, I/we did fine. For me, I just couldn't think about the fact that we were 20 stories underground!!!

At one point, at one of the brief sitting spots, Ranger Charlie had us turn off or cover up anything that was lit up, like camera lights or blinking shoes. Then he turned off the lights and....wow...absolute pitch black. Couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Then I thought about actually "spelunking" and I know I could not do that. It was a great experience and we decided that we'd like to see Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico also.

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Creating the illusion of seeing reality; "the visual deception of trompe-l'oeil art" ..bet you thought this was a real block scene?! Nope, it is the side of a red brick building...everything is painted on. We found this scene in French Lick, Indiana and to me it was the most interesting thing there. I'd always heard of French Lick, especially in High School, where the Martha's of the school went for spring break or something. I expected a really posh town but found a pretty run down main street with a huge resort complex, a train station museaum and not many people. I love this art. We saw another nifty example in Winslow, AZ at "Standin on the Corner" Park.

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On a partly sunny, cold, windy day we visited the Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, IN. The draw here is the grist mill in the restored village where they grind corn into meal and sell it in 2# bags for a dollar. What a great step back in time this was. The mill is 3 stories high, restored by the CCC in 1930. It was built in the early 1800's and was a working mill for decades. However in the 30's it was in disrepair when turned over to Indiana. The inside timbers were gutted and the mill restored according to original design plans. Outside you can see the flume that brings the water to the large wheel. Inside that wheel turns the gears and ultimately the stone to grind the corn. The small building at right front is a sawmill that runs on a smaller wheel.

The gear mechanism is awesome. Wonder who discovered how this works?

The grinding wheel is about 4' in diameter and is just for corn.

Here's the finished product...which we bought and it made great bread!

The village has several restored stores and homes...this was my favorite.

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"Wow! Don't you look beautiful today!"
"Thank you. He came last night and almost ran out of paint. I'm a little bit lighter at the bottom."
"You think he'll be coming back tonight? I hope he has that brilliant orange like last year."
"He said he has some new colors, but I think it's just the same old orange and gold and red stuff. Look at my neighbor! She just got her ends touched up. He'll probably come back tonight and do her roots and get started on you."
"Yeah, I hope it's soon, 'cause I feel like a dull wallflower with all you beauties around me. Were you here for the battle?"
"Yep, been here for nearly 200 years...and every year it's the same thing, wait around for him to come and color me beautiful."

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We couldn't remember what this campaign slogan from the 1800s meant so we visited the battleground site. In November of 1811, in 3 hours, William Henry Harrison defeated the Indian tribes led by Tecumseh. It was a decisive battle in opening up the midwest territories, making people feel safe from the Indians. Tecumseh tried to bring together several tribes and did negotiate with Harrison and others but the treaties fell apart and battle ensued. This monument was erected years later by Indiana to honor the troops and Indians who fell in this battle. The slogan reflected Harrison's winning of the battle and his selection of the well-regarded Tyler. Harrison however died after one month in office.

Posted by Joan at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're in Monticello, IN, about 20 miles north of the Wabash River which is quite wide and meanders through Indiana. The bridge is an abandoned railroad crossing. We took a bumpy, muddy road to get to this spot and found one couple fishing, down the way. The fall colors are just starting to spring up here and there...each day more brilliant than the last.

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As Cap'n Porky of Zion said, "At the beach you can experience 4 seasons in one day! " Well we decided to stay another day here because warmer weather was predicted...it was great. After a tiny bit of housecleaning...it's a tiny house...I went walking on the beach and then sat in the sun and read my Tom Clancy novel-Teeth of the Tiger. What a relaxing afternoon.

The lake was very calm, the kind of day that the guys like to demonstrate their rock-skipping skills. The water was gently lapping at the rocks and the horizon was filled with sailboats. There is a large marina at the north end of the park so there's quite a bit of pleasure boat traffic.

The park has about 240 very large spaces but there's probably only 50 sites filled right now. It's very quiet, not like the summertime partying campers. There are a few campers here who look like they are in for the duration, which I thought was against the rules. One old guy in a popup camper goes out each morning, probably to work, and then comes home, sits outside and drinks. Yuk! A lady with two dogs in a Volkswagon van pulled in down the road today. She doesn't have much gear and has just been exercising her dogs.

