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.

Day 19 / Munds Park, AZ

This morning we packed up our sightseeing stuff: camera, extra lens, hats, water, ice, phones, car chargers. And off we went to Sedona! It was so cool to watch the terrain change from pine forests to the red rock cliffs and buttes. The landscape is stunning! We stopped at the visitors center for Coronado National Forest which Sedona is part of. Both MIL & DH have National Park Golden Passes. So the ranger gave her a hanger for the car that the pass fits into. Every trailhead parking lot, one needs a pass to park so it worked out great. Although we weren't hiking, we did park to take photos. While driving to Picazzo Organic Restaurant, I saw a Jeep rental sign. When we got in there, and they were doing their spiel, I realized it was a high pressure ploy to get us to listen to a membership talk for some resort. For listening for the 90 minute spiel we would be able to rent a vehicle for $99. After they asked what our income was, I said no. Immediately the guy's boss came out to find out if he could be of assistance to us. From there we headed to the restaurant and saw a Whole Foods Market and we stopped at another rental that actually was s legit rental.
MIL decided to stay at the motorhome tomorrow while we are going off roading for 4-hours. Of course I didn't realize our stint was at 7:30 in the morning and we are an hour away.

At 12:30 pm we were meeting some of my Zaar Buddies Worldwide Facebook friends at a restaurant in downtown Sedona. It was one of those crazy odd things. Two friends from two different states, one New Jersey and the other, Tennessee both travel unknown to each other to Sedona. I knew she was in Phoenix, AZ when I was in Tucson, AZ. I just happened to see her post on Facebook that she was in Sedona yesterday. I posted under her posting that I would be here today! So she suggested lunch or coffee to meet up. Turned out we met up for lunch and had a most amazing time! Food was great and dessert was incredibly delicious. I gave them James Saltwater Taffy from the New Jersey Shore. DH heard that we should go up to the road to the airport to view the sunset. After lunch we had photos taken of all of the Zaar Buddies Worldwide. Some lady asked if we were celebrities? As there were numerous photos taken. We all had a good laugh and parted company.

From there we stopped at Whole Foods Market. Then we went driving on the scenic byway. I programmed Google Maps app to go to the campground. DH said to me, "Is the road we are driving, a loop". I said yes as I was looking at a circle and we weren't back tracking to get back to the campground. So we are paralleling  Oak Creek. At some point DH asked me if we were headed back to Sedona and I Said no, we were headed to our campground. That was when he let me know that Tex told him to go on the Airport road to see the sunset on the buttes. So we turned around and headed back to Sedona. On the way back, I asked who Tex was? He then said, your friend West Texas Chef. I laughed.

So while killing time we went to about, 29 different shops. I finally bought a hat to wear while traveling. We left the shopping area to go wait up on the scenic overlook which was above Sedona. We all had see these incredible photographs of the buttes lit up by the sun so much that the upper cliffs glowed yellow orange. So most of us were facing the buttes and rock faces across the canyon. Some were looking at the sunset. I was doing both. Well the buttes didn't glow which I believe was caused by the sunset itself. Some sunsets are so incredibly beautiful and others are what I think are run of the mill pretty but not drop dead gorgeous. Or the photos are enhanced with Photoshopping techniques to bring out the colors. Or it could have been that we just were not in the best viewing location? Anyways, we drove back to the motorhome in the dark and had hotdogs for dinner at 7:30 PM.  

