Day 39 - Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

We left around 8 AM this morning. With dark cloudy skies. The rain storms that we had avoided all day yesterday finally caught up to us during the night. Weather Bug showed that the bulk of the rain was East of us.

DH wanted to get diesel in Ohio as it is cheaper than Pennsylvania. So I looked on Gas Buddy. I found a Marathon station at the Newton Falls exit that was $2.39 for diesel. So my phone steered us to it. It was even better as it was $2.35. While there I made DH and myself peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. I also bought a case of water and Amish teriyaki flavored jerky. I still prefer the softer variety by Jack Links or the thinly cut sheets from Tucson, Arizona. And even better, my recipe which I make myself.

Ran into drizzly rain and fog. It's beginning to clear. Or trying to.

In Bedford on the Pennsylvania Turnpike we stopped at a travel plaza. DH bought him and I Sabarro Pizza slices and I bought us Starbucks beverages. MIL bough a sandwich and beverage from Starbucks.

DH needed a restroom and the first available space to pull over had big signs that had a black capital letter P with a red circle with a slanted line which is the symbol for No. So essentially it said No P. Either way, DH was not obeying the signs. He parked the motorhome and used the restroom. All in a No P-ing Zone!

It is 5:33 PM and we are currently stuck in congestion on the Schuylkill Expressway which is an oxymoron. However Los Angeles traffic trumps this traffic for total volume.

Finally made it home and only unpacked essentials. The rest can wait until tomorrow. This is the last post for his trip. Check us out in February 2017 for our trip to the Florida Keys.

Day 38 - Timber Ridge Campground, Amhurst, Ohio

DH and I both got up at 6 AM. I was sleeping on the recliner and fighting with the pillows all night as they kept falling into the stairwell. I of course thought of using the stairs cover but figured the noise my wake up MIL.

DH had to tell MIL, Rise and Shine this morning. She made a disapproving face. DH threatened her with the camera and posting it on Facebook. It really is an idle threat as DH doesn't post anything on Facebook. However she did get up and dressed pretty fast.

Since we were in the Northern Chicago suburbs, we ended up going right through Chicago at rush hour. DH was tired midway through as he didn't sleep well last night. So I took over driving and MIL rode shotgun, as navigation is not her forte. All was going well until Indiana wanted me to navigate through a toll booth that had 6" between my mirrors and the toll booth sides. MIL asked me if I could retract the mirrors. I said, "NO!" Then I put it in neutral and put the parking brake on simultaneously yelling "GEORGE!!" "I NEED YOU!!!" So he came and changed spots with me and MIL changed spots with me too. Of course the next toll plaza had wider spaces between the toll booths. Some states have Express roads that read the EZPASS from above.

DH said to me he didn't recognize the road we were on from last year. I said that is because the Gremlin didn't take us on the Interstate. It took us off in some of the questionable places. That is before I realized it was a gremlin. Last year all I could think of was the song words..."in the South side of Chicago, in the baddest part of town"...excerpt from "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown." Words and Music by Jim Croce. But we finally found our way back up to the Interstate.

DH was convinced he could get the weather sealing gaskets for the motorhome in Elkhart, Indiana. But first we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. I had my favorite Pecan Pancakes. We went to the surplus RV parts dealer in Elkhart, but they didn't have the parts. DH said it was a waste of time. So I had found diesel at a Marathon station for $2.29 when all the other stations were either $2.45-2.65, so I navigated us there with the help of my trusty GPS Google Maps.

It was about 3:00 when DH asked what day is it? I said Wednesday. He suddenly moaned that he thought it was Thursday. The sudden realization that he could have hunted for replacement gaskets after all in Elkhart finally sunk in. However, we were now in Ohio.

A funny thing about Elkhart is the town has a cool graphic logo with a drawing of an elk framed in a heart. It is really nicely done and graphically pleasing to one's eye. The only problem is a hart is a deer, not a heart. I'm sure the founding Fathers of Elkhart thought they were clever in naming the town. After all Elkdeer doesn't sound as good as Elkhart.

We had intended to stay at a travel plaza on the Ohio Turnpike. We got nervous when the plazas East bound were razed. Just empty parking lots that were barricaded. DH picked out a campground 79 miles away along our route. I called the campground and found out that their office closed at 5 but they would meet us at the gate when we arrived. DH told me to tell them we would be there by 6. At first, looking at the crazy directions that the Gremlin showed, looked like I said, crazy. Google agreed somewhat. Google had the road number and the Gremlin used a street name. Neither name nor number was on the road. The directions proved correct.
When we arrived the gate magically opened. I went into the office and paid $40. When I came out of the office, there was a little charcoal gray alley rabbit, as my Grandfather referred to stray cats. I was worried that it would follow me back to the motorhome, but it was more interested in the dumpster. There were several other young cats too. They belonged to the campground, so they weren't strays.

I had a mental lapse or something. When we went to unhook the MDX. We had to unhook it because our site was a back in. I put the MDX in Park but then I couldn't get it in reverse. So I used the trick DH showed me to get the gear shifter to move to reverse when there was no power. Then the MDX lurched backwards but it was still looked up. DH wanted me to drive forward a little bit but thankfully the MDX was still hooked up as the brake wasn't working. DH figured the brakes were burned out. I jumped out of it in hysterics. Instead it was my fault that it wasn't working! DH came and looked to see what the problem was and I totally forgot to take the brake assist off! Finally it was unhooked correctly and I drove the MDX near our site. DH expertly backed up the motorhome into our lake front site. Some lake front campground sites have hookups near the road so you can pull in and have the lake view. This campground has the lake front sites backwards for Motorhomes.

We had pulled pork for dinner and leftover French fries that I cooked in the convection oven. MIL had leftover poached egg, and grits. At the diesel station I picked up Blue Bunny Popsicles. A guy there told me I really had the munchies since I bought more than one. Of course he didn't know one was for DH. MIL still has Banana Pudding ice cream so I didn't get her one.

Day 37 - North West Chicago KOA

Union, Illinois 

Last night I ended up sleeping in my recliner front seat as every time I went into a supine position I had a coughing jag. I still had them periodically through the night but not near as much. I did manage to only wake up fully two times. We left today around 8 AM and went to Perkins Restaurant for breakfast. Last time I went there was in Pennsylvania on the way up to this Environmental camp our older daughter worked for back in like 2003ish. Well I had my face fixed for crepes which I swore they had back then. But maybe I am mixing it up with another restaurant. Anyway, my meal that I selected was way too black peppery for my taste, or it could have been that the pepper stood out more due to my cold? MIL and DH totally enjoyed their meals. Mil has leftovers for dinner. And a leftover chocolate chocolate chip muffin to suffer through too.

We couldn't go to the Spam Museum since it didn't open until 10 AM in Austin, Minnesota which was too close to the campground. And we need to be home by Friday. 

The trees are starting to turn. We are currently in Wisconsin headed for Union, Chicago. Now in Wisconsin we are seeing signs for cheese. DH left I-90 for the lure of cheese but since we couldn't see the store from the ramp, we aborted the cheese mission.

DH took a power nap in Wisconsin. Normally on this trip, I would drive while he was sleeping but I don't want to be driving the motorhome now and get a coughing fit. I have no idea when one will happen. I had one today that I thought was going to do me in. While DH was sleeping, I apparently took a nap too until I woke up coughing my head off. I think I woke DH up too. He was in the bedroom 35' away from me. 

We finally got to the campground in Union, Illinois. Check-in, I had to go up a hill and to the back of the building which is actually the front to get registered. Both the campground personnel had accents like they were from Fargo, the TV show, since we haven't actually been to North Dakota. 

So close, yet so far. I had planned to go to Gino's East tonight but DH was tired,  and the restaurant was an additional 30 miles one way, so I decided to just skip it. This way we don't have to unhook the MDX. We were low on bottled water. At the campground store I bought a gallon of water to hold us over until tomorrow. 

I cooked bratwurst, red bell pepper and onions. Made sandwiches. It's 7:22 now CDT and we are watching NCIS. 

Day 36 - Albert Lea/Austin KOA in Minnesota

We got up at 6 today as we need to be in Forest City by 12:30 PM at the latest. The tour begins at 1:00 PM. We left the campground and got on I-90 East. Only after we were headed East did DH mention we needed diesel. Only problem is we left all the stations back in Sioux Falls. When I looked on Gas Buddy there was not a big selection. We crossed into Minnesota and went to a local station in Beaver Creek. Funny thing I found out is Local was the name of the station. I went into the station store and bought OJ and ice. I could buy a 5 or 20 pound bag. I chose the 5 pound. With bronchitis, laughing just kills me.

In addition, MIL tried to do me in by describing in detail what happened to her when she had pneumonia. I couldn't even tell her to stop talking as I was gagging. After I finally stopped gagging, I said, "STOP TALKING!!!" After I regained my composure, I told her I can't even watch the Mucinex commercial!

