After a month in Apache Junction Vern and I are on the road again. Apache Junction is in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains which are beautiful. We stayed at SunriseRV resort the entire time which was a very different experience for Vern and I. We learnt a lot. There , we met up with old friends and family, made some new ones, danced till we dropped, hiked till we dropped, discovered new favourite restaurants, walked the Lost Dutchman 10 km, attended The Lost Dutchman carnival and rodeo. Pretty much other than the weather being the worst it has been in years we had a great time. Think snow, rain, down coats and way below normal temps!! I know no sympathy as much better than the chilly north 🙏

Goofing around in Scottsdale with sister Rachel and Jo. We stayed two nights with them to get out of the rain. And of course to visit

The mission in Scottsdale where we all had our first margarita and fresh made guacamole

Scottsdale treated us to a rainbow

Thought it was a picture it is actually a painting. We checked out some art galleries in Scottsdale too

More of the Mission

Meeting up with Airstream family. Great to see Sally and Terry and Evie and John

The carnival

And he is thrown

Evening cocktails at Harald and Simone’s with Louise Ivan and Janine

Heading into Sedona

Drive up 89 to Grand Canyon was amazing

Vern at the Grand

On the beach at Cattail Cove

Our site at Cattail

Our view

Views on the road to Cattail That is the south end of Lake Havasu. Just one of many lakes created by the damming of the mighty Colorado river!!

And of course no camp experience is complete without a fire ala the “vern”

Based on the unusual weather we decided to scout out the next planned leg of our journey and made an overnight pilgrimage through Sedona (where we were supposed to stay for 2 weeks), and pushed further to take a peak at the Grand Canyon which is breathtaking. With 2 feet of snow on the ground and a forecast for a “colder than usual March” for north Arizona and Utah we have aborted that part of the trip for another year.

So what are we doing? We just left Havasu Lake area after a lovely stay at Cattail Cove State Park. We are currently enroute to Kartchner Caverns State Park for two nights then we plan to meander back east on Hwy 10 landing in Georgia in about 10 days where we plan to spend time checking out the state parks. Basically following the sun !! So far we are booked into Crooked River and Mistletoe state parks. Arrival home will depend on weather.

Canyon of the Eagles (which we loved) has its own resident astronomer and a well equipped observatory. Monday we visited the observatory it was a clear night so lots of stars visible. Jim the astronomer was a walking textbook, and as it turns out our neighbour in the park. We saw Mars, Jupiter another galaxy it was mind boggling the distance things are from earth made my brain ache. Here are a few pics

The sign

The observatory from the outside

Another galaxy I think

Or this might be the other galaxy

The equipment

We took a day trip to SAN Antonio which is beautiful. Alas I left the cooler plugged in and our battery was flat. Vern managed to flag down a guy with a truck who gave us a boost.

This all was complete before the good Sam agent could even figure out where we were.

No introduction needed the Alamo

The SAN Antonio riverwalk

Views on our stroll. It is over 10 miles long

Cops on patrol

Pics of our one night stay at Roper Lake State Park. Lovely spot definitely on our return to list. Also our drive on Hwy 60 into Apache Junction was stunning. Great to be in one spot for a bit. Definitely a different kinda “camping”. Nice to hook up with Louise and Ivan Looking forward to some amazing hiking. They have a hiking group and a cycling group right out of the park and the have 8 pool tables.

Our site at Roper Lake

Our view

More view as the sun started to set

Somehow Vern and I can’t compete with that sky

In all its splendour

Road to Apache

The rock structures can’t really do it justice. But we were high up 6 & 7 degree grades. The little green truck was working

So here we are at Canyon of the Eagles just outside Burnet (pronounced burn it) Texas in “hill country “. It is on Lake Buchanan which was created when a dam was built to provide water to the local areas. Apparently 3 dams were built in a row and in fact are part of the Colorado River system.

A picture says a thousand words so here goes

I

Sunset over lake

Our small burn pile

Live music here with Doug Day check him out on you tube A Little Help

Interesting names for beer around here

The labyrinth by the lake

Sometimes you have to try something to find out what you don’t like. We don’t like cramped crowded concrete RV parks. While there were great bits to Camp Gulf it is not on our return to list. Just way too crowded and way too expensive. Huge motor homes everywhere we were like a dwarf amongst the giants. Literally you could almost shake hands with your neighbor by leaning out your door. But it was ocean front, we got to check out the fabulous state parks in the area, see amazing sunrises and sunsets , walk the beach for miles and catch up with a friend from work some will remember Mary Gurba from Halton. Vern and I had a lovely dinner with Mary and Glenn (who look fit and amazing) at the Back Porch in Destin.

