Afterward....

     I've kept pretty busy since our arrival home, but I promise to review those photos when I get time and post them! Really....!

Milepost 6162: We are home!

     This morning we got up as early as possible so we could avoid any more extreme heat. We went straight to Chino Hills, where the motorhome lives, unpacked our clothes and food, and arrived in Anaheim around 1 p.m.
     No sooner did I announce our arrival, and I had an invitation from Tom to help paint his living room. Silly me! Instead of doing mounds of "return home" laundry, I went to Tom's and helped wash walls and prep them for the paint job. I spent part of Sunday and Monday helping finish the job. His walls went from dark beige to bright blue. I was tempted to paint some clouds....
     Susan invited us all for games and dinner on Sunday. We all had an enjoyable dinner and game of Yahtzee.... I guess it's good to be home after all!

Milepost 6060: Almost Home!

     Another route change! After much thought, I decided we should take the I-10 home to avoid the construction on the I-15. That construction is in the Cajon Pass and has been going on for a long while, so I don't expect it to be done any time soon! We've seen enough construction on the I-40 to last us a long while.
     We are travelling against the Memorial Day traffic, so that is a very good thing. We took I-40 to the I-95, in California, to the I-10 in Needles. We've never been on this part of the I-95 before, so it was an interesting drive.
     We are spending the night in Indio, California, tonight, and it sure is hot!

Milepost 5660: The Long Ride Home

     John wasn't feeling too well today, but rather than spend the whole day and another night at the campground (read "gravel parking lot with water, sewer, and electrical hook-ups"), he drove 259 miles to get closer to home. Once on the road, he felt somewhat better, but not well enough for sightseeing.
     It was very windy today and we had some slight showers - but only enough to put water spots on the windshield.
     We are spending the night in Bellemont, Arizona - west of Flagstaff.

Milepost 5401: Too many!

     Our Internet has been patchy and posting photos takes so long that I will return to add photos later.... I'm a week behind and desperately trying to catch up!
     There were no interesting stops to report today. We spent the day in New Mexico, avoiding major cities (Albuquerque) by driving on even smaller roads. The scenery was spectacular in places, though.
     John is getting very anxious to get home, so we will probably stay mostly on the I-40 for the rest of the trip.
     We are spending the night in Milan, New Mexico.

So what do I do when I'm travelling and bored??? Take more photos, of course!

There are trains....

Small towns. This one is Mountain Air, NM

The road....

Some scenery from my window...

...And more road!

Milepost 5192: In Search of Ghosts

This is about where we made the U-turn in the motorhome... I wanted a photo just in case I didn't make it.... Yes, it's a sheer drop on the right....

     Our day started with a search for a ghost town I found on a tourist map. Despite the risk that it really could be a tourist TRAP, we went anyway.
     The road gradually got worse and very deserted, two very good signs! But, when the road narrowed to nearly one lane and began to twist and turn up a mountain side, John decided to turn around. Nearly impossible in a wide motorhome, and very scary!
     We followed that adventure with a much more sane trip to Pecos National Historical Park. Very interesting! Anne and camera took the self-guided walking tour and John checked out the museum, then rested from his previous ordeal in the motorhome.
     We are spending the night in Moriarty, New Mexico.

We had a real appreciation for New Mexico highways now. This is the I-40...

Yes, they're even using "authentic" handmade mud bricks...

Rebuilding the church on the Pueblo

This is what they've rebuilt so far. They have a long way to go...

Milepost 5011: We're in Las Vegas!

Downtown Las Vegas!

     Las Vegas, New Mexico, that is! It's a pretty big old town near Fort Union.
     We got an early start today. Our first objective was "the abandoned Mexican settlement of Puerto de Luna." Unfortunately, although it indeed looks like it was once a Mexican settlement, it is far from abandoned!
     From there, we headed to Fort Union, the largest of the old western forts. The adobe fort lies in ruins - it was deconstructed by the army when it was abandoned. Their plan was to recycle the reusable parts, like the windows... Due to civil outcry, the government stopped the deconstruction, but not before most of it was gone. However, enough of the buildings remain to show its enormous size. We spent 2-3 hours wandering the ruins and taking photos before heading for Las Vegas' historic downtown and our camping spot.

Puerto de Luna - the "abandoned" settlement

On the way to Ft Union

Approaching Ft Union

Ft Union Hospital - One of the best...

The carriage works at Ft Union

This lovely creature posed for me as we flew past

Milepost 4850: The Tale of Billy the Kid's Gravestone

     We visited it today in Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. Would you believe the gravestone has been stolen and recovered twice? Now it rests over Billy's feet inside its own "jail." Preventative measure...

Texas highway

New Mexico highway...

     The highway in Texas was great, and we knew, even without a sign, that we'd left Texas! Suddenly, the roads were really in bad shape...

Little house..... Great air conditioning!

Billy the Kid Gravestone...in its own jail

Pretty New Mexico sunset

Milepost 4591: Texas Shows Off!

     This morning was overcast and cloudy. We started off with a quick trip to WalMart for food and supplies. At noon we headed down the familiar highway and encountered enough rain to clear the windshield.
     Finally, at 1:30, we were at the place where we turned around last night, so we had lunch, then pushed on. The sky was now covered with scattered puffy clouds. We also had several scenery changes and then a most spectacular sunset!
     We are spending the night in Post, Texas.