States we will have traveled to and through on this trip:
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee , Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin?, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania

We arrived at the Winnebago Factory Tour earlier then expected. DH wanted me to take a hot shower to help with my cold, however I didn't want to have damp hair on the tour.
He looked for some place to go to lunch. But after mentioning a taco place, I suggested to just have lunch in the motorhome. We had chunk light tuna mixed with mayonnaise and sweet pepper relish.

The orange juice I bought in Minnesota, in my opinion tastes like bug juice. It says 100% orange juice but it is sourish as if it was mixed with lemon and water too. Beggars can't be choosers.

We walked up to the Winnebago Visitors Center at 12:40 to wait for the tour. I was perfectly fine until we went into watch a movie on the plant. The opening credits began, and so did an uncontrollable tickle in my throat. I tried to suppress it, but couldn't. I started coughing and ended up leaving the room. I told DH that I couldn't go on the he tour. I also told him I was going back to the motorhome. I took a nap, and I woke up to the sounds of someone trying to get into the motorhome. When I got up to look it was MIL. She too bailed on the tour as it looked like too much walking for her. The movie was 30 minutes and the actual plant tour was 2 hours. DH came back and said it was interesting and fun. And well worth going there. I'm glad he enjoyed it. While he was on the tour I made reservations at the Albert Lea/Austin KOA in Minnesota. Tomorrow we may go to the Spam Museum in Austin. I actually like Spam, although I haven't had it since I was a kid. The funny thing is the Spam Museum just moved into a new state-of-the-art 14,000 SF facility. DH said, if we give them our email, will they Spam us?

Day 35 - Sioux Falls KOA in SD

Today we got a later start then then normal for a travel day. The Gremlin was up to its old craziness. It directed us South to go North. Google wanted us to make a U-Turn, so we pulled over and checked the route the Gremlin was taking and just let it direct us. I checked My Pilot app and figured that the station would be at the next exit off I-90. So we went there to get diesel, and propane.
MIL and I went into the store. I was looking for the Nemo banana bread cakes we got in Nevada. They did not have them. MIL was able to get what she was looking for. DH had me get him a high-test Diet Coke. While DH was getting the propane tank filled I told MIL we had to get out. It was windy! She and I used the motorhome as a shield to break the wind. Weatherbug said it was 10mph but it felt like a lot more.

We opted not to stop at the Badlands or Wall Drug due to time constraints. Last time we went to Wall Drug in 2002 we had to park in a field, unhook our mini van and drive into Wall and look for parking at Wall Drug. Then we drove down to the Badlands. We were on this washboard type dirt road and I guess the jarring caused the transmission to get stuck in low gear. We didn't have any phone service and we could only travel 20mph. At some point our youngest daughter's cell phone got service. DH used it to call the Chrysler dealer in Rapid City. It was July 3 and the service department said they could get us in but we had to get there ASAP. Well it took an hour and half to get out of the Badlands and back to the motorhome which was in Wall, South Dakota. We hooked the mini van up to the back of the motorhome and drove to the Rapid City Chrysler Dealer. They stayed overtime to fix the minivan.

In our travels today, I saw a sign for Belvidere, SD. We did drive through it to see what was new since 2002. Not much has changed. We saw a horse near the road tied to a fence. Goats in a fenced area and what looked like a Borzoi dog.

DH and I had Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches for lunch today. Several exits after lunch I had DH pull over and I switched with MIL. At some point DH and MIL went to see the Lewis & Clark exhibition. I stayed in the motorhome sleeping.

At some point I woke up to a tractor trailer blaring its horn and giving DH the finger because DH passed the trucker on an upgrade. Then the trucker didn't have enough horse power to pass DH who was using cruise control. The trucker is apparently an "unmentionable" as this blog is Rated PG.

I saw signs for the Corn Palace so I suggested to DH to ditch the trucker and take MIL to see the  Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota. We had been to it in 2002 when DH saw signs for it. At this point in time I can't remember if we went into it or not. It's a building which is hard to describe. It is decorated with corn kernels, corn cobs and husks. It is worth seeing at least once. It worked as we lost our trucker friend.

We decided on the Sioux Falls KOA for tonight. Anyone who knows me, I love KOA campgrounds. I had wracked up points on all my stays. I redeemed 25,000 points for $25 dollars off my stay tonight. DH had asked me what I got for the points which I had no idea as I couldn't get the KOA app to work. It didn't recognize any of my emails. So as a result, I just use their main website to make reservations.

DH grilled chicken thighs and I made Rice of Roni Chicken & Mushroom. We also had salad. If DH doesn't snack on the leftover chicken thighs, we will have them for dinner tomorrow night.

Tomorrow we leave early for Forest City, Iowa.

Day 34 - Rapid City KOA, 

South Dakota

Today the tickle began in my throat which caused me to cough frequently, then uncontrollably. Before we left for touring Custer State Park, we found out we didn't have any LP gas. So we drove up to the campground store. DH inquired about the gas and I bought ice. Since the store didn't open until 8 am tomorrow, DH said we would get the LP Gas on the road. 

On the way to Custer State Park, DH pulled over to change drivers as he felt tired. So I drove the rest of the way. MIL rode shotgun and DH took a nap in the back seat. I constantly had to pull over to let tailgaters pass me on the Wild Life Loop as I was doing the 25mph speed limit. We saw a herd of antelope, 3 deer, herd of American Bison, prairie dogs, 1 black-billed magpie, chipmunks, wild donkeys from afar and 1-red squirrel. DH practically slept through the whole loop. After the Wild Life Loop, I tried to follow signs for the Needles Highway except the signs totally disappeared at a dead end. One sign said Custer pointing to the left and the other way said Rapid City pointing to the right. So I kept looking at the idiot map. I drove down the same windy up and down with no guard rail road three times before I finally figured out where we were on the map. Google was useless as I had no phone service or Internet. As we were driving up the Needles Highway, DH woke up and took over driving the rest of the way. We took lots of photos. Afterward we drove down to the Crazy Horse Sculpture which is such a monumental task. We were there in 2002, so when they told us today that it was $28, we said no. Neither DH nor I were feeling that great so I turned the MDX around and at the base of the driveway. I took a long distance profile photo. I was driving and I recognized Hill City as being the town that we passed on the way to Mount Rushmore yesterday. So I headed there. Since it is off season most of the restaurants were closed. There was this diner with a big white sign with black letters that read OPEN. It was closed. Then we went to this restaurant with a big wrap around porch. The person taking names in my opinion was rude when she said in a snotty voice that they weren't taking anymore names as they were closing at 2:30. So we left and went to the Hill City Cafe. The food was fair but it may have been an off day for them. But the staff was friendly. We stopped at a supermarket in Hill City too to get things on MIL's list and French vanilla creamer for me. I also bought orange juice which I only drink when I am sick.

While there I searched for an Urgent Care type facility near me but they were closed on Saturdays. So I Googled CVS Minute Clinics but couldn't find any, but Walgreens implied they had one in an ad but that proved wrong. South Dakota prohibits clinics in pharmacies. The Pharmacy directed us to the Black Hills Urgent Care. I ended up not having pneumonia as the doc thought, but I have acute bronchitis instead. DH also was also sick. So we got our prescriptions and went back to the motorhome.

We are headed to Iowa tomorrow. 

Day 33 - Rapid City KOA, South Dakota

Today when leaving the campground the Gremlin was confused as to where it was so Google Maps had to help get us going in the correct direction. 

It was bright & sunny when we left, however we could see the fog in the valleys on the left side of the road. Then we received notice via an electronic road sign that there was fog ahead. Which proved correct. The fog wasn't as dense as the clouds we went through yesterday. 

Around 10 AM we stopped at a rest stop and DH made his famous scrambled egg where he kills the egg for me. This one had baby Bella mushrooms, onion, maple sausages, cheddar & Jack cheese in it. 

Off of Interstate 25, DH saw a whole herd of antelope lying down in the field. He stopped the motorhome and I took photos. Another car stopped also. It was so amazing!

150 miles away from Wall Drug we saw signs advertising free ice water which is how it got its start. 

When we drove into South Dakota today with not even a welcoming sign. So weird. Every other state that we have been in had a welcome sign. 

Most of the terrain was flat with grass. Lots of cattle and horses were seen. What we did notice is the grass was greener in both Wyoming and South Dakota. 

The Gremlin steered us wrong, and of course it steered us down a dead end street. We unhooked the MDX first then DH pulled forward into someone's lane. Fortunately with a little maneuvering DH was able to turn the motorhome around. I mentioned it was odd that there wasn't a KOA sign when we made the turn. Google to the rescue!!! I drove the MDX with MIL, leading the way. The campground had the big welcoming yellow KOA sign out front. Yay! We finished the registration process and MIL and I led the way to the site. DH had told me no matter what, to line the motorhome sewer compartment up with the septic inlet at the campsite. The last two campground sites we were in, we weren't anywhere near the septic inlets. In order to fit the motorhome, tow bar and MDX in the site, didn't allow us to hook up to the septic.

For some crazy reason the jacks weren't leveling the motorhome. It would go through all of the motions and we would still be cattywampus. DH ran it through its paces 3-4 times with the same result. Then he did it manually and decided to give up.