You really get a look at some different sides of life when camping....but we're not camping...we're living this life everyday.

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Walking along the beach at Illinois Beach State Park today, I felt like a new chapter in our travels has opened up. We are headed into new and unfamiliar territory and that is always fun. Our goal at this moment is to get to Lynchburg, TN by October 23 for the Jack Daniels Barbeque...600 miles. I think it's one of those festivals where you get music and food and fun.

It is PD (pretty damn) cold here on the lakefront. Our campsite is just over a slight ridge from the shore. We saw mule deer moseying through the next campsite this afternoon. We walked the dogs for the first time in weeks and their noses went crazy. After dinner I heard some clatter outside and sent my hero out to investigate. A raccoon had overturned our waste basket and was hiding out under the coach. Little Adrienne went bonkers inside and was dying to get out to taste raccoon. Tonight is the first frost of the year but tomorrow is scheduled to warm up a bit. So the extra heater is on and we're cozy here in our little home.

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"Well, you know that it's time to move on babe, winter is fast comin' on babe"...in the words of Glenn Yarbrough...the trees are starting to flame, the geese are heading south and so are we. The temp dropped to a high of 54 today and next week there'll be a frost so we got out the jeans, washed the winter coats, put the blanket on the bed and got out the map!!!...where can we go that it will be at least 65 in the daytime.

I've been really lax in the last 9 weeks writing this blog because we have not been doing all that much differently and because we lived here so long that not much stands out as being picture or writing worthy...it's just day to day living.

But it's been wonderful to be with Mom and Harry and to spend time with "the goils" of Gurnee. Daughter Laura says that the girls are like the "yayas"; Lynn's daughter says the same thing. And in thinking back, we've shared lots of the same situations and things the yayas did. In times of trouble or fun, from our teenage years, the girlfriends have always been there to share tears and laughter, lend a helping hand or shoulder to cry on, comfort in sorrow, help through tough times and laugh together and each other more than most friends do.

In Frank Sinatra's words, I guess we're in the fall of our lives. We complain to each other about aches and pains or kick each other in the butt for complaining too much. We do scrapbooking and look back at fun times and we help each other think through what to do as doors close on phases of our lives.

It will be great to move on, but I know I'll miss Mom, Harry and the girls.

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Cousin Chuck Gilman, me, and cousin Sharon Gilman Perryman

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This is Boulder River, running through our campgroud right in front of us. Rafters floated by this afternoon on a pretty rapid current. We'll probably be able to hear the rushing water when we go to bed! We're in Big Timber, MT at the Spring Creek Campground which is quite pretty but I doubt we'll return. This is the first place in a year that has objected to our doggie pen....so they lose a customer!

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Just north of I 90 on US 93 is Jim and Mary's RV Park...one of the nicest we've stayed at. This is our second time here because it is close to RV service, so that we have work done then stay here overnight, just north of Missoula. The great thing about the park is that the sites are huge and grassy. Scattered throughout the park are small flower gardens with old farm implements. The park is thriving and the owners are landscaping 25 new big rig sites. It is so pleasant and homey...the kind of place where you could stay awhile and be real happy. Maybe next time around we'll do that!

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We had time to walk the streets of Dillon, MT and came on several lovely old houses, very well restored. Dillon is an old railroad town that looks sort of static...not much happening here. Guess the folks must go to Butte to shop.

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Here's the setting sun shining through rain in Fillmore, Utah. We've been in the dry southwest for so long we almost forgot the feel and smell of a storm. Didn't get much rain but it's a reminder to watch the weather.

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...taken by Zachary Juedes

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The short drive from Pahrump, NV to California Interstate 15 is about 80 miles on a two lane highway where for miles there are no houses, electric poles, people, animals, cars, nada! We joked that the landscape looks like sludge leftover from a giant alien mud playground.

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We really lucked out getting this spot at Terrible's Lakeside Casino and RV Park. In our year of traveling this is probably the nicest park we've stayed in. It's about 60 miles west of Las Vegas on State 160, which seems to be one long uphill from Vegas to Pahrump (puhRUMP). The surrounding area with 33,000 residents leaves a lot to be desired..then you get to the park. We we're only going to stay 2 nights but stayed an extra day, which makes our drive to Temecula 270 miles. But if you have to be in hot weather for awhile (105ish) then this is a great place to be.

