UFO Capitol of the World--Roswell

Having been such a SciFi buff all my life, there was no way we could pass up a trip to Roswell, NM.

Left this morning and a couple hours later we arrived at the front door of the UFO Museum and Research Center. For the price of $3.00 each we were allowed to tour the museum and take as many pictures as we wanted. We stayed there about 1.5 hours. Read all the pros and cons and had our thoughts that our government has been hiding stuff from us reinforced. What's new these days!!(My political rant).

One of my hiking friends had told me that he was stationed at Roswell. (I hope I get the story right) He and some buddies went hunting in the area. They found this little mannequin out in the desert. They went back and reported it to the Air Force and were told it was dropped from an high altitude weather balloon. They have one in the museum and I will include it with this entry.

After that we went to Wal-mart. We always go to Wal-mart. This one has little green men and UFOs painted on it's facade. Bought some souvenirs and headed to camp. Made an early day of it. When we got back there was a fire burning at the base of dam. Seems the wind had sparked a fire from the powerlines. It was under control and electricity was restored to the campground shortly afterward.

Carlsbad, NM

We arrived here at Brantley State Park on the 27^th and found a nice camping spot. Not to expensive and with electricity. Lovely view of a large lake that is the headwaters of the Pecos River. We have now been to the mouth of the Pecos and the headwaters. Arrived middle of the day and got our site and left the camper without setting it up. This campground has reserved and first-come, first-served sites. Since we did not have a reservation and were unsure how long we wanted to stay in this area we booked for two nites.

Then made a run back into Carlsbad(about 14 miles south of us) to the local Wal-mart for groceries, a long sleeve white shirt for me and a new pedometer for Joyce. We finally got the site set up around 4:30. BTW, we are now in the Mountain Daylight Time Zone.

On the 28^th we awoke to a very windy and chilly morning. Not the type of day you want to spend outdoors. So we decided that was the day to investigate the big hole, i.e. Carlsbad Caverns. We paid our fee, nothing for Golden Age cardholders, and headed for the natural entrance. We dropped 750 feet in 1.25 miles. Lots of interesting things to see. Finally made it down the the area where there are bathrooms, and eating area. Had some lunch and then a walk (1.25 miles) thru the Great Room. Words can not describe it. If you ever get the chance you should see this place. Joyce and I took tons of pictures. Some good, some you will never see.

Finished our walk and headed topside. The only way out is by elevator. Crowded but not bad. Ears popped a couple times. After that we headed west to the Guadelupe National Park to hike into a canyon we had heard about. Unfortunately, we arrived near gate closing and only had a little while to hike. Headed back home. We were exhausted, so ate dinner out.

Today, the 29^th, we did laundry, toured the Living Desert State Park on the outskirts of Carlsbad. Ate lunch and got a few more groceries. Back to camp and did very little the rest of the day. Suited me fine. For some reason I have been very tired the last couple of days, but do not believe it is health related. My blood sugars are good, averaging 100 over the last 14 days. Blood pressure is fine. 112/62. Maybe I am just having too much fun.

Fort Davis, Texas

March 26, 200 8

Fort Davis, Texas

As you can see, I have not posted since the 20^th. We left Seminole Canyon on the 21^st and took a slow drive to Alpine where we stayed in a motel for the night. Catching up on the news, grocery shopping and laundry. Showers were good too.

On the 22^nd we left for Big Bend National Park. Not that long a drive, but Joyce and I manage to kill more time along the road than you can imagine. We are not in a hurry. Big Bend is a long way from anywhere. No phones, no electricity in our campground, no newspapers, no internet. The campground was very nice. Pretty quiet. We have done a fair number of short hikes. Some up into large canyons, one to a place called Cattail Falls. On the 25^th , I took a 4 mile hike along the canyon rim from the Hot Springs to the Rio Grande Village. The temperature was 108 degrees. We have had temperature ranges from 39 degrees to 108. Desert weather! One night while asleep (we woke up) a coyote was howling right near our camper.

Last night we had a real treat. The folks camping next to us included an amateur astronomer. He set up his telescope and invited us over to look. Actually got a look at the rings of Saturn. How neat, plus we saw other stars and galaxies. I could get into that. But I would have to do photograpy. Very neat and he was quite knowledgeable.

Cactus are beginning to bloom profusely. Very pretty, but of course you can look, but you better not touch. All for now. Every one take care. We miss you, but are not ready to make the turn for home yet.