We all got in the MDX and drove to see Mount Rushmore. DH and I had been there twice before (1998 & 2002). I also was there when I was a teen with my Parents & Sister back in the summer of 1972. At that time my sister and I panned for gold, she didn't find any and the proprietor felt sorry for her and gave her 5 flecks of gold when I only found 1 or 2. I also remember that there were kids that were 14 years old driving pickup trucks, when I was 15 and had to wait until I was 17 to get my learners permit in NJ. I remembered a lot more too about that trip too as I brought our family to see the sights too. 

In 1998, we were here during the Sturgis Bike Rally. I remember at the time when I made reservations, the campground said it was the week of the Bike Rally. I thought she was talking about bicycles, not motorcycles. The whole area had some 10,000 motorcycles that people came in from all over the country and Canada to participate and tour the Black Hills. Crazy!

Another memorable time was in 2002 which was the first Independence Day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in NYC World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. There was a mile long line, police dogs, mirrors looking under everyone's car, National Guard soldiers with machine guns just to get up to the parking lot. Then in addition there were metal detectors to walk through. Our older daughter set off the metal detector with her necklace. BWe also watched the Independence Day Fireworks in the town of Hill City. 

So this time I was surprised that there was no metal detectors to go through to get in. It was just as impressive as every other time I have been there. It's free but the National Park Service charges $11 to park there. One of the precautions is that one can't drive up anywhere near the monument. 

From there we went to a quickie do it your self car wash place. DH wet the MDX down and then I shampooed the MDX and DH rinsed it off. 

From there DH wanted a Bison Steak so we went to the Dakota Steakhouse in Rapid City. $$$$ I ordered a Beef filet minion with deep fried macaroni & cheese. DH ordered a bison ribeye with blue cheese mashed potatoes. DH and I also received salads. MIL ordered New England Clam chowder which we thought was funny. She also ordered an appetizer of fried walleye fish sticks and blue mashed potatoes. We were all stuffed and left without dessert even though they had Crème Brûlée on the menu. 

My phone was low on power and I didn't have my auto charger with me. So I had it on Airplane mode to conserve battery life. When we got back to the motorhome, DH decided to try leveling the motorhome one more time. I frankly can not figure out how the darn things work with only 3 jacks. It's a stupid design. 



Sent from my iPhone

Day 32 - Casper, Wyoming

What a difference daylight makes even if it is pre sunrise. The mountains were blocking the sun but there was the glow of dawn to light the way. I went out looking for the dumpster to get rid of our trash, and couldn't find it. Came back and realized I was looking at the campground map backwards. So I went out the other way and still didn't find the dumpster but I found a trash can so that is where I put it.

I put the MDX through all its gears, then neutral and then rehooked the brake system up. Turned it off then DH unhooked the battery.

I have to say something about the Apple autocorrect. It always wants to and does substitute words with different meanings from what I am trying to say. Most times I catch it, and fix the error, but last nights post had several changes that were not meant to be.

As we were leaving the campground this morning I saw the dumpsters that I couldn't find earlier. We have reservations this coming weekend at the Rapid City KOA which we have stayed at twice before. Once in 1998 and 2002. It closes for the season on October 15th. The Mount Rushmore KOA has always been full every time we have made the Black Hills a travel stop. This time it closed for the season on October 4th. The very first time we were there in 1998, they had the most amazing tacos served on Indian bread. Which reminds me that I didn't get any Indian Bread while we were in Arizona.

As we were traveling East on I-80, through a pass between a mountain range we came upon a cloud just lying on the road. Once in it, it was like pea soup. We watched tractor trailers disappear into it. No mention of it on any of my weather apps. We came out of that cloud and on the other side of the mountain was another cloud but that one wasn't as dense.

We stopped at a Walmart to get supplies, plus MIL and I both bought jeans. DH said that I should have taken photos of MIL shopping there. DH bought motor oil and a funnel which was too short so while we were shopping he called me to pick up a long stemmed funnel. He opened the trap door and in my opinion it is really awkward to put the oil in the motorhome engine. First it is up high and then the funnel is at an angle when the oil is poured in, it falls out the side of the funnel all over the outside of the motorhome. I was doing the pouring as DH can't lift a gallon due to two bad shoulders. DH also made fried matzo for brunch which was tasty.

I apparently picked up a virus in my travels and developed a cough. My voice is also raspy. So with two days of getting up early and last night I stayed up until midnight working on my blog I was feeling run down mid morning. DH said why don't you trade spaces with MIL. To his surprise I said good idea. So I traded spaces with her and went to sleep. I woke up to the XM radio talking about Hurricane Mathew's impending impact on Florida. Feeling better I traded spots with MIL again.

We stopped at a vacant lot where the people across the way we're setting off fireworks. They also were selling Fireworks too. Otherwise there were no other in habitants. We had lunch there and I might add that the lot we were in had huge craters filled with water, so DH tried to maneuver around them the best he could but our back tires fell into one and it felt like we fell in the Grand Canyon! I said please tell me we're not going to be stuck?!

We passed the Continental Divide twice in one day on different roads. Obviously it isn't a straight line.

Once we turned Northeast on State Highway 220 the flat grasslands had Ricky hills and distant mountains. We also saw deer and antelope thanks to DH's keen eyesight. MIL and I sang Home on the Range! This was the first time I saw a wild antelope. At one point there was a whole herd. We also didn't have phone service most of the way. The Gremlin uses date light GPS so it works when normal devices don't. While drive in non service areas I put my phone on Airplane Mode so the phone doesn't constantly search using up our data plan with no benefit.

As we were traveling we went through a snow burst! It was just flurries thankfully. Motorhomes and snow are not perfect together! We also were driving up to a rest stop and I noticed they had a dump station which we pulled in and DH dumped our tanks.

Since it is off season many of the campgrounds that are open close their offices early so one needs to call before 5 to get a spot. Through the Gremlin we were able to locate a  Campground but we couldn't call as we had no phone service. So we had no idea if it was even open or not?

DH saw a phone antenna and asked me if I had service so I quickly checked and I did. So I called for reservations and mid way through giving her my credit card number I lost the call. It was a good 10 minutes before I had service again and was able to complete the reservations.
Our map and reservation was on the clipboard by the door when we arrived. Of course when we arrived at our site there was a car with plates from Alabama parked in it. I had to go knock on the door of the trailer next door to see if it was their car? It was. We the young man opened the door, I asked him if the car belonged to them. He looked like he just woke up, but he said he would move the car. While talking to me there were two dogs. One was barking its head off and the other one was a puppy was so cute. I told DH he had to get dressed. Within a few minutes he emerged and moved his car.

We then pulled in and set up camp. DH and I had spaghetti with sausages for dinner. We have 250 miles to go to Rapid City, South Dakota tomorrow. We plan on going to Custer State Park, Drive through the Needles rock formations, see Mount Rushmore, all places MIL has never seen.

There is one thing you don't want to hear on your TV in a tornado prone area is the Emergency Broadcast System alert. Fortunately it was only a test.

Day 31 - Salt Lake City KOA

I woke up at 5 AM without my alarm. (Totally unusual for me). DH woke up around 5:45 AM and MIL sort of woke up when DH made coffee for me. Our goal today was to drive 555 miles from Indian Hills, NV to Salt Lake City, Utah. I made reservations online while traveling and added in a message to the campground that we might be late since at that moment we were in Reno, Nevada. 

When I looked out at the MDX, I stated that "there is frost on the pumpkin." DH agreed. It reminded me of a funny thing that happened several years ago. The entire time our kids were growing up, I would use that saying when ever frost appeared on a crisp October day. Well apparently we always had a Halloween Jack-o-lantern on our porch. So our oldest daughter just found out that that was just a saying and had no bearing on whether or not we had a pumpkin. 

The campground this morning had directions on their map on how to exit. Since DH was going to diesel up, and the MDX was already unhooked from our trip to Lake Tahoe, I led the way out. Only to find out the road was blocked. Fortunately I was ahead and was able to back up before DH drove the motorhome down that street too. 

We then finally found an exit. DH got diesel and I waited off to the side so when he was through we could hook up easier. While waiting about 5 school buses arrived empty and parked in the parking lot to the campground. I was afraid that they would block our route out. Most people think nothing about parking right in front of us so we can't get out. They do it all the time at gas stations.  What I need is about 6 cones to put out with crime scene tape to keep them from parking in front of us! 

DH wanted to get the motorhome and car washed at one of those tractor trailer wash services, due to the rainy and then dusty conditions of both roads and campgrounds. So in Reno area DH pulled into a Pilot Truck Stop for the wash. The way they have it set up is it is like a box canyon, or a roach hotel. Once in, your stuck especially if another tractor trailer pulls in behind you. When we turned the corner already too late, their was a line. One in the building, two in line outside and another one in front of the other bay door. DH asked me to go get him a breakfast sandwich while waiting. So MIL and I walked over, bought the goodies and came back one truck was missing so it went in the first 2nd bay, and the 1st bay doors opened and took in another tractor trailer so DH parked in front of the first Bay doors. The whole thing, waiting and washing took an hour off our travel time, plus we would be loosing another hour by crossing back into mountain time. Off we went, hours and hours in the high desert with only sage brush, with the occasional rubber-rabbit brush which has vibrant yellow gold flowers to break up the monotony. I of course was constantly watching the clouds. The clouds would through shadows on the mountains, some of the clouds just looked like they were blanketing the tops of the mountains. Some of the higher peaks were sporting snow.

