May 13, 2013 - Motorhome Blues ...

Yes, we’ve had some motorhome ‘grouchy’ times again.  Things worked out ok in the end but were looking grim for a while.  Let me begin at the beginning.

We pulled into Bryce Canyon National Park on Saturday the 11^th and decided to stay in the park campground.  We hadn’t tried ‘dry camping’ yet and this was a perfect time.  (Note:  Dry camping is basically camping with no hook-ups at all … relying on stored water, propane and battery power.)  We thought we’d be ok as we were full up on all the good stuff … lots of food etc. 

So first night was fine.  Beautiful area … we took a drive to the end of the park which is 18 miles long.  We stopped at all the scenic viewpoints which were amazing to behold!  Bryce is not really a canyon … like Zion … it’s more a plateau along a ridge and you look down into the ‘amphitheatre’ to see the amazing formations.  Back to the campground and a comfortable night with no hookups.  Sunday morning Bruce got up early (5 am) to catch the sunrise and the light on the hoodoos (as it turned out he was about an hour early as sunrise was at 6:22 am) and while he got some good photos he almost froze – actually mildly hypothermic by the time he got back.  After he warmed up a bit we were off on our first hike – the Navajo loop to the Queen’s Garden loop.  It’s about a 3 – 4 mile hike and was SPECTACULAR!  So many amazing viewpoints it’s hard to make time … you have to stop every 10 steps to take more photos!  Anyway we got home eventually only to find everything dead.   No generator, no lights, no furnace, no FRIDGE!!!  Bruce tried everything to no avail!  Apparently the batteries were dead and that was that!

So we had no choice but to forego the 2^nd night we’d already paid for in the park and headed for a private campground to be able to plug into some hydro.  Hmmmm.  The fridge still didn’t work.  So now it’s Sunday – and Mother’s day to boot – and we have no power to the fridge!  Bruce sweated his buns off trying to figure it out. 

He eventually went to the campground office to see if there was a chance of a service station nearby to help us.   Unfortunately – No. 

The campground guy suggested a bunch of things that might be the problem but we’d already thought of them.  He eventually came back and helped us with suggestions as to the possible problem and VOILA … Bruce figured it out!!!  Something about a loose connection to the batteries.  So we’re back in business!

Today we went for a longer hike – the Peek-a-Boo loop which was over 5 miles and went from the top to the canyon floor.  What a marvelous hike!!  Unfortunately we’d started late (8:30am) as Bruce woke up with a raging sore throat and needed a bit more sleep – so it was quite hot at the end.  It took us about 4 hours and we saw some of the most amazing sights!  Bryce really is best seen from the bottom, middle and top.  You just can’t describe it … you really have to experience it and I really, strongly suggest everyone sees it at some point.  Truly amazing!

Tomorrow we head out … going West toward the coast.  I think we’ll make for the Oregon Coast and the road up to our ferry at Port Angeles as it’s getting close to the end of our journey.  

Till next time …

May 10, 2013 ... A little bit of heaven

Hello from Kanab, UT

We just spent an amazing day … we volunteered for the day at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  Happiness definitely is ‘A Warm Puppy’! 

When you volunteer you get to choose which type of animal you want to work with – they have dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds …

Of course we chose dogs … and then you get to choose from puppies, young dogs, mature dogs or senior dogs.  I immediately grabbed the puppy slots for Bruce & I!

Oh … how much fun is that?  I kind of lucked out because there’s lots of jobs to do around there like cleaning floors, windows … cleaning poop etc.  But somehow I ‘missed’ all those chores and got to play with a bunch of different puppies all afternoon!

Bruce cleaned some windows and folded laundry and helped feed puppies … but he also got to walk quite a few of them.  

The area itself is amazing ... it's a large no-kill shelter located in Southwestern Utah in Angel Canyon (formerly Kanab Canyon) near Kanab.   The sanctuary is on 3,700 acres (15 km²) owned by Best Friends, with an additional 33,000 acres (130 km²) leased from the United States Bureau of Land Management near Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon's North Rim, Bryce Canyon National Park, and Lake Powell.