We left Florida on Wednesday and spent a lovely night in Scott Louisiana at the Happy Hoof Farm. It is a Boondockers welcome site and the site and the hosts were amazing. We were invited in to their home where they (two retired educators who had lived in the area their entire life) treated us to Boudin and sweet potatoes while we were educated in the local culture and history. Apparently Scott is the Boudin capital of the world!! Boudin looks like a sausage tastes a bit like savoury stuffing and is plain old delicious. Each family has its own recipe. All contain rice seasoning and meats. We left with a sampling of local seasonings and sauces. All in all pretty amazing.

Yesterday we travelled to Texas (about 600 km). It was an eventful trip as we blew out a trailer tire at 100 km an hour on the freeway. Thankfully a car passing told us it was blown and Vern expertly manoeuvred us off the highway to safety. A call to Good Sam and help was on its way. The hardest part was trying to provide the agent with our location. Note to self take note of which exit you take!! We were in a sketchy remote area but again we were helped two guys in a pick up told us were we were and another local resident stopped to ensure we had help on the way. So other than a 4 hour delay and a very late arrival at Canyon of the Eagles and being out of pocket for a new tire all is well. Canyon of the Eagles is a dark sky resort at the end of a long two lane road so no light at all. They waited for us and escorted us to our site and waited until we were safely backed in. This place is beautiful.

Parked with the flat

The “Vern” checking for damage

The shredded tire

The help

Sunset on the road

Well it is Sunday January 20 and we are about half way through our stay at Camp Gulf.  The weather has been well variable to say the least, wind, rain, sun, yesterday in the 20’s and right now about +3 with an anticipated high of just 9 degrees !!  ( I know much better than what is going on back in Ontario.)

Our site a bit of a concrete jungle (not sure we would come back here unless we were beachfront and then just for a night or two)

View from our site

Miramar Beach

Beachfront sites

Our site at night.

What have we done,  we explored the state parks that are in this area Grayton Beach and TopSail both of which are beautiful and more our speed.  Late booking on our part meant state parks were fully booked. We participated in the weekly Thursday night nine ball tournament, Vern played while I learnt to play Mexican Train (kinda like Rummy Cub) with the wives of the guys shooting pool. ( I asked them what they did before they were retired – we had two nurses, a teacher, a therapist, an accountant a business manager and one house wife.) They all were true to profession in their playing, the accountant kept score, the teacher taught me, the therapist kept the conversation going and the house wife won the game…

Friday night we  sat around the communal campfire where we  met 3 other wanderlust couples.  All lovely interesting people.

I have swum ( is that a word ??) lengths in the bubbled pool.  The  bubble cover over one of their pools creates an indoor pool 20 meters in length and it is  nice and warm – it does not get much use so I took advantage of it for length swimming, and also it is provides an indoor space for yoga!!  Today if it stays this cold Vern and I are off in search of pool noodles and will likely float for a bit this afternoon.

Yesterday we got up to see the sunrise which was beautiful, indulged in a little retail therapy/window shopping as it rained on and off all day so a good day for it.  Honestly I have never seen so many shops and outlet malls.  There are miles of them  Vern and I walked close to 5 km just walking the mall.  We found a Bass Pro shop which made Vern very happy.  TTFN

The pool tourney

The park at night “classic”

sunrise

Anthropologie

The always have great displays

After three long travel days, through mountains and valleys, borders and big cities, we have arrived… Two nights en route at Comfort Inns ( too cold for camping) we arrived in Florida.   The trip down was quicker than expected ( hmm I wonder if Verns lead foot had anything to do with that) as a result we found ourselves with a night to spare before check in at our destination “Camp Gulf “for 7 nights…  We were fortunate to be able to book a night at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park – I wish we could have spent all our time at that park it was beautiful!!  Definitely one to return too.  Pics below are self evident.

When we arrived at Topsail we dewinterized the airstream and spent the first night of the next chapter, tucked up in the comfort or our own home on wheels… We met another airstream owner from Haliburton who had lived at one time in Burlington..  We chatted and realized we would likely see each other at future Ontario rallys.  We learnt from them that check out was 1 pm not 11 am so were able to visit the beach before the last leg of our journey.  I am so glad we found the time it was amazing.  Deserted white sand that felt like cornstarch to our feet..

We moved all of 7 km down the road to our new home at Camp Gulf – which to say the least is a very different experience.   We are quite chock a block to say the least but everyone is friendly and the ocean well really is just footsteps away.  It will be nice to be in one place for 7 nights..

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park – first peak at the ocean

the boardwalk that leads to the beach

Topsail beach art.

The “VERN” taking off his shoes to dip toes in the ocean

Da Da ready to go

The walk

and . . . toes ( mine too) in the ocean!!

Yes that is the ocean behind us…

Just a nice pic

Topsail dunes

All paths lead to the beach..

Our spot at Topsail 

A pick up truck Vern spyed that he quite liked.