We stopped a couple of times including for lunch. One of the times we had stopped, DH asked me if I felt like driving, so I said okay. Things were going swell, as we came to a rest stop I asked MIL if DH was sleeping and she said yes, so the next rest area was another 114 miles. Everything like I said was fine, except the occasional gust of wind that caught me off guard. After it happened twice I was ready for it. I had my cruise control set for 60 mph. Speed limit was 75. I came upon a slow moving truck which I had to put the pedal to the metal to pass it gong up an unknown grade. I was hoping I was going up to a plateau. It was soon apparent that I was not. MIL was oblivious to what was happening as she was so enthralled with having Internet that she was deep into Facebook. I was calmly looking for the exhaust brake which I knew was somewhere on the left. I was kicking myself for not asking ahead of time. I started to brake then release then brake some more. The darn motorhome kept gaining speed. DH woke up and told me to push the red button. I looked to my right and saw a red button type thing pushed it but it wasn't working. I also didn't know where second gear was which the sign said Trucks Should Use 2nd Gear! Eventually we got down the grade and MIL yelled there is a wide shoulder!!! It said for Emergency Stopping Only, and frankly it was an emergency for me! When I came to a stop, I put it in neutral and pulled up the Emergency brake. We called smell the burning smell of the brakes. I was shaken not stirred! DH took over and showed me the button for the exhaust brake and it was ORANGE! The red button I had been pushing was actually a red light for something else. So shortly after my ordeal, there was a tunnel which thankfully I did not have to drive through! I would have driven right down the center!!

We came across these strange giant Quonset Hut like tunnel things built over I-80 on both sides of the road. A pair before the tunnel and a pair after the tunnel. So thanks to Google, I looked them up to find out what they were. They are animal crossings for  animals who migrate from one side to the other. As a result of human deaths, injuries and damage to vehicles. It also came about as 1,300 deer alone plus other animals were killed crossing the Interstate. The Wildlife & Game Commission were responsible for funding the project with tax payer money.

As we arrived into Utah, we stopped for diesel. The landscape was the beginning of the Bonneville Salt Flats. 

Thanks again to Google! I always imagined the whole area to be flat and white from salt. What we saw was totally different. Some places were white and crusty but for the most part it was either brown or levees filled with water. I looked it up and found Save the Salt Flats project!"

https://saltflats.com/save%20the%20salt.html

When we got to the campground it was dark. After taking a wrong term in the campground, we finally found our spot which was nice and long. Ended up having hotdogs and chips for dinner. 

Sent from my iPhone

Day 30 - Indian Hills, Nevada
Silver RV Resort

Last night we decided our Ultimate goal is to head to the Black Hills and Custer State Park. From there we will head towards Forest City, Iowa to tour the Winnebago Factory. We were there during the week of Independence Day back in 2002. The factory production was closed but they gave a Cliff Notes version of their tour. Our children told us we were not allowed to go on that tour until we were gray. Well I assure you I am totally gray without being dyed. DH sports his gray to make him appear wiser. That actually backfired when someone thought that DH and MIL were married and I was their daughter. I thought that was amusing. One of my friends was also insulted when someone different thought I was my friend's daughter. My friend asked the women if she had cataracts? I of course thought it was hilarious! So we are taking the tour!

We headed toward Carson City, NV. The Gremlin I think thought we were a car today even though I saw DH, program it for a 42 foot motorhome + tow bar and tow car. The first part of our journey took us through a gorge with breathtaking scenery. The road had an 8% downgrade which was a winding switchback style road which leveled off into a valley. On the way down in a hole on a rock face there were three Beanie Babies peering out!

We then crossed a bridge that had a cattle chute that DH has to maneuver through. From there DH said he needed diesel. I looked on my Gas Buddy App and noticed there was only three stations with diesel and then there would be some 128 miles with no amenities. So we got diesel which was $2.85 a gallon. We kept seeing signs that the Sonoran Pass was closed. As we were driving there was a road construction crew, which I asked if the road was closed ahead. They said no, it was open. So upward and onward we went about 75 miles.

So we get to a point in the road and a sign says, vehicles over 25 feet not recommend for the continuation of the road. Now why wasn't that sign in the beginning of the road? No place to turn around!!!!! So DH took our trusted steed through the most white knuckled ride of our lives. The road had a 25% upgrade and four stages of different downgrades in intervals of 25%, 16%, 8% and 15%. No guard rails, many turns with no shoulder, sheer rock cliffs and thankfully giant Sequoias that gave me the security that they would protect us from going to the bottom, even though in reality it might not have been true. Along that road there was light snow that had fallen yesterday in the shady areas.
The National Forest personnel were getting ready for heavy snows. They had the plow markers on the side of the road as tall as our motorhome. Frankly, I wouldn't bother plowing that road. Finally we made it to the bottom and out into a flat desert like terrain.

We drove North on State Highway 385 to Silver RV Park in Indian Hills, Nevada. While DH was setting up outside, our neighbor had a Monaco motorhome too. They were talking and he asked where we were headed and I said New Jersey. DH said we were only in this area for one night. We arrived around 2:30 pm and our neighbor suggested we drive over the closest mountain range over to Lake Tahoe. We went over, saw the lake, took a photo, went to an outfitter and MIL bought a Colombia Polartec jacket, checked out the Harrah's Casino, I gambled $1 in a slot machine and lost it. Then I bought a Lake Tahoe zippered hooded Sweat Shirt. Mainly because my NAVY sweatshirt really needs to be washed. And our washer & dryer is a combo unit and it doesn't dry that well with regular clothing let alone a heavy sweatshirt. DH wanted to see if the casino was just as glitzy as the ones in Las Vegas. The actual casino part was but the hotel was not. All I cared about was using the restroom there. DH routed us toward a car wash but decided he would rather drive back over the mountain before it got dark.

So far in our travels we have seen 1-doe deer, numerous ravens, numerous squirrels, crows, 1-coyote tail, blue jays, 1-rabbit tail, 1-rooster, hens, horses, cows, chipmunks, numerous Seagulls, wild turkeys, turkey buzzards, hawk, catfish, hummingbirds, 1-Northern Cardinal, 1-salamander, Black Billed Magpie.

The campground is paved and crushed stone. It's clean looking although we didn't use any of the amenities. It has a pool(closed), hot tub & sauna. Sells propane, gasoline and diesel. It also has a lake.

Tonight the temps here are to go to 30 degrees F, with a high of 61 degrees tomorrow.

Day 29 - Midpines, California KOA

When I got up, and was getting dressed, I over heard DH reading my blog to MIL. They were laughing, so naturally I thought he had read the whole thing to his Mom. While drinking my coffee DH yelled to me from the bedroom of the motorhome. I went to see what he wanted.  He had our two rain coats in his hand and said where are our coats? I said to him, "I thought you read my blog this morning?" He said, "I guess, I missed that part!" He took our raincoats as windbreakers to the park just incase we needed them. MIL also did not have a coat packed. MIL ended up wearing my raincoat for extra warmth as it also has a lining.

On the way to Yosemite a doe ran across the road in front of us. Lucky for us and the deer, that she was a success !

This morning we drove towards Yosemite National Park on Highway 140 to the Arch Entrance. On the way DH had to maneuver our MDX down a winding switch back road with a steep grade to boot. At the bottom of the valley the road followed the Merged River which had water in it but not a lot. It was exactly the kind of river that is very picturesque with rocks and boulders in it. We got notice via a sign that the largest vehicle allowed to proceed was a 45' vehicle. It didn't apply to us in the MDX but it would have if we were in the motorhome towing the MDX. We were actually lucky this entrance wasn't closed, as at some point there was a major rock slide that took out the road totally. The State or National Forest Service brought in two temporary bridges and made a one lane road on the other side of the Merged River. And set up two temporary traffic lights to meter a certain amount of vehicles through at a time alternating between directions. We could see the mess from the rock slide! From there we came across El Capitan the huge rock face of granite that people come from all over the world to climb. In the morning is was 49 degrees, I notice numerous people who were not dressed for the weather.

When we got to the National Park entrance we had DH's National Park Pass hanging from the rear view mirror. One of the Rangers waved us through. Only problem is we didn't get a park service map. We had another map from our campground which was not very good. Plus the signs at the park were confusing. We never did get a real park map which probably was half our problem. The other half was that the Gremlin got majorly confused by the fact that One of the major roads in the park was closed and it kept leading us back to that road. We followed Wawona Road to Bridal Veil Falls. It was only a 1000' hike to see the falls. The funny thing is when I got to the the end of the trail I totally missed the waterfall. I saw a pile of boulders with people standing on them. I saw a sign that said Warning: Rocks are slippery when wet and current is strong! The rocks were not wet. I then saw a guy with a camera on a tripod, and looked to see where the camera was pointed. Only then did I see the waterfall. Not very impressive, however I did see photos of it in the Spring after the snow melt.
It doesn't help that the area is under an extreme drought too. I had both my Canon and my cell phone with Selfie Stick. Of course it didn't help that I forgot my regular lens and only had my telephoto. DH met me half way down the trail, and I was surprised that he could see the waterfall on the trail which I never saw.