The views are spectacular ... and the area feels so peaceful and calm.  They even have a graveyard for their own and other people's pets ... and it sounds very other-worldly with hundreds of wind chimes amongst the graves.  Very moving!

Angel's Rest

You know tho … as much as we loved it … it really makes you remember how much work puppies are.  They are energy in motion!  I’m exhausted!  Tonight will be a nite out for dinner!

May 9th, 2013 Linda's Nightmare

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May 9^th, 2013

Well, my hands have finally become unclenched enough to write.  The past 2 days have been … eventful to say the least.

We finally got out of Colo. Spgs. On Tuesday after installing the new part for the breaking system … all worked fine. 

We hooked up the car and headed out of the campground at around 7:25 am … going the back way as it’s an easier turn onto the highway.  Unfortunately for us they hadn’t unlocked the gate yet.  What??  The front gate is always unlocked!!  So here we are in a smallish lane with no exit.  Do we unhook the car (hassle) or do we try to make the tight turn?  We try to make the turn.  Bruce got right next to the fence (chain link) and started to turn.  What we ALWAYS forget is that the mo-ho kicks out it’s backside when you turn.  So doing what it does naturally, it kicked out, hooked onto the fence and pulled the back bumper into a 90 degree angle.  Luckily the fence survived.  So … after pulling the bumper into some semblance of ‘normal’ we unhooked the car, removed the braking system and … what???  Someone just came out and unlocked the gate!!  Thanks for that.

 

Nice drive thru the mountains!

So hook back up and off we go in a rain shower but hey … no big deal, right?  Well, as accustomed as we are to higher altitudes these past 2 months … at heart we’re still sea-level dwellers.  What we failed to take into account is that rain at 6,400 ft is snow at 9,000 ft.  A lot of snow.  So here we are on little, windy roads snowing heavily with snowplows going thru … at about 20 mph.  I’m sure if you touched me then I’d have played a tune I was so tightly strung! 

Needless to say, Bruce is great at driving thru crappy stuff and did just fine.  We finally wound back down to lower levels and got into rain again.  We made it into Durango safe and sound although it took 1 g and t and 2 glasses of wine to loosen me up. 

Today we decided not to drive into Sedona like we’d originally planned as it’s getting close to ‘coming home time’ and we really should be going north, not south.  So we headed to Kanab, UT … another long drive (over 300 miles) and while it snowed on and off it was mostly uneventful.  What beautiful scenery along the way …

We’re here in Kanab for 2 nights anyway … will venture out to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary tomorrow and hopefully I don’t come away with ½ dozen dogs!  Then we’ll head to Bryce Canyon and hopefully camp there a few days (or more!) with all the hiking, biking and sightseeing there is. 

May 5th, 2013 Stuck in Colorado Springs!

Well, let's see ... we got back from Hawaii on Friday morning (May 3rd). 

Dessert at Mama's Fish House

We had a really great time there with Lonnie & Sandy … saw some cool stuff … did some great drives … and enjoyed the beaches immensely.  It was sad leaving but we celebrated the last night with a fantastic (words can’t even describe) meal at a local legend – Mama’s Fish House.  This place is right on a beach and is so funky and eclectic you don’t realize it’s a Five-star restaurant.  The menu is – of course – heavy on fresh fish and local beef and pork.  We had some amazing meals (EXTREMELY pricey – but hey!  We were celebrating!) and drinks to celebrate Lonnie & Sandy’s anniversary (again!).  Then off to the airport (what a way to go!)

Took the ‘red-eye’ out of Kahului and into Denver via San Francisco.  Arrived terribly jet-lagged plus we went from sea level to over 6,000 ft. in a day.  Needless to say we went almost directly to bed when we got  home.  Slept for 12 hours straight and still felt like crap!