The future has arrived:

Downtown Santa Anna, TX

A nice day for fishing!

Texas has lots of these...

Just think! Chino Hills could've had some of these, too!

A Texas Sunset

Milepost 4302: Texas Rangers and the Lost Purse!

     The sky was beautiful this morning: Bright blue with powder-puff clouds. The fields matched - full of yellow and white wildflowers. A great day to be on the road!
     Our first plan of the day was a visit to the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco. We were rewarded with an easy in-city drive to get there and an easy going staff who told us we could park anywhere! What a difference compared to our attempt to visit The Alamo! We enjoyed the museum and the very informative video, then moved on.
     Around dinnertime, banana splits were sounding pretty good, so we stopped at the Gatesville Dairy Queen. We discovered magic straws there that can color your whole drink red or blue...
     Farther down the road, like 75 miles and a couple of hours later, Tom sent me a text message while we were stopped at a picnic area. It immediately made me question the where-abouts of my purse. I'd left it at Dairy Queen!
     So, we turned around... The staff there was great. They'd tried to flag us down as we left, but we'd left too quickly! They held my purse in hope of our return...
     We are spending the night in Gatesville, Texas.

I love country roads!

Outside the Texas Ranger Museum

Look at all those wildflowers in that field!

Another really, really fun road

A Texas Moonrise at Sunset

Milepost 4039: More Rain!

     Today started out with a couple of storm warnings. The first was from the camp host: "Better leave in the morning, there's a storm coming from the west this afternoon!" The second warning came from my cousin Carol, who warned about a storm in Texas heading east. We saw a lot of rain, but it was mostly in the early afternoon, during our lunch break. We took a long one to enjoy the rain, but made sure we were on a hill first! We are thankful, however, that most of it must have been north or south of us.
     We are staying in Fairfield, Texas, tonight.

BIG tires going down the highway

In case you've forgotten... This is what rain looks like!

Steer and friend... We saw a lot of these birds
hanging out with cattle.

Milepost 3834: Nachitoches!

     Just had to say it. Fun to say, fun to spell... Just had to stay here! Nachitoches, Louisiana, tonight.
     John drove nearly 300 miles today, and we stopped "early" so I could do laundry and catch up on Blog while he did his other motorhome chores.
     Today was cloudy, with promises of rain that never came. We also finally cooled off. I was pleased to find more of Highway 84 going into Texas. It is north of Houston, but south of Dallas. I offered John another chance at visiting The Alamo, but he wants to skip it.

Hwy 84: Cloudy with Promise of Rain that never came

A pile of goats...

Ready to cross the Mississippi River

Kisatchie National Forest

Milepost 3556: Rain!

     Finally! We are both over whatever bug that was, and back on the road. We have decided to follow route 84 west. It is north of the I-10, but south of both the I-20 and I-40. We were hoping to find cooler, dryer weather, but found rain instead. Funny, the rain is cold, but the air is so hot here!
     I was moderately surprised to find that US Route 84 closely resembles the other highways, except it doesn't follow a straight line west, is curvier and more scenic, with a few more houses and towns along the way. It is a very pleasant drive - Just what we've been looking for!
     It rained nearly all day, hard at times. Apparently, Alabama floods where we were, despite the hills and rivers. The houses here are on stilts and graveyards are filled with concrete slabs and crypts, vaults, and monuments.
     We are sleeping in Laurel, Mississippi, tonight.

Cattle here graze with "friends."

   

The road goes on, and on, and on.....

Logging truck. We saw lots of these.

Bridge over Tombighee River

Milepost 3299: Still Recovering...

     Today I was finally able to check the map and figure the way home off the I-10. I checked with the family and discovered that so far it's just John and I with the flu. I sure hope no one else gets it! I don't want to leave this kind of gift with anyone!
     We did just as much driving as napping. I took very few photos. We are sleeping in Dothan, Alabama, tonight.

Bridge near Jacksonville, FL

Monticello, FL

downtown Wigham, GA

Riding into the Georgia sunset

Milepost 2984: Sick!

     It's a good thing we left Aunt Helen's house when we did, and that our plans weren't terribly important! First, John felt a bit queasy,  then I got a full dose of stomach flu myself and was wiped out for a couple of days! I really didn't care where we were or how we were returning to California - Not a good way for the navigator to feel! We are spending the night in St. Augustine, Florida.

Milepost 2916 Continued: Aunt Helen's House

     We arrived at Aunt Helen's as planned on Wednesday, in time to go with her and Uncle Vic to get Cindy from the Daytona Beach Airport. Party preparations started soon after our arrival, with a quick trip to a few stores for necessities after leaving Uncle Vic at home with John.
     On Thursday there was a bit more visiting followed by shopping with Carol and food prep for the party. Aunt Helen had her list of things needed and a list of things people were bringing. We didn't miss a thing!
     On Friday, we finished getting the cold dishes ready and Susan and Dave arrived mid-afternoon. The party started at 6 p.m. with the arrival of Aunt Alice with Aunt Louise and Uncle Ray, friends Elaine and Barbara, my cousins Carol, Nick and Inge, Paul and Allison, Adam and Charlene. There were 19 of us in all! We all had a great time and an enjoyable visit.
     John and I left Aunt Helen's on Saturday morning, after chair and table pickup. We had 2 weeks left and a little bit more to do in Florida before our return home.

Aunt Alice and Cindy hold Uncle Vic's cake