Heading to Arizona

We started the day with a wonderful hike in Mesa Verde to an trail with amazing views and overlooks. It was a wonderful way to say good-bye to this place. We took the dogs with us and they enjoyed the exercise as well. I was a little leary of bears as there had been sightings, but none were to be found...thank goodness. We packed the RV and drove an hour to Four Corners, where you can stand in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona all at the same time! Bought a few souvenirs from some local Navajo Indians. Heading Southwest, we stumbled upon Canyon de Chelly which is on an Indian Reservation maintained by the National Parks. It is an active canyon and the Navajo Indians still farm on the floor of the canyon. There were MANY peddlers trying to sell their jewelry and souvenirs. Although the canyon itself was beautiful, the area was run down and reminded me of a third world country. We also stumbled upon two stray dogs that hang out in the visitor parking lot looking for handouts. I fed them and watered them and reported them to the authorities. They said they don't do anything about it and the dogs will be fine. It broke my heart to leave them.....I also found it strange, that cows and horses wander the streets and highways too! It was a strange experience and we were ready to move on. We continued SW to the Petrified Forest National Park. It is a 28 mile drive through the remains of a once lush land 225 million years ago! It also encompasses part of the Painted Desert. We enjoyed an amazing sunset fall below the canyon which ended our day. We are spending the night in a KOA campground in Holbrook, Arizona about 100 miles SE of Flagstaff. We will head to Sedona in the morning!!

Mesa Verde National Park

Day 6 of our vacation and we spent the day exploring the cliff dwellings of the Pueblo Indians at Mesa Verde (Green Table) which compromises over 4,000 archaeological sites including 600 cliff dwellings in Southwest Colorado. These homes date back to 1240 A.D. and are situated along the top of a canyon. We visited 3 different sites, two of which were guided by a ranger.

To access these dwellings, one must be quite agile. It involves climbing, crawling, squeezing and not having a fear of heights as these dwellings are truly on the edge of the canyon. We also explored many of the trails and overlooks on our own. The sun was intense but the dry heat really doesn't make it feel like it is hot. I had always heard that, and now I "get it". So glad to be away from the humidity on the East Coast. Driving the RV up the switchback roads was quite an experience in itself. A couple of times, I had to go to the back and put my head under the pillow! We stopped at several trail heads along the way for short little hikes. We saw Elk, wild horses, deer, and lots of lizards. The mountain flowers of Colorado are abundant and the scenery was breathtaking! I could really live here! We head out tomorrow morning to Arizona and the Painted Desert.

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

We are here in Colorado at our first destination!! The drive across America was uneventful except for a few narrow roads due to construction and passing a few 18 wheelers at 70mph. But we made it in one piece! The "heartland of America" is beautiful with it's rolling hills, flat plains and corn fields as far as the eye can see. We arrived in the Mile High City (Denver) last night. The weather is considerable cooler from what we have had the past few days. As I write this I am in a fleece shirt and long pants! A nice relief from the 100 degree weather we left behind! We parked the RV in the driveway of Jon's house. (We go back to the 4th grade!) Jon, his wife Elaine and their daughter Hallie bought one of my puppy's last month, so it was extra special to re-unite with "Aurora" who is now 13 weeks old. I believe she remembered me too! They live in a beautiful house and all the neighbors were out in the street enjoying each others company for the evening. Jon, Guy and I headed out for a steak dinner which was by far the BEST steak I have ever had....yummy!! I had a couple of drinks with dinner and I am not sure if the drinks were just too strong, or because of the high altitude.....but I was in a "happy place". We all had a great time, but I have to say, I am not feeling the best this morning. sigh.....
Today we are heading out to play some golf in the mountains while we have the RV fixed. I must of brushed it against some tree limbs and damaged one of the awnings......a minor repair is needed (I hope) We are having bluebird skies and a crisp feel in the air, perfect day for golf! Then we may head over the ski resorts. Plan to hike part of the Continental Divide, and do some shopping in the town of Breckenridge. I was here 17 years ago on my honeymoon, so it will be interesting to see how the town has changed. I promise to post more pictures as today will be the perfect day for photos! Cheers!!