Day 18 - Munds Park, Arizona

Today we left Tucson and headed up I-10 towards Phoenix. The landscape changed vastly between Tucson and Munds Park. We saw a couple of dirt Devils twirling around. I drove for a short stint, thankfully before we caught up to the rain showers which were training from the Southwest to Northeast. We tried to get diesel when  we had 1/2 a tank, but the stations couldn't accommodate our big rig and tow car. I looked at fuel stations on Gas Buddy and found two at $2.09 and one at $2.29 a gallon. We drove down to one of the $2.09 stations and miraculously we were able to get to the diesel pump as it was in one of the outside lanes. DH told me to go in the station store and ask them to lift the limit, as usually at some stations they only allow $75 worth of gas or diesel to be pumped at a time. And with a 100 gallon tank, it takes more than $75. So the person behind the counter said she couldn't lift the limit. She said, I could charge $200 and if it cost less it would only charge what was pumped. So I gave her my credit card and it was declined. So when I gave her my other one it was declined too! So I tried two lessor amounts and everything was declined. So I began to give a $100 cash when the clerk said someone at the pump is pumping the diesel. So I then bought ice and left the store. I was embarrassed by the whole credit card thing. I said to DH that it is weird because I got three fraud alerts when I tried to use my card. So once in the motorhome I called the credit card company and answered numerous questions to prove my identity. Then the agent asked if I had tried to purchase diesel in excess at a Quality fuel station in Phoenix, AZ and I said yes, out motorhome takes a lot of fuel. So then he told me I should place s travel alert on my card, and that made me madder as I had done that before I left on the trip. He looked at my card info and found a "memo" attached to it, but not an official "stamp" saying I was actually on vacation for a planned length of time. Then he wanted to know if I was only traveling in Arizona. I said no! I told him that it was a road trip to Las Vegas and back again. He apologized for the mistake the company made by not following through with adding the trip alert. After all it wasn't his fault. Now that that, that was taken care of we proceeded on our way. I guess DH must have been having a hankering for a Starbucks Frappachino as he said to me, I guess you haven't had any Starbucks this trip. Actually the last time I had it was I think the day after Christmas with DD#1. When I use to bowl in a league, I use to get it every Thursday night. I had to quit bowling in a nightly league due to every headlight from oncoming vehicles looked like they had their high beams on. Now I almost never drive at night. Anyways, we stopped and got Starbucks. We drove through lots of light to moderate rain, fog, clouds and drizzle. We finally got to our destination. Our reservations were mixed up a bit. They had us coming in on Friday and leaving on Monday. However, I know I said arrive on Thursday and leave on Sunday.

A funny thing happened. I was on Facebook in one of my Zaar Buddies secret group pages when one of my friends posted that they were in Sedona, Arizona! I posted that we were in Munds Park which is North East of Sedona and we would be there tomorrow. She suggested we get together for either coffee or lunch, which we decided on lunch. So we will be meeting up tomorrow in Sedona.
Crazy how that happened!

Day 17 - Guided tour to Patagonia, AZ

Our tour guides picked us up in a short bodied crew cab type pickup truck and took us to visit the Empire Ranch, a living history museum, although it looked pretty deserted when we were there today. Apparently they have free range cattle. 

In Patagonia, AZ, our guides took MIL & DH on a stroll down to the river lined by cottonwood trees at a bird sanctuary off of Pennsylvania Avenue. I stayed at the pavilion and watched the humming birds, took photos and a video. We had lunch at the Wild Horse Restaurant, in Patagonia, AZ. 

Then we went to Madera Canyon, which is a box canyon, however the road winds around the top of the canyon midway up the mountains, so that one can see down into the box part of the canyon. Since the road goes further than the box canyon, it gives the illusion that it is not a box canyon. 

As I said before we were riding in the back seat of a pick-up truck which was very cramped. Anytime we stopped, we had to extricate ourselves out of it. I sat in the middle to keep from getting motion sickness, but on the canyon winding road, I ended taking a pill to prevent the sickness before it occurred. 

We went through a Border Patrol check point Charlie once going and once coming back. 

Tomorrow we leave for Sedona, AZ which is forecast to be cooler, although last time I looked at the weather at 10 PM there was a Red Flag Warning tomorrow in the Phoenix area as it was predicted to be windy and conditions would be ripe for wild fires. Since I missed the news tonight, I have no idea if it holds true or not. 

Tonight we went to dinner at a local restaurant in Tucson. Dinner was delicious. I had a shared Caesar salad with DH and a NY strip steak, whipped potatoes and grilled asparagus in a Demi glacé. For dessert I had vanilla & chocolate homemade ice cream.  Back to peasant food tomorrow night. 

A weird thing just occurred on the TV here in Tucson: An Emergency Broadcast alert test for Bland County, Virginia. 

Sent from my iPhone

Day 13-16 Tucson, Arizona - Censored
What happens in Tucson, stays in Tucson, however my own personal confidential log says it all.