From Sanderson Texas

March 20, 2008

Today Joyce and I celebrate our 44^th wedding anniversary. Would think for something like that we would eat a big meal, paint the town etc. When you are 40 miles from the nearest town of any size and 26 miles from a very little town with one gas station, not a lot of celebrating to do. But we made a good day of it. Went back down to the Pecos river. Weather much better today. Not cold, spitting rain etc. Checked for flowers, took the obligatory pictures.

Then on to the Roy Bean Museum. That was in Langtry, Tx. Roy claimed he named the town after Lilly Lantry, but the railroad begs to differ. They claimed to have named it after one of there engineers who the designed the railroad. Doesn't matter. This is the one gas station town I was referring to earlier. Regular gas is $3.45 per gallon. When you're the only game for 60 miles, you can charge what you want. But I will say this, it is the only place in town to get something to eat. And the BBQ sandwich was good. And not too outrageously price. Then we went to the Museum. Very nice. And free. The Texas Department of Transportation owns, maintains and operates it. Also they have a very extensive desert garden with the plants labeled. That made it easier for Joyce in some of her plant identifcations.

Next we went back down the Rio Grande Trail. Not as far as yesterday. I went a couple miles down while Joyce turned back earlier. Another view of the Canyon and cliff walls. It was ok, but the neat thing for me was finding a couple of rocks in the trail that had fossils embedded in them.

Tomorrow we travel on to the Big Bend area. Not sure of where we are going to stay, but once we get to an area with cell phone coverage will be able to figure it out.

March 19, 2008

Another busy day. First thing this morning we took a tour of the rock dwellings down in Seminole Canyon. These dwellings were where the rivers had undercut the limestone and formed overhanging rock that protected the prehistoric people from the elements. There is evidence that shows that these people lived here for over 9,000 years. One of the big attractions are the rock paintings they left behind. Quite impressive. Having never seen anything like them before, I was excited at the opportunity. Took lots of pictures. Joyce did too. She had been afraid that physically she could not handle the tour, but she did very well. The only aftereffects were her very sore thigh muscles. We were told there are 336 steps up and down to the dwellings. Then you have to retrace your steps. After lunch we started down the Rio Grande trail. At the end is the confluence of the Rio Grande and an unnamed, to us, stream that flows thru Seminole Canyon. Across the river(accessible by boat only) is Panther Cave. The attraction there is a 15 ft panther painted on the wall. We were able to get a decent view of it from the overlook. What I haven't told you about this trail is that it is a 6 mile round trip. Joyce was a champ. She made it the whole way and while totally exhausted and probably overheated never complained. I made sure that we took lots of rest stops and drank a lot of water.

March 18, 2008

Yesterday afternoon we arrived here in Seminole Canyon State Historic Park. About 88 degrees with a light breeze blowing. We are 9 miles from the nearest community and another 26 miles from Del Rio, Texas. This is part of the Chihuahua n Desert. Somehow, we managed to get the last site with electricity and were able to book it for 3 nights.

We set up camp and had dinner. After that we took a walk down the trail that goes to the Rio Grande. Went about ¾ mile down the trail. Very easy, but Joyce was having trouble with her feet and the hiking boots she was wearing. We are in the type of area where foot protection is vital. Many thorns and other noxious things. Hopefully we got the shoe problem fixed. I had her loosen up the strings so they were not so tight over the arch of her foot. After we did that she said her foot was much better.

The weather forecast had predicted severe thunderstorms, with lightening, strong winds and possibly large sized hail. We had considered moteling it last night but decided to take a chance that the thunderstorms would bypass the area. Well let me tell you, they did not bypass us. About 10:45 the first one came rolling thru and as advertised. The camper was rocking back and forth in the wind, lightening was continuous and the hail was deafening. We weathered that storm ok. About 1:30 the next one rolled thru. Heavy rain and lightening. No hail this time of which I was glad. Also the temperature dropped quite dramatically during these storms, and where I had the fan going in the heating/cooling unit, I turned on the heat. All told, we got 3.6 inches of rain. BTW, Joyce always carries a rain gage and thermometer.

I always thought that I could survive most places, but realize that I would have to learn a new set of skills to do so here. Even here in late winter this is an inhospitable place to those not used to it. I really felt sorry for the people in tents last night. Joyce just came back from the bathroom and tells me the family in the tent over behind us is asleep on the bathroom floor. Good for them.