Camping in Pennsylvania

Well, it's day two of our trip. After spending the night in the parking lot of the casino, we got an early start, only to find that our black water tank (the poop tank) was full. I hadn't realized this, and should of emptied it before we started our trip. The extra weight limited the gas milage. plus makes the RV not smell so nice...To make a long story short, it took us 3 hours and 3 different camp sights before we were able to find a dump station. So, we really didnt get on the road until about 11:00. But hey, we are on vacation, so what's the rush: right? We traveled across the Tapazee Bridge in New York. I was driving the Rv and for those of you who know me, I am not the fondest of high bridges, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. But, I faced my fears and made it across without incident. We had lunch in the quaint little hippie town of Nyack, NY with my neice Madison. It was really nice to see her and meet some of her friends. The thermometer registered a whopping 100 degrees!! It was sweltering and the pups had a tough time with the heat. We took a short walk to the Hudson River where the pups soaked their feet. We loaded back into the RV and head south on the Jersey Turnpike to Delaware Water Gap in Pennsylvania which took us to Interstate 80 West. We will follow this road all the way to Colorado. The scenery in in PA is beautiful, lots of silos and farmland with beautiful rolling hills. We decided to set up camp in a remote campground a few miles off the interstate. We cooked our first meal on the grill and for some reason, food is always better when cooked outside. There are also a million fireflies that are illuminating the campground. Takes me back to my childhood when we would capture them in a jar and even sometimes pull their bodies off and make a "diamond ring" for our finger. Tomorrow, we head out early and hope to find some Amish villages.......time for some shopping! :)

Leaving Home

Picked up Guy from the airport around 3:30. Did last minute things around the house, said good-bye to Aaron and Jessicah and sweet little Carter and Levi. Dropped off the last dog to Chantelle who will love Logan for the next month. Thank you Chantelle I miss him already. We arrived at Mohegan Sun just in time for the Michael Buble concert. Awesome show! He is such an entertainer and a voice that is so pure. His involvement with the audience was refreshing and we all sang happy birthday to a boy named Andrew who turned 9. There was quite a variety of ages. After the concert, we went to the casino. Guy lent me $50 bucks and I went to the $5.00 slot machine. My second pull won me $1195. I cashed out and went to another and my second pull won me $200. I walked away with $1265 in my pocket! Yohooooo, great way to start the vacation. We are spending the first night in the RV in the Mohegan Sun parking lot.
Cheers!

RV waiting to go!

Here's a picture of the RV in the driveway, ready to go! I'm experimenting with uploading pics to the blog.

One more day to go!

Our countdown is almost in the form of hours instead of days! I still have so much to do in preparation for our departure. I have "farmed" out a couple of the dogs and the house is much quieter (and lonelier) this morning. We'll be taking Story and Cosette, my two 6 month old golden retrievers, with us. I've set up two crates in the "kitchen" where they will be comfortable in their travels. Last night, we hung out in the RV to help get them accustomed to their new home for the next 30 days or so. The RV sits in the driveway, half packed and semi organized. Mechanically, it is ready to go....ascetically, well.....still have some work to do. I still need to do some last minute shopping for the trip as well as fill the refrigerator. Because space is limited, I have to be wise in my choices of what is really necessary to take along with us. I need to purchase a bike rack as the one I have does not fit the RV. We plan to do some off road biking as well as play some golf in some of the most beautiful courses in America! If only I had a decent game.....nonetheless, I will appreciate the beauty of the courses.
I have downloaded a program into my laptop that will allow Internet access along my route. My camera batteries are charged and the house is taken care of. I can't believe this dream is really becoming a reality and tomorrow we begin our trip of a lifetime!