Day 12 - Whites City, New Mexico

This morning I made fried Matzo half way for MIL and all the way for DH. DH likes his crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. MIL likes it soft and fluffy throughout. So I divided it in thirds, cooking DH's and my portion and after it was done, MIL cooked hers the way she preferred it.

When we actually had the go ahead to leave on our trip, that is when I made three reservations. One was for a tour of Carlsbad Caverns. Last time we were there in 1999, all of the ranger led cave tours were sold out. The only one we could go to was a self guided tour of the big room. It didn't help that on top of that I went down in the cave with prescription sunglasses on. And without the sunglasses, everything was fuzzy. So although darker, I could see better. And on top of all that the main reason I wanted to go to Carlsbad Caverns National Park was to see the bats and that was sold out too!

When looking at the tours to take, I choose one that said it had 16 steps and was classified as easy. At Mammoth Cave in KY, when it says 200 stairs, I know right away that it is not the cave tour for DH and MIL. 16 steps sounds like it's relatively level, however this tour had us descend 800 feet in an elevator as well as on a switch back style ramp. One third of the way down, I said we can abort the tour, but DH said no. So we then walked down two thirds of the way down and MIL was at that moment trying to decide if she should abort or not, however she decided to go all the way. The Ranger told MIL that they wouldn't be going fast as there was a lady with a walker on the tour. DH told his Mom that since he was down, he might as well take the tour. We did slowly ascend to the midway point of the ramp but then the last section was a killer. DH would walk two levels and then rest for 5 minutes. MIL wanted to power through it slow and steady. I stayed with her to make sure she was okay. When we reached the elevator to go back up, she was exhausted. DH was less tired as he had rested at the various intervals. Of course MIL is 21 years older then DH which is a big factor. She was saying she deserved a metal for surviving the tour. After the tour we had lunch in the cafe at the park. DH and I both wolfed down our lunches however MIL was too tired so she wrapped up her sandwich and drank a hot beverage instead. We bought her a pin that said Carlsbad Caverns National Park as her badge for making it down and back up again.
We left the park and went back to the motorhome. MIL crashed on the couch, I paid bills online, DH read and watched TV. I made chicken quesadillas as we had to be back to the park by 6:45 PM as that was when the Bat Flight Program began. Before we left the park earlier we notice they had handicapped parking lower in the canyon so it was relatively flat to the amphitheater. The ranger talked about the Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats which inhabit the cave. It was cool as the come out of the cave counter clockwise like s tornado. They swirl around and then groups pull away and leave for the South. Then eventually there is a steady stream of twirling flocking bats. MIL didn't go with us as she was worn out from her earlier adventure. There were huge thunderheads that were in Texas that we could see from the park. As we were leaving the park, it was so cool as the moon was behind the thunderheads and it outlined the clouds. Back at the motorhome and headed to Tucson, AZ tomorrow to visit MIL's daughter and DH's sister.