Scattered around the lake are lifesize horses (why, I don't know) but Rocky was really curious about why they didn't want to sniff and play. Across the lake a giant flag is flying at half mast in honor of President Reagan who died June 5. Even though it is out of the way...we may come back here for an extended stay.

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Look down into the Grand Canyon... in the middle of the picture it's at least 5000 feet below. However, look at the white rocks at the bottom of the picture...about 10 feet down. I didn't notice until I put the picture on the computer that there are coins there, probably thrown into the canyon for luck! I was so focused on the far view I didn't see the close up.

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Who knew that in a funky little observatory in Flagstaff Arizona, Percival Lowell, from a rich east coast family, would latch onto the idea that there was a 9th planet out there. He searched for years and died before the confirmation in 1930 that his planet existed. A contest was held to name the new planet and PLuto won out...a reference to mythology and interesting had Percival Lowell's initials. There are several telescopes on this side of the San Francisco Peaks and more on a mesa south of Flagstaff. Lots of astronomy going on in Arizona.

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At Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon lots of kids were sliding and swimming although it must have been pretty cold!

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This is Bell Rock viewed from highway 179 leaving Sedona.

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Wupatki Pueblo National Monument, Arizona

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Lava flow at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona. The crater cone is in the background tinged with redish hues, thus the name.

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Yes, it's a big hole in the ground! But it's one that Jim has wanted to see since he was 10. He got a little orange book with a piece of the crater while visiting the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. He says he must have read the book 50 times. It was then known as the Berringer Crater for the guy who studied it for years and theorized it was an impact crater. It wasn't until the 60's that it was confirmed as being formed by a meteor about 150 feet in diameter but weighing several hundred thousand tons!

The impact happened 50,000 years ago and created this gigantic hole which is 550 feet deep and nearly a mile wide. The meteor disintegrated on impact and flung debris around the crater for miles. Astronauts trained here before the moon flights and left a 6 foot astronaut cutout along with an American flag on the floor of the crater. Look on the right side in the bottom of the crater. Jim took the 1 hour tour along the rim; I had on sandals and couldn't go!

We're staying for a few days at the campground here which is nice but windy. The guides say it is not unusual to have 60 mph sustained winds in this area with 100 mile gusts! Hooowee!

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"Well, I'm standin on a corner in Winslow, Arizona,it's such a fine sight to see."..now I can't get the song out of my mind! There really is a "Standin on the Corner" Park on old Route 66 in Winslow. It is the brainchild of locals who want to promote and support the revitalization of historic Winslow. You can buy a brick for the park sidewalk, inscribed as you desire, for $50-250. Profits to the revival effort! The wall behind the statue and corner park is a trompe l'oeil painting including an eagle (for the Eagles), a couple embracing and of course a girl in a flatbed ford. Around the corner is Krissy's Nifty 50 Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop where we enjoyed a hot dog and coke diner experience for lunch. (FYI the song is Take It Easy by the Eagles.)

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We spent an afternoon at the Sharlot Hall Museum complex in old Prescott, just one block from Whiskey Row. Jim is standing in front of the first Governor's Mansion of Arizona. Sharlot Hall was a "feisty broad" of the first rank. She was a poet, writer, historian, traveler, politician, and political activist. It was her goal to establish a museum to house Indian artifacts to preserve the culture of Arizona. She once took a 10 week covered wagon trip from Prescott to the Grand Canyon to see what it was like!

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Our campground is set in the midst of the rocky dells beside Lake Watson in Prescott, AZ. The weather here is great except for the winds which have been gusting up to 30 mph in the last few days. It's such a relief when the wind dies down! This area was a haven for Indians because 5 creeks flow down to this area, although in this 6th year of a drought you don't see much water. About 50,000 people live in this area now and we find all the chains and franchises that were familiar in CA.