March 17, 2008

Today is a travel day. A short 175mile trip to Del Rio, where we may stay in a motel. Lots of new flowers along the way for Joyce to photograph and identify. Saw our first Roadrunner. Still have not seen the rumored Armadillo. We do not believe there are any live ones, as the only ones we have ever seen are lying dead along the roads. We decided to go to the state park and hopefully get a campsite. We did.

March 16, 2008

Did the touristy thing. Went into San Antonio to the Alamo. Quite a bit of Texas history there. Toured the museum and the grounds. Listened to an oral presentation about the Alamo and why these men elected to die there. They knew they would not survive, and elected to fight anyway in order to buy the rest of Texas time to mount a defense against the army of Santa Anna.

Next we walked a couple of blocks and found the “famed” San Antonio River walk. What a mob scene. They were celebrating St Patrick's Day with a parade (Eight floats on boats going down the river). Had lunch at one of the riverside eateries. Then stood in line for 30 minutes or more to buy tickles for a boat ride around the downtown loop. That was nice. After that we left the River walk and back to our car.

Now in my life there have been events that called for a “mark on the wall”. Not many, but a couple. We wanted to go to flea market that we had heard about. Now back last fall, I bought a GPS unit for the car. Joyce just rolled her eyes and said a boy and his toys. Well on this trip I have been using it to get to places we would never have found except with a lot of bickering and angst. I mean, for most of the time, I have no idea how to get to these places. But put an address into the GPS, then follow them and in most cases you will arrive at your destination. Not 100% but certainly helpful. Joyce actually admitted that it was a good idea for me to have purchased it, especially if we were going to continue to do these types of things.

Found the flea market and while it was large, we were quite disappointed. Not at all like the ones we had been to in Florida and Tennessee.

On to San Antonio

Yesterday we went back to the Strand in Galveston. Walked around for several hours looking at the old buildings and neat architecture. While there we went to a little theater that showed a short movie(Slide show type with voice narration) describing the devastation of the “Great Storm” in 1901.

At that time Galveston was only a foot or so above sea level. When what must have been a Class 3 or 4 hurricane came ashore the storm surge covered the whole island. The most populated area was on the north end of the island. When all was said and done, over 6000 people died. One description of the debris that it was a wall 200 ft. high. And the pictures looked like it. But Galveston rebuilt itself. For 6 million dollars they built a concrete seawall several miles long. It took only 3 years. Then they raised the level of the island by dredging sand and pumping it inland. They raised all the surviving buildings, some as much as 20 feet. Can you imagine trying to get agreement to do a job so large these days. Look at New Orleans.

We are now near San Antonio. Drove over today from Galveston. When we left there the sun was actually shining, but the temperature was cool with a stiff wind blowing in off the gulf. I was actually cold. By the time we got off the gulf a few miles it was quite warm. In one town we saw a thermometer that said 91. We drove with the windows down and I actually considered using the AC, but Joyce wanted none of that. She was concerned with gas mileage. Took us about seven hours to get to this campground which is about 10 miles outside of San Antonio. It is about 8:00 p.m now and the temp is 76 with a light breeze. Don't think we will need heat in the Camper tonight.

On the way here,we got into Cactus Country. Mostly Prickly Pears similair to what we have at home with one exception. These thing were big. Some as tall as 5 feet and stalks larger than a good sized man's arm. And there were miles and miles of them. When I get Joyce's pictures off her camera I will post one so you can see what I am talking about.

Tomorrow we plan to go into town and see the Alamo, and do the River Walk. That is supposed to be great. I will let you know how that is.

The road less traveled

We arrived in Galveston yesterday afternoon around 5:30. Took the back roads as usual. Lots of Bayous, Birds, Cattle grazing. We made one side trip to another wildlife preserve and walked and drove around that. Saw a bunch of alligators. Arrived at Galveston Island State Park and checked into our campsite. While not on the ocean it is about 200 ft away, across some sand dunes. Got camp set up and went for a walk on the beach. Did dinner and then frittered the rest of the evening away reading and catching up on pictures. Joyce keeps an extensive journal and it sometimes takes her over an hour to write it. While coming down the road she has a small notebook, and a pen, and that pen seems to be moving all the time. \

Galveston is on an island and coming from the north, the only way on is a ferry ride. These ferry hold about 60 cars each. We were checked by Home Land Security before we boarded the ferry. Mirror under the car, hood up, checking for bombs. I am surprised that they did not have bomb sniffing dogs and all that. But in all fairness, the were very polite and respectful. This ferry crossing was free and took about 15 minutes. While crossing, I got to see a bottle-nosed dolphin. It only appeared for an instant and then was gone. So now Joyce and I are even in the dolphin wars.