Day 11 - White City RV Park in White City, NM

Today DH woke up with a migraine headache. We left Abilene around 8 AM headed to Carlsbad, NM. About an hour into our trip West, DH decided that I should drive. I have driven it before, but I have rules. No toll booths, no bridges, no construction and especially no cattle chutes. Of course I have driven through construction areas and bridges without toll booths due to the fact that there was no place to pull over to let George retake the reins. However this time It was fairly easy except I tended to occasionally hit the rumble strip when a truck passed me. After I was directed by the gremlin to get off I-20 to go North and successfully made the turn on to a parkway type road. MIL was telling me camping stories from when DH was little. One of the stories was going to Mcdonald's and getting the fish fillet sandwich for 15 cents.  I remembered when French fries were 15 cents and hamburgers there were 25 cents. MIL was feeling nostalgic and asked if we could go to McDonald's some time on the trip. Surprisingly the hour went fast. The Gremlin told me to turn left but I didn't see the turn, so it told me to turn left again, so I turned and came to a stop sign. DH came and said he felt better and took over. I might add the speed limits were 75 miles an hour on these back roads. I had the cruise control set at 60 when I was driving. DH drove for about a 1/2 hour when his headache became intense again. So I took over. When I drive, MIL rides shotgun. DH was sleeping on the couch. I was catching up to a storm and I had no idea where the windshield wipers are? I was looking but I couldn't find them and it started to rain. Finally I had to yell to DH, "Where are the wipers?!!!" He yelled from the back that they were near the headlights. Then I saw them but I don't have monkey arms so it was some effort to turn them on as the steering wheel was in the way. So it rained but nothing crazy, however when I drove into New Mexico through the town of Hobbs, the streets were all flooded. DH woke up feeling hungry so I pulled into this big parking lot as he said he could take over driving. So we all went to McDonald's. MIL had her fish, DH had a burger and I a crispy chicken sandwich and we all had fries. DH drove through Carlsbad and turned North to go to the KOA. As we were driving I realized the KOA was 58 miles from the National Park. So I had DH pull over while I called a no frills campground in Whites City which was at the entrance of the park to see if they had any available sites. They had one, so I called the KOA and cancelled our reservations, and we forfeited our deposit too. So DH was able to make a U-Turn as it was a very wide road. There are black storm clouds Southwest of us as far as you can see. We got to the campground and of course the MDX was dead. So we hooked up our charging unit to the terminals and plugged the other end into the shore power outlet in the Motorhome and let it charge the battery. DH's headache returned and he took a headache pill and went to sleep around 3:30 PM. While he was sleeping I received notice from my Stormtracker 6 app on my phone that the National Weather Service had issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 8 PM. So I went into the bedroom and asked DH what would happen if it rained on the charger? So he said something about lots of rubber gaskets. So then I said, no I mean what would happen if it rained on the battery charger hooked to the battery with the hood up? He said he forgot about the MDX, but it should start by now. So I asked him with cable I should take off first? He said black. So I went out and started the MDX. I then removed the battery charger and put it and the extension cord in the MDX. Then I sat in the MDX with it running for 25 minutes. MIL came out to make sure all was well. Then I turned it off and locked it. So MIL and I are outside and we see two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and a Shitzu. Their human parents were from the West Coast going East and we were going West.  I then got a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the Eddy County which is the county we are staying as well as where the KOA is located. This storm was expected to hit the town the KOA is in. The warning said that golf ball sized hail, 70 mph winds, frequent sky to ground lightning, both animals and people would be severely injured and should seek shelter immediately, to an interior room away from Windows. There was also a possible tornado hidden in the rain bands of these dangerous line of storms. Both MIL and  I kept looking at our phones at the radar. Fortunately for us the nasty weather was both North and South of us. I took lots of photos of the weird storm clouds and later the gorgeous sunset. I made quesadillas tonight for dinner with leftover sirloin steak and woke DH up as they were placed on the table. It was about 6:30 PM. Watching the evening news just now, it's confirmed there was one tornado in Hope, NM and several funnel clouds were spotted in different parts of the state. A funnel cloud isn't a tornado until it touches down. Back in 1972, when my Mom, Dad, Sister and I went West to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks and back again, we saw a double funnel cloud. The sky was pitch black and the funnel clouds were white against the dark storm clouds.