Today I got a haircut at Regis Salon in the Gateway Mall where there is a Dilliards, Penney, and Sears. Regis owns many of the hair cutting salons across the country including the little salon in WalMarts. Hair cutting...one of my greatest stress factors. But the Regis folks usually do a good job. They tell me they are the highest level of salons in their corporation!

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It's a good thing we knew not to drive the motorhome on this highway (89A) from Prescott to Jerome (and then on to Sedona). This drive had more wild switchbacks, blind curves and narrow spots than anything we've been on so far. It's a good road...just not for wide bodies! We climbed over Mingus mountain to the town of Jerome, a little old mining town on the side of a mountain. Streets are one-way and narrow as you head down the mountain. In this picture if you look in the distance, you see the town of Cottonwood. The difference in elevation is about 4000 feet. We didn't stop in town..don't need any more stuff! Beautiful weather and gorgeous drive. We decided to tackle the Sedona portion heading south from Flagstaff.

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April pics are available at http://www.weisefamily.com/pics

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We're "on the road again"! This is the view on I 17 midway between Mesa and Prescott AZ. The geography and vegetation change a lot in this short drive of 125 miles. Mesa is in the Sonoran Desert so there are lots of Saguaro. By the time we reach Prescott we're at 5000 feet elevation and there are more trees, grassy plains, buttes and mesas.

A little bit after this picture was taken we were slowed for an accident on a 6%, grade going up, for about half an hour. When we reached the accident site it was a burnt out motorhome...an old Apollo that probably had a bad tire. The whole front half of the coach was melted. It's a really scary, unsettling site. It looked like another coach had stopped to help the family and the burned coach was already on a tow trailer.

Glad we're in cooler weather (by 20 degrees) and we're looking forward to exploring this area.

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We wondered if Saguaro bloom and they do, but they are later than a lot of the other cactus. This is atop a 20 foot Saguaro that is down the street from us here at Sun Life in Mesa. Several birds have made homes inside this one..it's lots cooler in there they say! This little woodpecker is actually making his nest; lower down is a blackbird who probably stole his nest from someone else. The blooms become seed pods that were very important to the Indians for food.

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The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix is "not your garden-variety garden." We spent 3 hours walking the various garden paths surrounded by native desert plantings. I wish we'd gone a little earlier in the season to see more blooms, but I got a lot of great pictures.

The prize pix of the day is the Zebra Longwing below. One of the exhibits is the Butterfly Pavilion where thousands of butterflies are housed in a screened in building with flowering trees, shrubs, water, and flowers. It is an amazing place and overflowed with people and kids...spring break! The little kids were just in awe as butterflies came and sat on their hands. The entrance to the pavilion has a door with an air curtain to prevent the little creatures from getting out. When you exit, a volunteer brushes you off with a feather duster to assure no little creatures excape. I was snapping away pictures and suddenly realized that all the butterflies want is to be free! Then I didn't want to be in there anymore.

I've been thinking a lot about freedom, as we have so much of it....I mean Jim and I have so few constraints on our life. I listen to all the political ads and hear people arguing about who is the best candidate. Isn't it all about freedom? I keep hearing the words to Lee Greenwood's song in my head and finally had to capture them off the internet..

"I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free,
And I won't forget the men who died and gave their lives for me...."

Watching "Band of Brothers" and seeing soldiers in Iraq interviewed on TV, hearing them describe how they feel about fighting for the freedom of others...It's all about freedom.

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Taliesin West, in Scottsdale AZ, is as complex and intriguing as Taliesin East which is in Spring Green WI. To escape from the cold of Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright brought his family and students to Arizona to build the "western camp". He was 70 when he started this endeavor and 1/3 of his design work was done after this time. I have always been drawn to his style of design...houses, interiors....and love his philosophy of "nature and building are one". Maybe that's why I love the motorhome life...always looking for the perfect place to park. He always tried to integrate the bulding into the location and bring the outdoors inside. One way he did that is shown in the living room picture where the roof is made of canvas covered with glass or plastic. The lighting is beautiful! Wright was a real American "character" and his building are unique to America.

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This is the living room, aka Garden Room, at Taliesen West.

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Our guide at Taliesen pointed out this cactus which she said blooms only one day of the year...and we were there! Must be a good omen!

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A view of the mountains from Lost Dutchman State Park.