Readying “Blessed”

Yes that is what we called her because that is how we feel…One more sleep and we begin creating chapter two of the Zimmerman Files.  Saturday will be the start of our 96 day (give or take a few) winter adventure through the south.  We are to say the least quite excited, a little nervous, and filled with anticipation… Tomorrow we plan for an early start, a smooth border crossing in Sarnia and a peaceful drive down the I-75 to the booming metropolis of Piqua Ohio.  A total of about 650 km.  Day two takes us to Athens Tennessee and day 3 should land us in  Destin Florida at Camp Gulf, right on the ocean for 1 week.

So where are we off to anyway.

For those whose eyes are not quite as good an enlarged map.   In total we will drive about 10,500 km.   Hope the little green truck holds up..

Camp Gulf

An RV resort on the beach..Pretty tight spaces but the ocean is right there..

we loved our last spot loads of space. Our neighbors were Canadian had everything. But I have to admit our sponges are full. Only so much can be absorbed and then you need to take a break. Also the call of Cedar Lodge was getting louder. We did hit the highlights Badlands, Mount Rushmore but I must admit we spent 2 days enjoying small town USA in Hill city. It was fun. We left on Friday and spent last night in Brandon South Dakota and tonight we are boondocking at the Forgotten  Fire winery.   Today the awesome Vern drove 550 miles. Not km but miles that is a lot of driving  audiobooks saved us

Our site we were in between two families each had four kids it was fun listening and watching families being families.

Us in the Badlands it was very very hot.

Badlands

Sheep they crossed the road right in front of us,  didn’t seem to give a poop we were there.

Quite the drive…

We stopped here to pick up some water.   You could buy prairie dog food here and feed it to the many families living right next door…Prairie dogs are not that smart.   They sit on the sides of the road and if one of them gets hit, others run out to eat the dead one and end up getting hit themselves..

Downtown Hill City  ..  Hill City is just about an hour south of Sturgis where one of the largest bike rallies takes place it was just 2 weeks away and there were tons of bikers around on all measure of motorcycle

No idea of who this is but he just had that classic biker look goin on.

Street side at the Mangy Moose Saloon, 2 beers for $3.75 and the best seat in the house for people watching.

Just kinda cool.

Nice jewelry I feel inspired to take up beading again.

Local art store.

Sunset over the airstream

Vern struck up a conversation with the driver of this big truck I found his hood ornament quite unique.

Boondocking at the Fogotten Fire Winery 

Of course we had to sample the wine…

So we arrived at the Longhorn Ranch and RV resort on Friday July 6th after a long drive through Idaho, and into Wyoming.  We were pooped, it was a beautiful but mountainous drive and my passenger side brakes were no longer working.  I have discovered this trip that I really don’t like heights that much..  I have this irrational response to curves on mountain passes when I am on the edge..  I have definitely had some “trouble with the curves”..  Vern has been very patient…

We had been going to spoil ourselves with a short stay at the Teton Mountain Lodge from the 11th to the 14th but had decided against it as we really do like our home on wheels.  Meaning we were going to be homeless for 3 nights.  Once we arrived at the “Longhorn” we immediately knew we should  just stay put for the extra nights if we could.  Thankfully they had space but we had to shift spots but it was worth it..  It is lovely here..

So what have we been up to.  Dubois ( pronounced Dewboys)  is a charming small (population officially 977) Wyoming town that has a quaint downtown, square dancing every Tuesday night,  at the Rustic Pine saloon, rodeos on Friday nights and of course the the Jackalope museum!!   Day one we checked in at the visitors centre and opted to spend the next 2 days exploring the local favourites.  We have now toured the local fish hatchery, hiked to Whiskey Mountain falls, explored Brooks lake, visited the art gallery, and sampled the local cuisine.

I have to say the Teton’s are spectacular, we drive towards then en route to Yellowstone.   We have been into Yellowstone once so far and plan to have another go at it tomorrow.   The parks are a bit further than I imagined.   To get to the edge of the park is nearly a 2 hour drive and Yellowstone is very very big…Monday when we ventured in we did the “old faithful & geyser loop ” it was very interesting but bit of a zoo to say the least.  We did not get home until 10:30 that night and nearly hit 2 sets of deer on the road on the way home, but we did see a huge grizzly off the side of the road..   Tomorrow we plan to make a real early start and visit the Yellowstone Canyon, the upper and lower falls area and then head north in search of large wildlife.

Dubios second hand store, bought a couple of cute shirts here.

cowboy cafe apparently they make the best pie in all of Wyoming we had lunch there.

The saloon where the square dancing takes place

The “Vern”

The Jackalope

sunset over the Tetons

Tetons

Driving

Old Faithfull

geysers very other worldly

Wild horses on the Whiskey Mountain hike

Whiskey Mountain

The fish hatchery, trout

Hundreds and thousands of fish are raised and then released into the surrounding rivers.

Entering the Longhorn Ranch

Horses on the ranch

Our first site right down by the Wind River.

View from our site..It was heavenly.