Day 10 - Abilene, Texas KOA

Today we packed up and left around 9 AM to avoid the rush hour in Arlington and Fort Worth. Of course the Gremlin wanted us to make a U-Turn at the first traffic light. We ignored it and drove around the block to go South. I needed more French Vanilla creamer for my coffee so after our experience in Marion, Arkansas with minimal success on getting what we wanted I just routed us to Walmart. MIL and I hopped out when DH dropped us off at the door. I was able to get my creamer plus some other things we needed. MIL also bought somethings she needed, then DH came and picked us up. As we were driving out of the parking lot DH mentioned that he had gotten diesel. I asked where he went and he pointed to the Walmart pumps which were surrounded with curbs to keep them separate from the main lot. I took one look at it and said I was glad I wasn't with him. Some times he drives the motorhome towing the MDX into some of the craziest places. We can't back up because we tow the MDX on all fours and the front wheels will follow the motorhome forward but they will turn on their own if we go backwards. Only if the MDX and the Motorhome's wheels are totally straight in line with each other can we back up like a few feet or so. But most times we need to unhook the MDX. Without the MDX, DH can maneuver it with no problem. As for the Walmart diesel, he said he had no problem. From there the Gremlin directed us East towards Fort Worth which I questioned by double checking with Google and both were going the same way. I said maybe there isn't an on ramp going Westbound on I-20 from the Walmart location? So we decided that must be the reason. So after going 2 miles East to get on the Westbound ramp, we passed the Walmart and a 1/2 mile North of the Walmart was the missing Westbound ramp. We had a good laugh. The next stop on our trip was Abilene, TX. DH and I met one of my Zaar Facebook buddies whose name on Zaar was Starlita, whereas my name was Acadia. Recipezaar (Zaar) was an online recipe website where people posted their recipes, made other people's recipes, reviewed the recipes made and posted photos of those recipes to the recipe. It also had forums which consisted of many food interest groups as well as some not food related forums. However it was sold and bought out and much to our dismay, the forums were later dissolved by the new company. We (the forum members) all moved to one of three locations to continue our chats. I moved to all three locations, however I participate mostly on the group pages on Facebook. The discussions range from photographing food to posting blog recipes to chatting about our pets. We also are a support group for everything up and down the line. For lunch DH and I had leftover Gino's East pizza. I called Starlita to tell her we would meet her at Frontier Texas an interactive museum. As we went to get in the MDX, It wouldn't start. So DH had a portable charging unit however it was a tad too far away for the car battery cables leading to the charger and the cables leading from the charger to the plug of the motorhome. So I put the MDX in neutral and DH pushed it close enough for everything to reach. I started the MDX. While driving to meet Starlita it started to torrential rain. The streets were all flooded but we made it to the museum. Starlita was outside under the porch waiting for us. DH ran to the porch. I left my camera in the MDX as it was pouring. I too ran between the raindrops. Starlita has a great sense of humor and was always laughing about something. She made me this lovely ceramic heart and I brought Lucille's Salt Water Taffy from New Jersey as well as a mug. We toured the museum which had the most amazing almost holographic images of Native Americans as frontiersmen talking about various things. The museum was extremely well done. From the museum we went down to the Center for Contemporary Arts to meet her cousin who is the curator of the museum. She reminded me of one of my Mom & Dad's friends, Barbara Bain. I actually did not know that Starlita was also an artist. That she did graphic design in Michigan but later became a nurse. We all were going to go to the Beehive Steakhouse but it didn't open until 5 pm. In fact all the restaurants opened at 5 PM so we all said our goodbyes and we went back to our motorhome.
Starlita said she was going to stop for Chinese food and we had scrambled eggs. We have had problems with the kitchen sink leaking for a couple of days now. First the big side and then both sides. So DH and I went to Home Depot to get parts and he fixed it tonight once and for all.

Day 9 - Dallas/Arlington KOA

Well, this morning I set my alarm for 7:30 am to try a new system of mining for diamonds. They suggested three ways- 1. put dirt in box screen and rinse dirt off of everything with water in a sluice. 2. Put dirt in box screen and sift dirt through screen leaving pebbles in screen. 3. Surface mining which is walk looking down for diamonds. I did way number 2 yesterday and found fools diamonds which were quartz crystals. Today I decided to try way number 3. I didn't even last an hour as the green headed flies were there plus it was hot due to the heat index feeling like 90 degrees. If I ever come back, it will be when it's 50 F. Next time I will try method #1.

DH dropped me off and picked me up after I texted him I was done. And yes I was done just like a hard boiled egg. We packed up the motorhome making it travel worthy, and then hooked the MDX to the tow bar, dropped off trash and headed South to Arlington, TX a suburb between Dallas & Forth Worth. Texas. As we were driving DH, decided that he wanted some of the jerky we bought in Pigeon Forge, TN. He has a gap between two teeth that certain types of food gets trapped in. So I also gave him one of those tooth pick things that have floss on it too. He took it while driving and used it to get the jerky out but the toothpick thing got stuck. So here we are driving down the road with no place to pull over. I was laughing hysterically while trying to cut the floss with scissors. MIL was oblivious to our predicament. Finally I was successful, and cut the floss and it came out just like that.

