Returning Home to Michigan

After Hoover - we headed on east across Iowa and the top of Illinois toward home.  In south Chicago we met our daughter, Beth,  and granddaughter, Mary, to retrieve our bird that they had been babysitting for us.  We then drove on to Grandville, MI when we met our son, Ted, to retrieve our Pug, Jager.  At the Dykhuis home we also got to see our grandchildren: Andrew, Amelia, Lucy, Eleanor, and Harvey as well as our daughter, Becky, and son-in-law, Brian.  It was getting late so with the family intact in our truck we pushed on to northern Michigan where we arrived home the early morning of March 26.  We were exhausted but it had been a great trip with no major mishaps.  We had traveled to ten states and driven over 6100 miles.  Our vehicles had performed better than we could have hoped.  We had no accidents or traffic tickets.  We had experienced mainly good weather with the only real problems being some high wind storms in the southwest plains including a two-day dust storm that we had to ride out in New Mexico.  After driving across Kansas we decided that Dorothy was right when she said "There's no place like home!"  Nevertheless, Karen is already planning our winter trip south for next year.

Another Presidential Library on the Way Home - West Branch Iowa

After a long drive Saturday from Abilene Kansas to just past Iowa City we grabbed a room at a local motel.  Early Sunday morning we arose to visit the Hubert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.
Like the others we have visited, it was worth the trip.  Hoover has been associated closely with the Great Depression, but we learned that he had earlier warned President Wilson about the  excesses of Wall Street and how regulations were needed. - but his warning were ignored and the market crashed.  He had become rich by being a successful geologist and was making $33,000 a year at the age of 24 with the highest salary in the world at the time.  He was a great humanitarian and helped feed many starving people during both world wars.  The museum had a movie about his life and many exhibits to help understand his legacy. Hoover and his wife are buried on the grounds.  In our travels we have now visited the presidential libraries and museums of Truman, Clinton, LBJ, Eisenhower, and Hoover.
We hope to see all thirteen of them eventually.

Abilene Kansas - Childhood Home of Dwight Eisenhower

We planned our route back to Michigan to include a stop in Abilene Kansas to visit the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum.  The admission ticket included a 30 minute movie at the visitor center and a guided tour of the childhood home.  The museum was excellent and we both learned much about the man and the history he made.  After lunch we explored the antique shops of Abilene but did not find any real treasures about which to brag.

Blue Hole at Santa Rosa New Mexico

Santa Rosa did have an unusual attraction that we went to visit.  They call it the "Blue Hole".  It is a spring-fed sink hole that is very clear and very deep.  It attracts scuba divers and swimmers year around.
Click on this link below to view:
Blue Hole at Santa Rosa

Riding out the Storms in New Mexico

When we got into New Mexico from Arizona  the weather turned sour.  It had been our plans to head north up to Santa Fe but the weather man was predicting snow and freezing rain up there so we continued on east.  We stayed a couple of days in Gallup, New Mexico  as the wind blew hard and sand was in the air.  We then headed further east to the small town of Santa Rosa, NM for three more days of windy cool weather.  It was the strongest wind we had seen on our trip so we stayed off the road to ride out the storm.  Neither Gallup nor Santa Rosa were worthy of pictures, but below is an old car you seldom see.  Also at the bottom is the local New Mexico State Police post. (fancy - isn't it!)

Happy St. Pat's Day from the Desert

May your Day be Happy and Green!!

Petrified Forest National Park

Farther to the east before entering back into New Mexico we left I-40 at Holbrook AZ to drive a few miles south into the Petrified Forest.  This dry land was once a vast forest with towering trees and dinosaurs.  The trees got covered with silt and minerals and over time basically turned to rock.  Over the years people have taken away pieces as souvenirs but now it is closely monitored.  Again, they showed us a movie about the origin of the place, and we got to walk through what remains of the petrified wood.  The polished pieces on display are bright and beautiful.

Meteor Crater outside Winslow Arizona

On Monday morning 3/12 we headed east out of Flagstaff.  Our first stop was at Meteor Crater.  It is a giant bowl-shaped cavity in the desert that was created about 50 thousand years ago when a large meteorite hit the earth.  Because of its dry remote location it has changed little over the years since the collision occurred.  The crater is 4000 feet across, 550 feet deep, and 2-1/2 miles around.  We saw a movie, walked through a museum, and then got a tour out on the crater with a guide.  The pic above is of Karen making a wish on a piece of the "fallen star."  The site is a U.S. National Landmark and is promoted as the first proven and best preserved impact site on Earth.

How's This for a Camper??

This is a motorcycle and trailer used by a couple we saw at the Meteor Crater.  I thought it was a fishing boat but it was attached by hinges to the trailer and it was their sleeping quarters.

Day Trip to the Grand Canyon

On Tuesday we headed out fairly early up scenic route 180 to drive the 70 miles to the Grand Canyon.  The road was was easy to drive and the scenery was terrific.  The trees are green here and there are many open grassy meadows between the hills and mountains.  We saw a dead elk along the road and funny looking squirrels with long hairy ears in the woods.  Up here the land is much like northern Michigan with mountains.  The Grand Canyon was amazing to see up close.  We walked along the rim and took a bus tour before driving through the tourist village.  Above is the visitor center where we began our visit with a twenty minute movie.  Below are some pictures to bore you with.

Leaving Phoenix - heading North

We left the fancy RV park in Phoenix on Monday morning.  No more picking grapefruit off the trees before breakfast.  It was our intention to stop at Cottonwood, AZ and stay at the Dead Horse Ranch State Park for a few days.  However, spring break is on and the park was full so we kept on trucking north to Flagstaff.  We found Black Bart's  RV park with plenty of empty sites so we booked in for a couple of days.  Nothing real fancy about this place but it has what we need.  There is snow in the woods up here and the weather is cooler.

Presidental Campaign Update

We just missed Rick Santorum as he came through Flagstaff today - however, we did get a picture of his GOP campaign bus.

Our Stay in Phoenix Arizona

We arrived in Phoenix early Friday afternoon on March 9.  We found sites available at the Desert Shadows RV Resort in an upscale neighborhood in the northern part of town.  The resort is huge with 621 sites for RVs and park models.  They have a driving range, bocci ball court, 8 full size billiard tables, an indoor swimming pool and a jacuzzi that could hold at least twenty people among other facilities.  We are seeing how the true "snow birds" live down here in the winter months.  Many of the park models have beautiful yards and decorations.  Some of the Arizona residents have RVs to go north in the summer as we go south in the winter.   On Saturday we took a long day trip to the antique shops in Glendale, and later we celebrated Karen's birthday with a steak dinner at Outback.

No Arizona State Parks for us - It's now RV Resorts we are staying in.

We quickly learned that the cost to stay in an Arizona state park was only a buck or two less than what many of the fancy RV resorts were charging.  We stayed in a resort near the town of Benson, AZ and also one north of Tucson near Picacho, AZ.  The resorts have full hook-ups, heated swimming pools and jacuzzi, billiard rooms, shuffle boards, game rooms, film and book libraries, free fresh coffee, laundry rooms, wi-fi internet, and spotless bathrooms and showers.  Some also have hiking trails and even serve breakfast and lunch for a small fee.  These resorts are catering to older people so we fit right in.