I was constantly taking photos with both cameras at every vista turnout. Everyone always told me how beautiful Yosemite was and they were right. It would have been better if it was sunny. The conditions were exactly how we saw Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and Zion Canyon. It was if we were seeing them without their make up on. I had seen photos at sunset where the rocks were a vibrant colors instead of pastels.

After driving to the South Entrance we turned around and went to Yosemite Valley which consisted of a gift shop with fully stocked food market and liquor store. DH bought a snazzy hat!
It also had a pizza restaurant which wasn't open. We only found out after we rode the elevator up to it. We were saying in the elevator that they should have put a sit on the menu that it was closed! So we get out of the elevator and there is a sign in the middle of the menu saying it is closed for the season. DH blamed me for telling him the elevator was ready to go up, and that is why he didn't see the sign. Then we went to a deli where DH stood in line to get a roast beef sandwich, while MIL and I both got soup. I was waiting for DH bought he told me to go eat. The line for a sandwich was moving at a snail's pace and on top of it they used stale bread. Our soup was delicious ! MIL got another bowl to take back to the motorhome for later. We then went to the visitor's center, looked at the exhibits and watched a movie. Afterward we went to Glacier Point however decided a 1/4 of the way to abort as it was raining and the views were hindered by clouds. I always say, where ever we go it rains. So a friend I visited with in Abilene, Texas whom we brought rain there said we should go to California. So we went to California and the first night rain came with us and we even got to see a rainbow. Most of this trip the rain has come in the evening or on travel days.

This campground we are currently in has no phone service and slow Internet.

Sent from my iPhone

Day 28 - Midpines, California KOA

Today we left around 8 AM for Midpines. We needed diesel so DH got off at the next exit, however none of the stations were set up so we could get into them. DH saw a Starbucks and pulled into a shopping center to get it. This is when I close my eyes. I stepped out and crossed the parking lot street and went in an ordered a White Chocolate Mocha Frappachino for my self with coffee base, and for DH, I ordered him a cream based (no coffee) Chai Latte Cream Frappachino. MIL did not want anything. When I looked outside while waiting for the beverages to be created. The motorhome was traveling down one of the aisles. I was thankful I wasn't in it at this point. By the time the drinks were completed and I stepped outside, he had it facing the way out of the shopping center.
So diesel prices in California in the area we were traveling are mostly between $2.85 to $2.99. On Gas Buddy (diesel) I found one that was $2.59, so it was on our way with a slight detour. We found the station and actually fit into it and was able to get out of it with no problem too. Always a plus!

On our way up Route 41 we saw grape farms. A grape expert we know told DH over the phone, that when they cover the grape vines, it means they are trying to ripen the grapes faster.
The other reason would be if a frost was expected however it wasn't cold out at all. The expert also said if the manufacturer is making mass quantities of grape juice or cheap wine, they will follow this practice too.

We noticed as we were driving that the vegetation was brown or golden instead of green. Areas near the road were obviously charred in many locations probably due to careless smoking. DH needed a break, so we stopped at Bravo Farms which was doing a big business. Bought some Sopresta, garlic Jack cheese and asparagus pesto with cheese. We ate lunch in the parking lot and then headed Northeast.

The Gremlin routed us on this road that was a little better than a goat path over hill, over dale, curvy turn, S-turns, narrow one lane bridges, narrow lanes with two way traffic, vehicles passing us on double yellow lines, just plain crazy! The road is called Triangle Road. Should have been called Curly Q Road. MIL was totally oblivious to it as she was reading a book I bought for myself and was deep into its depths. I guess she heard us talking and came to the land of the living. She suddenly wanted to know why we were traveling on such a crazy road? We said it was the Gremlin's fault. It actually reminded me of a road many years ago that when we were traveling in Oregon during a forest fire. Only that time, we also needed gas and it routed us away from the Interstates which have all the travel amenities. That trip, it seemed like all of Oregon was burning although it really wasn't, just everywhere we were traveling. I really don't want to repeat the experience thank you! What I noticed was a scary sign at a fire station that had a half dial with an arrow that could be moved from No Fire Danger all the way to Catastrophic Fire Danger! Well this sign for this area was right in the middle between Severe Fire Danger and Catastrophic Fire Danger.

If I hadn't decided to go to Yosemite National Park, we would have been traveling today across to Lake Mead, NV which was the plan before this one. Today and tomorrow the whole area we would have been driving through is under a Wind Warning & a Red Flag Warning with conditions for spontaneous combustion of the grassland area due to dry high winds with little to no humidity. Also I might add, 35-45 mph sustained winds with 65 mph gusts, blowing sand and difficulty driving high profile vehicles. So we dodged a bullet at the moment.

Another thing I noticed was there were whole sections of the pine forests with dead trees. Not burned, just dead from most likely drought or disease. All the grasses we're golden brown too. Rivers and creeks were all dry.

We finally made it to the Yosemite KOA in Midpines, CA. Our motorhome  is way to big for the campsites in Yosemite. Biggest site is 27' which is the size of our very first motorhome. We are off of Route 140 near the Arch Rock Entrance of Yosemite National Park.

The air here is cool and crisp. We will probably be using the heater tonight. I wasn't thinking my clothing straight when I planned this trip as I didn't pack DH or myself any jackets. We do have sweatshirts and jeans. I have no idea if MIL brought a jacket or not?
Temperature tonight is expected to go down to 39 degrees F with a high tomorrow of 61.

Day 27 - Acton, California KOA

We got up at 6:00 AM and left the campground at 7 AM. We drove to The Warner Brothers studios & Back Lot Tour, in Burbank, California. However, since we did not know how the traffic would be we left two hours early. After getting to where we thought we had to go to get the tour, DH had me Google a place for breakfast and I came up with Bea Bea's. We arrived at the place and it was pretty busy. We were seated with plenty of time however 15 minutes went by before the waitress came and took our order. We had already ordered and gotten our beverage orders a Chai latte for DH, Tea for MIL and I had a caramel latte. DH and MIL told the waitress that we would need to leave in the exactly 30 minutes, so if she couldn't get our order done in 15 minutes we would be leaving without it. She said she was sure she could get it done by then. We all had omelettes. Mine was artichoke hearts, Portabella mushroom, tomatoes and Borsin cheese. MIL had a Greek one consisting of spinach, tomato, onion, olives and Feta cheese. DH had something too but, I have no idea what? Well the end result was we received our meals in the nick of time, and consumed them with enough time to get back for the tour. We drove down into the parking garage to only find out from the guard that we were in the wrong people place and had to get around to the back of the bus building. We had to pay $10 for parking in an outdoor lot which MIL said was a disgrace. We eventually found where we needed to go, which was through a metal detector and guards searched our bags. Once through we were given a white card with a black C on it. We watched a short film and when on our tour. I chose this particular tour because it was not a walking tour  and so nice MIL is such a big fan of The Big Bang Theory. Tickets were e $60 each and we all were suitably impressed by the tour. We saw The Big Bang Theory stages where Sheldon & Leonard's apartment, the brain Ken elevator and Penny's apartment. All the other scenes such as The University cafeteria, Howard's Room and Leonard's bedroom were all what they called Swing sets which they would bring in on the right or left of the set rooms. All of the furniture was covered due to cats roaming through the buildings, that were brought in to keep the rats away in the 1940's. All the cats are descendants of the original cats and all get their shots when due. We also saw numerous facades, the jungle scene from Jurassic Park, whole facade towns, a totally facade neighborhood and on the back side of the houses in the neighborhood, were totally different house fronts. We saw lots of sound stages, green screens, movie prop warehouse, driveable Batman vehicles, light posts that were moveable, trees and plants in containers to be planted the in a certain way or not, then at the end there was a museum type set up with smaller well known props, story boards, characters such as the alien in Mars Attacks, Superman clothing including his cape, drawings or cells of Scooby Do, Shaggy and Thelma. Trivia such as Porky Pig was the first character created, the Daffy Duck, then Bugs Bunny. Daffy Duck was supposed to be the mascot of Warner Brothers but when Bugs Bunny was created, the executives liked him better. So Bugs Bunny became the mascot for their cartoon division. If I had known ahead of time we could have gotten free tickets to see The Big Bang Theory be filmed. I would highly recommend this tour to everyone.

After we left Warner Brothers Studios, DH had me Google where the best area was to see the Hollywood sign. We drove through this ritzy neighborhood where homes were going for 6 million  and up, and they weren't even that impressive in my opinion. Our house in this area probably would be worth 10 million easily, probably more as we have a half acre of land. Land is so valuable here that all of the houses are a right next to me each other. We went to the Greek Observatory high on one of the mountains to get a good view of the sign.