But we got some stuff done like grocery shopping etc. and took another walk around G. of the G. as the weather was actually sunny and warm(ish) for a change.  Had an early supper and early to bed again – ready to head out in the morning.  We’d decided to head west and south – to Sedona, Arizona where the temperatures were warmer. 

However … the best laid plans ….

When trying to hook up our auxiliary breaking system in the morning … it crashed on us!  Can’t drive with no breaking in the towed car so we opted to stay in the Springs a couple more days to try and get it fixed.  We have called the manufacturer and they’re shipping out the part so should get it by Tuesday (with any luck at all). 

We decided to make the most of our extended stay in the area to drive up to Cripple Creek.  It’s a gold-mining town about 1 hour from here – west and about 4,000 ft. higher!

Downtown Cripple Creek

Old Sign in Cripple Creek

What a neat place (if you can overlook the 10,000 casino’s which seem to have taken over much of the town!)  It’s an old town … most buildings are dated 1896 … which seems late until you find out that there was a town fire that demolished all of the old wooden buildings the year before.  But some great architecture and quite a beautiful town.  We had some lunch and wandered for   Apparently Victor has had more gold taken out than California and Alaska combined!  There are mines and remnants of mines everywhere.  The older mines are quite interesting and have some beautiful scenery around.  The ‘new’ mines are completely ‘raping’ the mountainsides and look like a moonscape after the apocolypse.  Very nasty business – gold mining!
a bit, then took the back way into Victor which is only a few miles away.

Mines near Victor

But the drive was nice and photo opps were everywhere!  So the day was certainly not wasted! 

Bruce is off for a bike ride and I think I’ll head to the liquor store as we’re getting dangerously low on wine!

May 6th,
We took a drive out to the Florissant Fossil Beds which is near Cripple Creek.  This is where they've found 1,000's of perfectly preserved fossils and there's also a bunch of petrified redwoods.  They're HUGE ... some 14' - 15' across.  These were widely vandalized in the early part of the 20th century by tourists who were encouraged to come out and take home fossils. It's amazing to think that this whole area ... now home to rolling grasslands and ponderosa pine ... was once covered with giant redwood trees!  A very cool place to see!

Maui ... Wowie!

Where to begin ... it's been fabuluous!  We're staying in a luxury resort with our own bedroom, bathroom and mini-kitchen.  It's part of the suite - the other 1/2 has Lonnie & Sandy's bedroom and their bathroom, the main kitchen, dining room, living room & 2 lanai's.  No ocean view ... but we do have a view of the mountains so get to see the sun come up each morning.  We usually go down to the tables by the bar-b-ques to eat at night so can watch the sunset over the water while dining on fresh fish or whatever we decide on.  Very nice!

Linda snorkeling!

We've done lots of water/beach related stuff ... and (and this is BIG for those of you who know me) I've gone snorkeling for the first time ever!

It didn't last long ... but I saw some cool fishes before I got seasick. 

Sea turtle!

Yes ... in 2 feet of water I managed to get seasick!  Well ... the tide was pushing water in and out ...

I also did another first by going down a waterslide in the hotel pool!  It was super fun!  So I did it several more times and got some really good airtime before hitting the water!  You just never know what I'll be brave enough to do next!

The 4 of us took the drive out to Haleakala National Park the other day.  It's quite a winding, narrow road up to the crater, but was quite interesting once we got up there.  It's not a 'usual' kind of volcanic crater where the hole is there from erupting lava ... it's mostly due to erosion so quite a beautiful yet stark landscape!

Top of Haleakala

We had an enjoyable dinner one night for Lonnie & Sandy's anniversary.  Sunset on the beach ... ahhhh ... beautiful! 

Anniversary dinner

Haleakala crater

I guess they mean business!

We took a drive out to the Nakalele blowhole which unfortunately was not blowing!  Wrong swell direction or low tide or something.  Cool spot nonetheless!

We also drove out to Ulupalakau which was very scenic and had the most magnificent Jacaranda trees along the way!  We enjoyed the

Jacaranda tree

drive as it's less 'touristy' and more of the 'real' island ... lots of old buildings and lush vegetation.