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Canyon Lake Marina is on the far right

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You can't help but laugh when you see this guy!...nearly 6' tall as he sits on the wall.

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This is life size and colorful. The little girl's face is very expressive and the old guy is peeling her an orange...this in honor of the citrus growing history of the East Valley.

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I didn't expect to find so many cactus blooming here in the Phoenix area...but they are. Ivory yucca and these beautiful yellow beavertail like cactus along with some hot pink blooms. There are saguaro cactus all around the area and some beautiful palo verde trees that are blooming brilliant yellow. I'm looking for some good photo ops on that tree. I love the variety of trees, flowers and birds that we encounter. Today, walking the dogs along the wash, we flushed out a half dozen rabbits that Adrienne wanted to chase and came within a couple of feet of red throated hummingbirds in the shrubbery. Truly...it's "take time to smell the roses" time. And for some truly outstanding flower shots...visit daughter Laura's website!

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Arizona SR79 from Tucson to Phoenix is a really lovely desert drive with a wide variety of plants in abundance. The picture is at a rest stop along the two lane highway where the saguaro were plentiful and beautiful. One thing I notice about the desert is the many different plant perfumes...very subtle and sort of intoxicating to me.

We are settled in at SunLife Resort in Mesa on the same street we stayed on in November '03...the doggie street. We've saved up lots of things to do in Mesa as every store we need is close by. We'll be staying here a month while we mail our tax package back and forth to the tax guy in Irvine. Our grandson, Bryan, will be visiting us next weekend and we'll be going to some Angels Spring Training games. Actually that is the reason we came to Mesa in March...and since we like it here..we're settling for a little while, even though the temps will be in the 90's. Of course we'll be visiting Aunties Alice and Helen and all the cousins.

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This was our view driving on Interstate 8 from Yuma to Tucson through the Sonoran Desert National Monument. This is one of the few places in the world that the Saguaro Cactus grows. The more you look at these trees/plants the funnier they look. I couldn't help thinking of Snoopy and his cousin, the doggie who lives in the desert and sits by the cactus. Most of the Saguaro growing on the roadside are 20 feet or more and are abundant on the floor of the desert. Also, though it's hard to see the sides of the road are covered with blue lupine.

We're now located at Rincon Country East Resort where 80% of the sites are occupied by "park models" which are 12 x 50 mobile units that a lot of snowbirds (55+) live in for 5-6 months a year. This is the quietest park we've been in...I feel guilty when the dogs bark!...and everyone is in bed by 10. I'm sure we're the only ones with light burning til midnight.

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Another beautiful day in Yuma found us at Imperial Date Gardens chugging down date shakes (really smooth and sweet), buying date nut bread and a tray of delicious medjool date creations. Actually the date garden is in Bard CA across the border from Yuma Crossing where missionaries long ago found a place to cross the Colorado River and reach California. The dates are so fresh, soft and sweet! Hope they're good for us!

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Some of the most notorious criminals in the West were housed here in the Yuma Territorial Prison. It is said that the killer of Johnny Ringo served time here...however, we know that Doc Holiday killed him because we saw that in Tombstone. This must have been a real hell hole in the summer...pretty grim now.

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Here's me at the Grapefruit Festival in my new red hat.

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Seeing the flowers at Anza Borrego State Park is another dream realized. I've always wanted to be here in the spring,....never made the time. Didn't practice "carpe diem"! So here we are and the view is beautiful. The flowers don't cover the entire desert; they are in waves and pockets scattered in random places. So you need to ask around to find the best spots.

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Even though it's the beginning of the flowering season, we found some spots that are covered with verbena, desert primrose and desert sunflowers. The Desert Historical Society is helpful in directing people to peak areas. While the purple verbena is an awesome display this desert primrose makes a lovely closeup. Too bad I can't send you the smell of the desert too!

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This is our current home at Vail Lake in Temecula CA. Most snowbirds would go to a little warmer local but the view here makes up for a lot of the coolness and winds. We've got a big yard, lovely trees and and an ever changing view of the mountains and lake.

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Such simple pleasures...a refillable bowl of jello...in perpetuity!!

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We were happy with the results of our "coloring" day.

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