Then we decided to go to the La Brea Tar Pits which are pits of tar heated to a point that they are liquid tar. Outside the park where the pits were, DH was hungry so I was still stuffed from breakfast. We went to this restaurant called Johnny's Pizza. I originally was going to just order a tiramisu dessert. When it came time to order I ended up getting the same order as MIL which was minestrone soup with garlic toast. DH ordered an Italian quesadilla. All the food was delicious.

Afterward we went to the La Brea Tar Pits. We didn't go in because it is was a walking tour and it was already hot out, plus it was $13 each for tickets. I Googled it and looked at images that people had posted online of it. In the movie Volcano, the La Brea Tar Pits are actually boiling. Funny thing is the parking lot was $13 to park (MIL stated it was a disgrace) and there were two areas that were fenced and caged off where the tar was seeping up. The strange thing, there wasn't the strong tar odor in the area.

From there we decided to go back to the campground and on the way go to Dunkin' Donuts to get bagels. We drove past a Panera's which we should have gone to instead as the bagels I bought were the last 6 and I think they could be used as lead weights. I normally love their bagels and the ones I bought for the trip were
from our local Dunkin' Donuts. From there we went food shopping but I forgot to get trash bags and coffee.

On the way back, to Soledad Canyon Road, the road was blocked by a police officer. We pulled up and asked if there was another way to get to the campground on the road. He let us through. He was blocking it to keep the Looky Lou's away from the fire. So as we drove down the road, we could see a brush fire below. Numerous fire engines and personnel were in the area working on putting it out. It was several miles from the campground but it was both exciting and scary.
We then drove toward the campground and DH drove up a road that had hiking trails in a National Forest, but the whole area was closed due to extreme fire hazard. The whole area looked like a moonscape with the occasional charred tree. Since we have been here the campground has been planting new trees around the perimeter. They should probably take down the charred trees to keep them from burning again plus it would act as a natural fire break.

Then we came back and talked to our neighbors. DH talked to them longer then me. I came in to work on my blog but ended up crashing. Woke up at 10 pm to take my medications only to remember that I needed to fill my daily dispenser. Then worked on blog.

Day 26 - Acton, California KOA

MIL decided to stay at the motorhome today and rest up for tomorrow's tour of the Warner Brothers Studio. A three hour tour, in Burbank, California.

The road the campground is on, is this very winding road with numerous hair pin turns and a double yellow line. The speed limit is 55mph. The California residents have been passing us on the double yellow line constantly. Its crazy!

Traffic is nightmarish to say the least. We can't imagine making this commute everyday! So far so good on, no earthquakes.

We decided to extend out stay one more day so it wouldn't be pure madness tomorrow (Saturday). The original plan was to drive to Burbank in the morning which is 60 minutes away from the campground with no traffic. Take the tour from 9-12. Drive back to the campground, pack up and drive 292 miles to Yosemite which is approximately a 6 hour drive. Can be longer if we stop for diesel or groceries. So instead we are leaving on Sunday. We are are scheduled to arrive in Yosemite area on Sunday and leave in Tuesday and then push for home. After talking to the campground staff about staying an extra day, we also asked them how long ago the fire that devastated the area was. The KOA rep said the campground tenters were evacuated on July 23, the RVs and staff were evacuated on July 24th and July 29th was when the fire came over the mountain.

Today we had the second half of our Hop On Hop Off double decker bus tour with Starline. Instead of driving all the way to the Santa Monica Pier again I chose one of the stops in West Hollywood. We decided just to do the yellow and red tours today which combined was 4 hours plus we stopped midway which happened to be around the Santa Monica Pier area again for Lunch.

I chose stop 15 on the red tour which happened to be in front of a Starline ticket office. After waiting for about 10 minutes the lady in the store told us to come inside and wait. We could sit and wait. She asked me what stop we got on at, and then I explained that this was our second day. So she had me come over and explain with the map. I said we just did the green tour yesterday. She couldn't believe we only did the green tour. So then I explained we got a late start. We bought the tickets at the Santa Monica Pier, walked up the big hill, waited for the bus, rode to Marina Del Rey, had lunch, ran across the parking lot to catch a bus, got off, walked down the big hill, walked up and down the pier, and we were done! She understood. She told us a funny thing about the Gruaman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Stars. Apparently, Donald Trump has a star on the walk of fame due to The Apprentice & The Celebrity Apprentice TV Shows. The problem is that people against him, keep egging his Star. So eventually the red bus came and we thanked her for her hospitality.

We decided to do a giant loop, starting with Red Tour, transferring to the Yellow Tour, follow the yellow loop and transferring back to the rest of the Red Tour. Basically it was a figure 8. From a distance we saw the HOLLYWOOD sign up on the hill., Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, Fox studios, Screen Actors Guild building, Producers Guild buildings, City Hall, places movies or TV Shows were filmed, UCLA, and a lot more! The funny thing is DH must have yanked my ear phones out at least 10 times by accident. I have small ear canals and it doesn't take much to yank out the ear phones. In fact I have to sometimes hold them in my ear. Well today I had just as much trouble keeping my baseball style hat on as I had yesterday with my cowgirl hat.

Today we had lunch at the Blue Plate Taco restaurant on Pacific Avenue. I had lobster tacos and DH had a steak quesadilla. Both were delicious! There were two guys next to us baking in the sun. I suggested they move their table closer to ours to move out of the sun.
They said they requested that spot, so it was their own fault, but did move closer to us. They thanked us. I noticed they ordered ice so I did too for us. The ice made a world of difference! After lunch we hopped back on the yellow tour and then the red. My phone only holds a certain amount of photos before it won't allow me to take any more. So once I post them to Facebook or upload them to Dropbox, I delete them from my phone. So even though I meant to bring my Canon Rebel EOS camera, I walked off without it. I also left my selfie stick in the MDX.

Traffic wasn't quite as bad as yesterday getting back. We stopped at the campground and picked up MIL and then we went to the local grocery store.

Day 25 - Acton, California KOA

Today, we woke up and at some point during the early morning we had some Internet service as a whole mess of cryptic half messages came through on my phone. Due to the forest fire there is no Internet here and due to the canyon, there is no phone service. DH put CNN on with satellite XM radio. That is when we heard that a passenger train crashed into a station but we didn't know where? So I started searching through the news alerts I had received and found out it was in NJ however we still didn't where? CNN was speculating as to how it happened? If the officials knew they weren't saying? With the recent terrorism, there was that speculation too.

We went to downtown Acton as I wanted to get Warner Brothers Studio Tour Tickets and I needed Internet to get them. So once I had 3G phone service I was able to get tickets, however we had to go somewhere to print them. We went to FEDEX and was able to print them out.

From there we went to Santa Monica Pier to get tickets for one of those bus service tours that you can hop off and on with. We bought 48 hour tickets as they were cheaper. MIL only bought a one day pass as she plans on staying at the motorhome tomorrow so she can rest up for Saturday's tour. Of course we drove down this big hill to park on the pier, only to find out we had to walk up it to get the bus. Slow and steady we all walked up the hill. We waited about 20 minutes for the double decker bus to arrive. We all climbed to the top and there were people with ear phones plugged into a a unit that gave the tour and of course we didn't get them. The next stop I went down the stairs and got three pairs. We were on the green line which ran from the Santa Monica Pier along the coast to the Marina Del Rey and Fisherman's Village. The original plan was just to ride the bus on its loop, but since it terminated we were forced to get off. As a result DH used his phone to look up some restaurants with seafood. The one which sounded good was Whiskey Reds. Today is our official Wedding Anniversary so this lunch was in celebration of it. MIL had a salmon cake sandwich with fries, DH had an Ahi Tuna Salad and I had a lobster roll with fries. Suitably stuffed we were. I looked at my phone and it was 2:26 and I said we needed to rush to the bus as it would be there at 2:30. Otherwise we would have to wait another 1/2 hour. DH told me to go ahead so I walked my normal pace and made it to the bus. The driver was eating a snack bag of chips and I said there were two more coming, could he wait? He nodded and I looked to see where DH and MIL were and they weren't far. DH and I climbed to the top of the double decker bus but MIL stayed below in the AC. Of course I couldn't find my ear phones so I shared with DH. We found out that CSI Miami was filmed in Venice Beach area which we thought was funny. And the TV show Revenge was filmed at Fisherman's village. Last time we were in California back in 2002, the Pacific Ocean was grayish looking as it was foggy. This time we could actually see that it was a different color than the Atlantic Ocean. It didn't appear as turbulent as the Atlantic. Almost more lake like with the occasional wave. The beaches were extremely wide too.
DH and I decided to get off the bus back at the pier and call it a day.

We got a taste of LA traffic on the way home. Since we had three passengers we were able to ride in the carpool lane. Going it was cool to be able to whiz by all of the bumper to bumper traffic. Going back to the motorhome we were able to go a little faster than the bumper to bumper traffic in the regular lanes. The traffic was similar to a highway in Philadelphia. It bogs down for no apparent reason and then flows freely then bogs down again. What was crazy is the motorcycle riders would drive up between the carpool lane and the regular left lane. I just said we needed a CHiP (California Highway Patrol) to stop this behavior when a CHiP came up the same way.
The funny thing was a motorcyclist was riding his motorcycle behind the CHiP, unknown to the CHiP, which we thought was funny.