Today we drove the famous 'Hana Highway' which at only 42 miles long is a hair-raising 2 hour +/- drive as it has over 600 twists and

Along Hana Highway

turns and 56 one-lane bridges!  Interesting when there's a cement truck trying to negotiate the same road coming towards you!  But how jaw-droppingly beautiful!  Unfortunately it was raining quite hard when we got there so we didn't stay too long.
Along the way tho there's some neat waterfalls, bamboo forests and

Bruce in bamboo forest

'rainbow eucalyptus' trees!  

Now we're back at the room getting ready for another fantastic bar-b-que meal ... tonight is fresh marlin!  Better get helping with preperations!

Aloha!

Cool general store

Pa'ia

Bar-b-que kings!

April 24, 2013 Aloha from Maui

Aloha!  Warmth ... colours ... fragrances ... Hawaii is amazing!

Getting lai'd at the airport

Especially since when we left Denver on Monday there was a blizzard on the way!  Here the temperatures are steady with a daily high of around 84F.  Today is cloudy and a bit of a drizzle ... but it's WARM! 

On the beach

We haven't done anything too adventurous yet ... but we've got our food and liquor enough for a few days (!) and that always takes a bit of time. 
We did some good beach walks and had a good dinner last night at Leilani's - happy hour with Taco Tuesdays!  Taco's for $4 and beer for $4 and Margaritas for $4!  Watching the sun go down ... just perfect!

Taco Tuesday at Leilani's

Last night I managed to teach the gang how to play Euchre and that's a challenge even when you haven't been drinking all evening!  But lots of fun and we'll do more of that tonight!

Well, time to put on the bathing suits and head to the beach ... we all got a bit of sunburn yesterday so we really have to make sure we lather up with sunscreen a bit better today.

Sunset on the beach

Aloha!

April 20 Denver Ho!

April 19

Snowed in

After being in the deep freeze for the past couple of days there may be life yet in Colorado Springs.  Thursday (yesterday) was a 'veg' day and we got in some marathon card-playing
and movie watching.  Thank God for Walmart $5 DVD's!

Today (Friday) was MUCH warmer and got to nearly 50F!!!  But with the sunshine out it really does feel warmer.  We wanted to take advantage of the good weather to go up the cog railway to Pikes' Peak.  But when we called for tickets ... it was sold out!! for the 9:20 trip.  And they were saying there was no guarantee they'd make it to the top.  Since the clouds begin rolling in over the mountains in the afternoon we thought we'd plan that trip for another day ... possibly when we're back from Hawaii.

Instead we visited the Pioneer Museum in downtown Colo Spgs which was amazingly good! 

Old El Paso Courthouse

Birdcage elevator

Housed in the old 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, it has 2 floors and dozens of exhibits of all aspects of the region.  From paintings, to old photography, to pottery, native American artifacts, info on the black American experience in the region ... to guns, bikes, clothing and more.  What a beautiful building with it's marble columns, birdcage elevator and a beautifully preserved courtroom (where they filmed Perry Mason btw!).  And all for free!  Time well spent!

Wanted Dead or Alive!

Bruce at Red Rock

This afternoon we hiked around Red Rock Canyon which is less than 1/2 mile from our campground!  What a gem!  Lots of trails in a beautiful area.  They used to quarry a lot of the sandstone there that was used in building many of the local homes/buildings.  It's only been a park since 2003 but very nicely maintained and used by hikers, bikers and dog walkers.  The sun was out and it was a lovely afternoon!


April 20th
Getting ready for the big trek to Denver tomorrow.  We'll have to winterize the RV as it's way too risky not to with the weather they've been having - we'll do that 1st thing tomorrow morning.  Today is laundry, packing etc.  Bruce is heading out for a bike ride at Red Rock Canyon right now while it's relatively warm and not raining or snowing! 
We'll head to Rudy's BBQ tonight for our last meal in Colo Spgs ... have to go back for some more of that smoky nirvana.   My next post will be from Hawaii!  Bye for now!