Today, we had planned to get up early and go out on the beach and watch sunrise. That did not happen. After finally getting around, we hit the beach. Joyce looking for shells, etc and me looking for some exercise. I walked about 3 miles at a brisk pace. Then back to camp and into Galveston. The Campground Host recommended that we go over to the harbor side and walk around. That we did. I missed my turn and went several streets north, but turned toward Harborside and we saw a large and ornate house known as Bishops Castle. Across the street was a Catholic Church. This was painted white and was quite striking. Walked around that neighborhood for a few blocks admiring the architecture . Drove on over to Harborside, parked and had lunch at Willie G's Seafood Resturant. When we walked in I knew it was going to be pricey, but since this was the first meal of this type we had eaten decided that we deserved it.

After that, we took a Harbor Tour that lasted about 45 minutes. Went down the Galveston Ship Channel and the pilot told us about the area and the things we were seeing. There were several deep sea drilling rigs in for updating of equipment. Man are those things big. Looked up and the people working on then seemed like ants. We did not see any dolphins today which the pilot said was unusal.

After that back home again. I have made a rough estimate on the gas mileage we are getting while pulling the camper. Can't find all the gas tickets, but know how much I have spent in gas. Using an average of $3.15 per gallon and we have driven 2080 miles since leaving home, I figure we are getting somewhere close to 18mpg. Not too bad. I expect it to decrease when we get into the hill country of Texas.

We will stay one more night here and leave Saturday morning. Plan to head inland toward San Antonio. Need to see the Alamo, and everyone says the hill country is gorgeous. Anyway, I have gotten tired of the flatlands and the coast.

Still in Louisiana

We decided to stay another night here in the campground near Johnson Bayou. It was quiet and we could explore this part of the coast a little more. We drove east for several miles and then north on La-27 to the Sabine Wildlife Refuge. Took a wetlands walk there seeing the usual birds etc. Then further north to Blue Goose Trail. The mosquitoes were bad, tho not as bad as Alaska. Could anything be that bad. But we put on Insect Repellant after that.

Next we headed back the way we came, stopping once to hunt for shells on the beach. Got quite a few nice ones. Small conchs and what looked like snails, but much prettier. Then on into Port Arthur Texas. I have never been in a town that looked like this one. Refineries everywhere. Joyce took lots of “windshield” pictures. Also saw some large Ocean vessels. Quite impressive. We drove south to Sabine Pass and went to the end of the road, where we drove thru the McFaddin Wildlife Refuge. The usual birds. On the way down we saw American Pelicans and Ibis.

\We will head for Galveston tomorrow.

Along the Gulf Coast

Raining tonight. We did not make it to Texas yet, but we are close. Once again,we have taken the scenic route. Lots of small towns, birds, alligators, etc. We stopped along a beach, which was mostly deserted and picked up a bag of shells. The only other people there were a girl collecting conch shells and her boyfriend?/husband sitting in the truck. The waves were energetic and the water looked muddy from all the sand that was being churned up.

The weather today started out good. Warm, partly cloudy. But as we headed south and west it progressively got worse. We ran in and out of rain, some heavy. But when we got to the ferry to cross the Deep Water Shipping Channel at Port Arthur it was breezy. So we were able to stand out on the ferry for the 5 minute crossing. But while waiting we saw on very large ship putting out to sea. It was so big that we could not get it all in the frame for a picture on wide angle. But the exciting thing about the crossing was the porpoise that Joyce saw. I missed it and she was unable to get a picture.

After crossing the channel we came to this campground on La-82. Looks like mostly permanent folks. Oil workers are our guess. After finally finding the office, we are staying for the night. So expensive. $10 an nite and quiet. We got the camper put up before the rain got too heavy. It is currently falling at a steady pace and the wind is blowing. But so far, we are warm and dry. Finished supper and Joyce is doing the dishes. Many thanks to our grandson, Ivy, who taught us the proper way to fry biscuits. They came out well.

Cypress Island

We are spending 3 nights here in Lafayette, so will be heading west tomorrow morning. Plan on going to Cameron, La and taking HiWay 82 west. There is a ferry that we will have to catch to cross a deep water shipping channel and then on into Sabine Pass Texas. I read that at Sabine Pass, the Union Navy landed troops to try and cut railroad lines in Texas. It did not work. The Texans put them back on their ships. Enough of this, so on to the last two days.