When we got back DH said we would drive up one of the roads near by to watch the sunset from the top of the ridge but I was too tired and took a nap. Woke up at 8:15 PM to Die Another Day on the TV.

Day 24 - Acton, California KOA

Today was a travel day. Originally the plan was to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Since the higher elevations were effecting all of us, I decided to change up our trip a bit. So looking around I noticed we were only about 252 miles from Los Angeles, CA. I also looked at going to Yosemite National Park. Then DH said to me, we should go to Hollywood, although I had already planned to. And from there the plan is to go to Yosemite from here. Then make the turn to go home.

The Gremlin was trying to get us in trouble before we even left the campground in Las Vegas. It routed DH to turn right in the campground and I said that he needed to turn right on to Circus Circus Blvd. He decided to listen to the Gremlin and so we drove needlessly around the inside of the campground. So after we made the loop he was ready to listen to me. I directed him to Circus Circus Blvd. and once he made the right turn, the Gremlin came to life as it didn't know where the heck we were prior to this moment.

Onward & forward! The terrain kept endlessly changing. We saw a 1,668 acre solar farm. DH was on a mission for jerky after he saw a sign advertising it on a billboard.We stopped at gas station and I bought him some brand name Jerky.
Ever since we had this amazing jerky in Arizona back in 2011, DH has been on a quest for some like it.
We then started driving down all of these grades constantly reducing our elevation. We stopped at a T T that had lots of jerky which DH did buy some of and decided it was very good. The T T had a Martian motif.
We pulled off the Interstate into a huge parking lot and I made us sandwiches for lunch. While sitting there DH noticed the DQ (Dairy Queen) also sold diesel and were advertising $255 on their sign for diesel. However, the pump was broken. So I bought DH and myself small peanut butter milk shakes and MIL got a hot fudge sundae.

We crossed into California and I was surprised that there was no check point Charlie for agricultural products. It was almost 10 miles or more before we came across the check point and all the inspector said to DH is where did you come from, and DH said New Jersey. He asked if we had fireworks and DH said no. With that, he waved us through.

We saw Joshua Trees in abundance for several miles then, they totally disappeared for several miles and then one or two would show up. We also saw numerous dirt devils. They still excite me but not DH so much. He said to let him now if I see a tornado. I told him I don't want to see one of them! Later he pointed out another dirt devil that was most impressive as it had a lot of sand in its vortex and was almost 100 feet in the air. Of course it was twirling harmlessly out in the middle of the desert.

As we were making our way to the campground, I received a phone call that said some canyon, California. It was the campground calling to see if we were still coming in? There was a problem as the trailer next to the space I reserved had pulled into the site next to us backwards and had inadvertently used our sites hookups as a result. All the RVs were supposed to face toward the dry creek bed and forest. The people weren't at their RV so the campground staff were unable to rectify the problem. When we arrived they discounted our price which was nice.

The campground was almost a total victim of one of the recent forest fires.
The mountains across the road and the land surrounding it is all scorched. Trees are blackened, bushes and grass are gone. They lost some of their group sites, electrical wiring and are working on restoring everything. The only green in the forest are weeds that have recently popped up. The campground itself is full of old growth trees with green leaves and green grass. Except that we have no phone service, it has little to none on wifi access and no cable at all, it isn't that bad. It has a beautiful pool and spa. Due to the drought and dead wood all over, fires are prohibited. I imagine that come Winter or the rainy season there will be mudslides due to the loss of so much vegetation.

Before dinner I brought out our book of DVDs and DH appeared to choose one but it was left in the DVD player from who knows when? So we began watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade until the scene when both Jones characters are going into Berlin, Germany to get the elder Jones' diary. Bam it freezes! So DH, monkeys with it and skips the a scene or two and it starts working again. We watched it until the end. Next movie I selected was True Lies. Darn DVD player froze the movie a 1/4 into it. DH after trying to get it to work finally rebooted the DVD player. And it was like magic! So we are currently watching Kindergarten Cop, so we will see if the DVD player is in cahoots with the Gremlin or not.

Day 23 - Circus Circus Hotel & Casino Manor RV Park

Today we drove the MDX to the Circus Circus parking garage and walked through the casino to the get public transportation. We bought a pass for 24 hours.

We did go on a wild goose chase looking for Bellagio perfume. Only after touring the whole casino and shopping promenade, we found some one to ask where it was sold? So he said, it is sold at the store near the guest elevators. Funny thing is we were in that store looking. We also had purchased that same perfume for MIL back in 2007 which was the last time we were in Las Vegas. So we get back to the store and MIL asks one of the employees about the perfume? Well, they discontinued production of it 5 years ago. I told MIL, I guess she needed to buy it more often then every 10 years, to keep them producing it.

From there we walked over to the Paris Casino to get lunch. The first place we looked at had crepes on the menu which made me think of the crepe restaurant. So we went there and we each enjoyed a stuffed savory crepe. DH had Shrimp Scampi, MIL had an artichoke and spinach one and I had a ham & Swiss with s Béchamel sauce. Afterwards we bought one Tiramisu which we shared.

From there I thought we could walk to the MGM a grand as I wanted to see where the David Copperfield Theater was? However, it looked closer than it was. So I aborted the quest and we got on a double decker bus to go back to Circus Circus.

It was hot and both MIL and I hate the heat. I said, but it's dry heat! One of our friends always says that. Frankly I don't care if it is dry or humid, it is HOT.

We went back to the motorhome and took a nap as we had a show at the MGM Grand tonight. DH didn't take a nap, I am told. We were all stuffed from our crepes at lunch, so we left without eating or drinking anything.

We drove down to the MGM Grand and parked in their Self Parking garage. We walked through the casino  to the David Copperfield Theater. The concession was outside the theater and we didn't get anything. We had great seats for most of the show except about 15 minutes when the put a video camera on a tripod right in front of MIL. We were forced to watch a TV type flatscreen during that time. When I was choosing the seats I figured the people in the front two rows might be chosen to be in the act, but it didn't matter as he chose random people all over the audience to participate. He did incredible illusions from making a car appear out of thin air to turning a paper rose into a real one. It was well worth the wait!

Afterward we drove up and down "The Strip" on Las Vegas Blvd. to see all of the glitz, glitter and lights! It was MIL's first time. I took some photos with my phone through our moon roof. I took a video but It didn't work that good so I deleted it.

After that we came back to the motorhome MIL had her leftover crepe. DH and I had hotdogs. Tomorrow we are heading to Acton, California to take a tour of Hollywood. Hopefully there will not be any wild fires or earthquakes while there.

Day 22 - Las Vegas, NV

This morning, I got up to see the sunrise over Lake Mead. It was spectacular and then I went back to sleep, however we had to pay for our campsite for last night. It was hot in the morning. We thought if we couldn't get tickets today for the Hoover Dam tour, we would get them for tomorrow.

MIL decided to stay behind as she was worried that there would be a lot of up and down walking. So we paid for the campsite and found out check out time was 12 noon and headed to the Hoover Dam. We went through a check point Charlie where the police only looked in our back seat. We had our windows open so they could see in. Then we parked in the garage and walked a short distance to escalators down to the visitors center. We had to go through metal detectors, put all out belongings into tubs that went through a X-ray machine. Of course, I forgot I had a business card sized letter opener in my pocketbook which was taboo. It was confiscated.

When we said we wanted the tickets for tomorrow, they said we had to take them for today. So I was worried about  getting back before check out time. But the tour was 1-hour long. The first half hour was the tour of the power plant and second half was the dam tour. Back in 1998 we toured the power plant but we couldn't tour the dam because our children had to be at least 16 years old. At that time the tour was more involved as no one ever conceived that terrorism would happen in the United States to the magnitude of what happened on 09/11/2011. Nowadays it is a shell of its former self. It was still cool and we enjoyed it very much. The tour ends out on the middle of the dam on the top, and in the heat. The sun is bright and then there is about a 1/2 mile walk back to the parking garage. We got back to the National Recreation Area at exactly 12 noon, however DH decided to go down to the marina there and then we took a different road back. From the campground, it appeared that the front row of RVs was right beside the lake. When in reality, there is a road and probably about 200 feet of desert type terrain leading to the water. When we got back to the motorhome we went began to pack up and make it travel worthy. I also made us sandwiches for lunch. The campground host came to see if we were leaving, and DH said we were.

We then headed to Las Vegas. DH's birthday was today and tomorrow night we are seeing David Copperfield at the MGM. The Gremlin was up to its old tricks. Google Maps was suggesting a different route to the RV Park at Circus Circus Casino & Hotel.