We drove on back roads from Crater National Park to I-30 South to Texas. DH wondered about pronouncing Texarkana. I told him it was a combination of Texas and Arkansas. I also told him it was in the theme song of Smokey and the Bandit. And the town was half in Texas & half in Arkansas. While driving through Texas I was counting how many Texas bumpers there were on tractor trailers. So far I haven't seen that many. DH thinks I will see more on the stretch between Fort Worth and NM.
I guess you are wondering what a Texas bumper is? It's a broad flat stainless steel looking bumper which gives the truck a tougher look. Is there a reason for changing to a Texas bumper other than appearance, I don't know?

The Gremlin, which I have named our motorhome GPS unit, was up to no good yet again. It was mixed up in Dallas on all of the crazy roads. It constantly wanted us to make a U-Turn but one can not make a U-Turn that easily in a motorhome towing a tow vehicle especially on an interstate highway. Then it brought us to the KOA campground and it was on the opposite side of a road with a center divider. So DH drove the motorhome down the road looking for a parking lot to turn around. We found one with speed bumps that shook the whole
Motorhome violently when we drove over them. He turned around in a bowling alley lot behind the lot with the speed bumps. Then we had to go over the bumps again to exit. So DH drives up Cooper Road slowly and we are both looking for the KOA sign. Only after we had driven on top of it and past the driveway did we see the idiot sign as it was hidden behind a tree. So we couldn't back up even if we could due to our tow vehicle and of course the traffic. So I suggested we reprogram the GPS so it could alert us when we were getting close to the turn. So DH reprogrammed the Gremlin which tried to take us back the way we originally directed us, which was wrong. So I used Google and it directed us around the block but not far enough, so DH turned the motorhome around in yet another parking lot, and this time it took us up past where the KOA was. This time we had both GPS units telling us when to stop and we made it into the parking lot. We had a nice gravel pull through with a picnic table, across from the pool and laundry. Our ultimate goal was to go to dinner at Gino's East which is a chain that specializes in Deep Dish Chicago pizza. Our DD#2 first introduced it to us in 2007 when we traveled in that area. Then we have been in the general area two other times, and we always go to Gino's East. We went there for diner and it was slightly different as it didn't have the giant patty of sausage and as a result the crust wasn't as high. DH thought the crust was a slightly different recipe, however I think it was just over baked. It was still very good. MIL got roasted tomato soup plus she tried some pizza too. Tomorrow we are headed to Abilene, TX to meet up with a friend.

Day 8 - Crater of Diamonds State Park

This morning we hooked up the car as per usual. While we were walking up to the door to the motorhome there was a duck sitting not 5 feet away from us. We got closer and she just sat there. I was worried about her as she wasn't moving away from us and she was so close to the Motorhome. When we got in, DH started the motor and the duck hopped up on to a wall out of the way. From there we had to drive around a campground loop and of course it was blocked by someone hooking up their tow car. So DH drove through a vacant campsite to another road, and that one was blocked too by a pick-up truck. So I went and asked the lady to move the truck and she did apologizing all the way. We then headed to Crater of Diamonds State Park. I have only been trying to get to this state park for years now. While in the town of Murpheesboro, AR we stopped and got diesel. We needed ice, so MIL and I went over to the ice dispensing box outside. It was $1.75 for either 20 pounds of loose ice to go into a cooler or 16 pounds in a bag. MIL and I had no idea if we needed to supply the bag or not as there were twisties hanging on the side. We had a good laugh and decided we would take the chance. So I counted out the coins and MIL fed the machine. Whoosh! Out came a bag filled with ice. Then she ripped off the twisty thing and closed the bag. I carried it back to the motorhome. Then we had to transfer it into plastic bags. MIL ended up yanking both drawers from the freezer out. DH decided to move away from the pumps, so MIL sat down except she sat on the floor.
We were both laughing hysterically. After I put the freezer back together and everyone was all buckled in, we left for the state park.