Yesterday, at Donna's urging, we found Lake Martin and the Cypress Island Nature Preserve. Cypress Island is home to a large rookery of birds, which number among them Blue Herons, Great White Egrets, Snowing Egrets, Ibis, Rosette Spoonbills, the occasional Bald Eagle(which unfortunately we did not see). Also alligators and turtles. We spent a couple hours there, walking the levee, and taking pictures.

After that we headed South and made a loop thro the Creole Scenic Trail. That contains several wildlife refuges, the Cameron Prarie. A very sparsely populated area that was pretty much devastated by Katrina and Rita. Saw remains of homes, not rebuilt. The interesting part was seeing how the new construction is done. They are putting the houses, mobile homes, etc.. up on pilings. Not little ones either. These things are 20 feet or more. On one I saw where they had built a ramp and attached a carport, with car in it. Also we saw quite a bit of bird life along the way. While driving down there, we kept seeing these things that looked as if they had pvc pipe at the top with a wire cage hanging down beneath them into the water. Stopped and talked to some guys fishing and they said they were crayfish traps. This is the big time in La for Crawfish. They are bring $100.00 per sack. Now a lot of the places it looked as if they were raising them. Shallow lakes of water with traps in rows thru them.

I'd raise and trap them for that amount of money, but I am sure it is hard work. And since I have an aversion to work, probably will not work for me. It was a long day and we got back to our campsite just at dark. We decided to stay an extra day.

Today we woke up much too early. It was 7:00 when we got up. Lost that hour of sleep. Took our time about eating our breakfast of cold cereal. Then to one of the important items on the agenda. Do the laundry. Around 11:00 we left here and went to a flea market. It was ok, but not on par with those we had been to in Fla. Or Tennessee. Then to a produce market. We tried to find a park in Lafayette, but were unable to locate it. So back to Cypress Island for another nice walk looking at plants, birds and alligators. Then back here to start packing up for tomorrow and to eat dinner. Now time to do some reading. Talk to you later.

Gulfport to Pearl River to Lafayette

We have abandoned the Interstates. There is no reason for us to hurry and it is so much more pleasant to drive the backroads. Admittetly it takes more time, but the wear and tear on my nerves, the scenery, Joyce enjoying spotting Wildflowers is worth it.

Camped at Country Side RV night before last. Right on the side of Highway 49, in Mississippi. Very noisy from road traffic, but what can you expect from commercial campgrounds. It has been my experience that they are very close to the major highways, and who can blame them. Most people won't drive far from the road to find a campground unless it is one they know about and like. It was cold that night. Our Dometic heat struggled to warm up the camper (it did not), but kept us from hypothermia. Both of us slept in long johns, socks and snuggled under a blanket and two of Mom's quilts. It was 38 when we got up the next morning.

After we set up camp we drove down to Gulfport and did some walking along the beach and out to a fishing pier. Very pleasant setting and lots of people use the area. Not many on the beach, but people were fishing and catching them. Joyce got a good picture of a Brown Pelican.

We had decided that we (Joyce) wanted Barbeque for dinner, so I looked up Barbeque places using my GPS. Located on called Millers Ribs about 5 miles from us, so we drove up there. When we got to the place is was supposed to be, it had been turned into a bar called Orangatans. We did not go into to check out the Beer and Pretzels. As we were working our way back to Hiway 90, I spotted a little hole in the wall place called An-Jacs.. They had good BB and the potatoe salad was the best I have ever eaten at a resturant.

We drove down the road to the DeSoto National Forest Campground (only a couple of miles away) and immediately wished that we had stayed there. Full hookups and about ¾ miles off the main highway. Very little noise. If you are ever going to Gulfport, MS look up Big Biloxi Campground. You will not be sorry.

We had found out that the Mississippi Sandhill Crane Reserve was closed until April, so we did not go there. Instead we did a couple of hikes in the Desoto National Forest. Probably covered about 4 miles total. After that we headed east to Eric and Donna's in Pearl River La. Took Hiway 90 west. A lot of rebuilding has been done since Katrina, and most of the debris has been moved, but there are a lot of concrete slabs and steps leading to nowhere. The campus of Southern Mississippi University was gutted and no one there. What a pity, and the towns west of there, Pass Christian and Ocean Springs, appeared to be hit worst.