The Gremlin was taking us a roundabout way. So we get to the address on S. Las Vegas Blvd. and the Gremlin doesn't give any further directions. So, da da da da! Google Maps to the rescue! So it says turn right at the next corner, which there is a sign that says "Keep Right" in the middle of the road. DH makes the turn and Google Maps says, make next right. So we get to the driveway and the sign says Manor RV Park. DH says what is the name of the campground to me? I said all it says is "The RV Park at Circus Circus!" So DH drives right past the driveway in! Around the block we go again only this time because there were people waiting to cross the street and they were half in the street, DH didn't quite make the turn just right. And as w result he was going to hit the sign that said "Keep Right." I jumped out and at first I thought the sign was bolted to the street but I was finally able to move it back always so DH could successfully make the turn. I told him that my GPS was saying that Manor RV Park was the correct place. We pulled in and it was the correct place.

When we pulled into our spot, there was a guy sleeping on a bedroll on the grass next to our table with a cooler. MIL and I watched him pick up his supplies and place them in a gold car with a stake body trailer attached. He got in his car, then got out and walked apparently to the store as he came back with ice. While he was gone, the police drove past our motorhome but they missed seeing the guy. We locked up the motorhome and drove to a the casino parking garage as it was too far and hot to walk. It was similar to how we remembered once inside. We went to the Midway, and watched two showings of circus performances.

Came back to the motorhome with the full intention of going out on the strip at night after dinner but instead watched the Presidential Debate between Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump.

Day 21 - Lake Mead RV Village

Since we had seen everything that we wanted to or could see due to limitations in Sadona. I decided just to move on to Lake Mead RV Village which is part of the National Parks & Recreation System. I called at 8 AM to make a reservation however the lady at the National Park said she had plenty of space available and to just come. I would have preferred to make sure we had a place to go. I informed everyone that we were leaving Munds Park. So DH called me out to look at the water hook-ups. The hose was attached to the the spigot but there was no knob to turn to disconnect the hose. DH said it was there when he hooked it up. The leaves were beginning to turn and even fall as it was quite blustery this morning. The ground was lightly covered with leaves. DH went and got Sn adjustable wrench to disconnect the hose. I moved the leaves with my foot but didn't see the knob. DH saw it and we were both surprised that it was so far away from the spigot. He placed it back on and we realized it didn't have a nut. When I went to get ice from the campground store, I mentioned the missing nut. Of course it didn't help, that I couldn't remember what spot we had. I told the clerk my name if she remembered it after she unlocked the ice cooler outside. Before we left, DH installed the new batteries in the tire monitoring system. He also decided to disconnect the battery on the MDX so it would start when reconnected instead of dead from whatever has been draining the battery.

Like I said before it was blustery with sustained 25 mph winds with 45 mph gusts. DH asked me if I wanted to drive and it occurred to me I needed to add some weather conditions to my list of rules for not driving the motorhome. He then asked his Mom in a joking manner if she wanted to drive. When we reached Flagstaff, AZ the wind died down. We saw lots of interesting terrain changes.

As we were driving on I-40, DH saw a sign for the historical Route 66, so we could see a town in the opposite way then we were traveling. DH turned the motorhome toward the town of Seligman, AZ which the famous Route 66 went through as it's main street and it was full of memorabilia from before Interstates. We also had lunch at a burger joint which was doing a booming business. DH and I both had cheeseburgers. Mine just had ketchup and his had the works. MIL got a hotdog. We also ordered onion rings. It was funny with all of the Coca Cola vintage signs around and they only had Pepsi products. I ordered a root beer even though it wasn't diet. It's the only soda I can drink that isn't diet.

From there the terrain was ever changing and we were constantly going down in elevation. Since we had used up most of our food that we had, especially proteins, I programmed the Google maps app on my phone to a Super Walmart in Kingsman, AZ to stock up. From there we passed all of these Historical Markers. Just for kicks I looked to see if I could find out what the marker was all about. I found www.hmdb.org which has this amazing search engine that allows the user to use their site in conjunction with Google Maps to send the user a photo of and what the marker states. It is so cool if the user has Internet. The two Historical Markers that we were interested in turned out to be about mining towns that were booming for 3-6 years, mining gold and silver, and are now ghost towns. One mining town was more built up then the other but we could still see that the side of the mountain had been mined in both cases.

We were at Hoover Dam back in 1998 and at that time the road went directly over the dam. However now, since 9/11/2001, the government has made this super highway and bridge south of the dam. Due to high cross winds over the gorge, high profile vehicles are directed to be in the center lanes in both directions. So as we went over the bridge I could see a small glimpse of the clock towers. The funny thing about those towers back in 1998, is I assumed that the clock for Arizona was broken. At that time I didn't know that Arizona didn't observe daylight savings time, and we were crossing into Mountain Time.

When we arrive at the National Lakeshore Recreation Area in Nevada, I said of course the Golden Park Pass was in the MDX. Since the battery was disconnected I could only use my key to unlock the driver door. And of course I had to do it on the side with the traffic. I grabbed the pass and gave it to DH who drove up to the booth and showed it to the guard. He had to show is drivers license too. In trying to put it back in his wallet it fell down behind his chair.

When we got to the campground, the office was closed. ARGH! I walked over and saw there were envelopes hanging on the door with different spots on them, a map, and directions. The campground is cool in that it is tiered so everyone has a view of Lake Mead.

Now as the sun went down, the mountains on the Arizona side of the lake glowed the orange gold that we had waited to see on the airport lookout in Sedona that never materialized.

Day 20 - Munds Park, Arizona

This morning we got up in the dark as we were scheduled to go to off roading in a 4-wheel drive ATV for two with roll cage. MIL took one look at the thing yesterday and decided she wasn't going! I know she would have been saying "OY!" the whole time. Besides DH was able hot rod it and he couldn't do that with his Mom in the vehicle. We arrived there at 7:30, and got goggles and our ride was checked out, then we were given a map of the trails. So we headed off. We both wore jeans & sweatshirts as it was 47 degrees F. I had my Canon Rebel EOS and an my telephoto lens, my pocketbook, the maps and our goggles. The rental place also supplied a cooler full of ice water and ice. We went to the trail, to the
Honanki Ruins first which consisted of a paved road which turned into a gravel road and then a semi muddy red dirt road. However when we got there it was closed and didn't open for 40 minutes. So I said lets go to the other trails as we are renting this thing for 4 hours only and we were to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado which is the crème de la crème of Native American cliff dwelling Ruins. So DH took his sweatshirt off and so did I but then I decided to keep it on. Eventually I took my sweatshirt off too as it began to warm up, when we reached the other unpaved trail.
This trail was to the formation Devil's Bridge a natural bridge, and it was swarming with day hikers. It was also, lined with parked and moving vehicles, which we couldn't imagine bringing on this rock & boulder  strewn trail. The trail to the ruins was rough but not nearly as rough as the Devil's Bridge trail, which actually was named the Dry River Bed Trail. Since I took my sweatshirt off, the seatbelt shoulder strap was cutting into my neck. I ended up after an hour of it cutting into me, pulling it down under my arm. DH drove the whole way and he had fun driving it. Thankfully after the trail head for the Devil's Bridge, the hikers became less and less. The diehards were also hiking to the petroglyphs which were a lot further then the Devil's Bridge. It's funny, that DH and I thought we had traveled a long ways on the Dry Creek Bed Trail, but coming back we were shocked how close we were to the trail head. We decided to go back since we wouldn't have had enough time to get back to the ruins and then back to the rental place. We wanted to avoid the steep late rental fees too.

After that we went to the Safeway grocery store and bought some things we needed. Then we went to lunch and had burgers with French fries. And ordered chocolate cake for dessert for MIL. Heavens to Betsy, MIL  left all her Lindt 70% dark chocolate bars in Tucson. So I was able to get her 72% dark chocolate bar to hold her over plus the cake.

From there we decided to take the 89A road which is a scenic byway, that winds around Oak Creek Canyon back. We were going to go to Slide Rock State Park just to take photos but quickly stopped that thought when we found out it cost $30 per vehicle which for a car load of people would be s great deal but not for two, who didn't even want to go swimming. Of course it was even worse as we would have had to hike down into the canyon and hike back up. I might have done it if it was a lot warmer and I was a lot younger!

On the way through Sedona there were all these signs to tune to some radio station when the sirens were wailing. I was wondering what the sirens were for? I thought maybe flash floods? Today I found out, the sirens were to warn of forest fires. The scenic byway went from desert to lush forests of tall ponderosa pines or lodge pole pines. We enjoyed the scenic byway back to the campground. We also stopped at two Native American craft fairs along the way and DH bought me a turtle necklace made from hematite and another made from white and gray mineral or shell. The seller told me but I promptly forgot what it is. Then we returned.

I came to the conclusion that I got confused with my trip reservations. I thought we were supposed to be in Sedona from Thursday to Sunday, when in fact I was supposed to be here until Monday. So I either have to see if I can stay another night here or try to get a campground reservations at a campground at Lake Meade, in NV. However, I won't be able to do anything until tomorrow morning. Of course, I don't know what day I am paid up until. I distinctly remember telling the person in the office here that I was leaving on the 26th. So she said what is the last night? I said the 25th. So my mixup happened as I thought the 26th was Sunday, when it is Monday.