We arrived at Eric and Donnas's about 5:30 and they got home shortly after. We spent an enjoyable evening with them. Last night was a good night not to be camping. It rained quite hard during the night and while we can sleep in the camper and be dry, we hate the thought of having to take it down wet.

Left there this morning, and took the backroads to Layfaette, La where we will spend at least two nights. Once again we are in a commercial campground within sight I-10. Nice campground, good facilities but noisy. We have gotten use to road noise and can sleep through it. Was not a great day for traveling, but by taking the “road less traveled” it was not bad. We covered about 200 miles today. Some some egrets, and Joyce saw a few flowers. The bad thing about taking these types of roads, one never knows where the next bathroom will be.

Supposed to cold again tonight. It keeps raining and the wind is blowing, but we will be ok. We bought an electric space heater at Walmart and that should help with the cold. We will run the onboard heat also. Let you know the next time how we did. Well I have probably bored you enough for now, so let me post this.

Gulfport, MS

Day 3 and we have made it to Gulfport, MS. Today was such a nice day for traveling. The wildflower lady saw at least 13 new(for this year) flowers. Also 3 Egrets and a couple of hawks. Temp has been upper 60 to low 70.

We are camped about 10 miles north of Gulfport. We drove down after we set up camp and walked along the beach out to a fishing pier. Good to have our feet under us after so much driving the last 3 days. We were going to a Rib place for dinner, but it was no longer there. On the way back to the main road I spotted this little hole in the wall BBQ joint. Man was it goood. Came away stuffed.

Tomorrow morning we plan to head east about 30 miles and visit the Mississippi Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge. Then after that we will head west to see Donna and Eric in Pearl River. That is only about 60 miles from here

Tuscaloosa, AL

We have been on the road two days now. Last night we stayed in White Pine, Tn. Was an uneventful day. Traffic was ok and we made good time.

Today, was a different matter. It rained, the roads were slick and there were several accidents along the way. The worst one that we saw was where a car had gotten itself under a tank truck. The occupants may have survived as the car was not crushed. Joyce got a picture in passing.

Later on that day, we came to a section of highway that we learned to despise last year. It is one of those sections that is concrete, but the expansion joints are such that it will pound you to death. So at that point we got off the Interstate and switched over to Route 11 (The same one that goes thru the Shenandoah Valley). Traveled that almost to Birmingham, Alabama, where we got back on the superslab and went around and then dropped back onto Route 11. A much more civilized way to travel.

We are now in Tuscaloosa, AL and will head down into Mississipi tomorrow. Plan on being in Pearl River, LA on Thursday and spend the night with our friends Eric and Donna. Talked to Eric today and he is expecting us.

The weather has turned colder and looks like it will be cool at nights along the Coast. We probably won't start camping until we leave Pearl River. The nice thing about this trip is that we have no real time schedule. But that is usually the way with all our trips.

Joyce has been finding a few flowers to identify along the way. Spring is more advanced down here.

All for now. Will see if I can post this. My connection, thru my cellphone, is slow. This Motel does not seem to have wireless internet service.

The Rolling Stone

This is my first blog since Joyce and I returned from Alaska in Sept 2006. That doesn't mean that we have laid around home since then. In Feb 07, we visited friends in Fla and Savannah, Ga.

In April, went to New Orleans to a wedding, then explored the area, traveled the Natchez Trace and thru the Breaks Interstate Park in Ky and Va.

In Mid July, we took our oldest grandson and headed west for 5 weeks. Using our Pop Up Camper. Quite small, but sufficient. We did the Arch in St. Louis, Rocky Mtn. National Park, Flaming Gorge, fossil hunting in Kemmer, Wy. Then on to Grand Teton NP for several days. Left there and swung west and north to Yellowstone. Explored Yellowstone for 5 days. Then on to Glacier NP. Lots of wild fires there. Stayed a few days then headed east and south toward home. Stopped at Wall Drug and spent a couple nights in the BadLands of SD. Saw a great meteor shower there. Then on home. A long trip, but well worthwhile, especially bringing the 17 year old grandson.

We were home a short while, when wanderlust hit again. Down to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains. We were there for a week. Back home again and then to the Pocono's to Vist Bruce and Geri.

After that I flew to the West Coast for inventory audits for my old employer, Sperry. That pretty much took care of the year.

Now it is 2008 and Joyce and I are headed to the Desert Southwest. Plan to be gone a couple of months. Once again taking the Pop Up Camper. I am much more comfortable towing that, rather than driving the Motorhome. It's a lot cheaper too.


I will try to keep this up to date as we travel.