We arrived in the state park campground and set up around 12:30 PM. Had lunch and then went over to the mine. The mine is actually a field that is constantly being  turned over with a plow. We all went over, but due to the heat, and sun, MIL opted to go sit up in the visitor center. Because We didn't know we were actually going until the last minute, I left home a box screen my Dad had leant me. So I rented one and a wagon. And I bought a hand trowel.
The wagon held a watermelon umbrella, the cooler full of ice and water. Also my pocketbook, camera, the box screen and trowel. DH was there for about a 1/2 hour or so when he went to get me suntan lotion, zip lock bags and took MIL back to the motorhome. He came back and watched me a bit but then left me to go read about the mine. I was sitting there on the edge of the field which my Dad had suggested. And I sifted until 4 pm. Then I was done. It was 87 degrees and it was HOT sitting there. The umbrella helped but since the ground was like cement it was difficult to push it in. DH used petrified chunks of dirt around it to hold it up. But it kept falling over and banging me on the head. So I got up and moved about 10 feet to an area that looked like I might be able to get it to stand up. It worked.  I took my glasses off to see what I was doing. I only found two small quartz crystals which weren't worth taking home with me. I poured myself a nice cup of ice water from the ziplock bag that had once been ice. And decided it was too hot to look any further. Besides the place closed at 5 pm. Since we are camping in the park, DH is gong to drop me off tomorrow morning so I can try surface hunting. In the morning it is supposed to be 71 degrees which will not be as hot. After melting, DH came to help me carry my stuff back to the car. We looked in the gift shop, and DH and I got our favorite souvenirs. It was a hat & T-Shirt combo. DH collects Hats and I like T- Shirts which I have purchased from various places we have traveled too. As we were headed back to the store a ranger asked where we were from? Then we chatted about the mine. We had ribs for dinner that we had cooked and froze for the trip. DH had the rutabagas and I had brown rice.
After dinner we went to Baskin & Robbins for ice cream. I hadn't been to one since the kids were little. I was happy the still had the flavor World Class Chocolate. MIL got chocolate peanut butter and pumpkin pie cheesecake. DH got mint chip and cookie dough. Then we came back and I worked on my blog entry although, I might not be able to post it until tomorrow as the Internet Wifi apparently got turned off when the store closed.

Day 7 - Hot Springs National Park KOA

Yesterday evening we dodged a bullet as a line of severe storms popped up on the Eastern side of Memphis. The line ran from Mississippi to Canada marching East. Along the front there were either severe thunder storm or tornado watches. On the radar the storms were depicted in yellow, orange or reds. Quite scary when you are in an RV. The sunset last night was gorgeous!

This morning we left Marion, AR and headed West to Hot Springs National Park KOA. Happily when we arrived, they upgraded us to one of their deluxe sites at no extra charge. It's a beautiful pull through site with a patio, patio table with umbrella overlooking a pond with a fountain. We arrived around 12:30 pm and decided to have lunch first which we enjoyed at the patio table. From there we left to go tour Hot Springs National Park. We drove up a narrow winding one lane road I kept hoping. Apparently it was true. We drove up to the lookout tower that fortunately had an elevator. MIL opted not to go, so she stayed below and chatted with a lady. At the first level there was an enclosed panoramic view of the surrounding areas and the history of the town of Hot Springs & the park itself. The second level was open air view. We came back down and chatted with MIL's new found friend. We drove on the upper mountain scenic trail then headed to the National park office and welcome center. The welcome center was also a museum and restored bath house. It was very interesting. The town over the course of its history had numerous fires burning down hotels and bathhouses alike. The thermal water comes from the ground and is so hot that it needs to be cooled with only Spring water, which is the law.

Around town there were people filling up jugs and 2 liter soda bottles with cold spring water. We had one plastic cup that we were willing to try. As I approached the people filling up their multiple jugs, they let me butt in to fill up my cup. We all tasted it, but decided we would put it in the refrigerator at the motorhome and try it again as ice water. Of course at the writing of this post, we have not re-tasted the water. From there we decided to go to the Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo. I knew ahead of time that it was probably a T T. We fed and patted pigmy goats and fawns. We held and patted a 4-year old alligator. We saw lots of sleepy alligators. We saw lemurs, turkeys, peacocks, burros, emus, and alligator turtles. DH had a hankering for a mudslide so I programmed my phone to a Liquor Mart but it was closed. That is when I realized it was Sunday.
So we went back to the motorhome. We all sat around the patio table and saw this black duck practically drowning a white duck. What was actually happening was the "birds & the bees." So, while sitting there besides the pond it occurred to me to look up to see if alligators were wild in Arkansas? Yes is the answer, but they are in the lower third of the state. So hopefully for us and the ducks, there were none in our pond. Tonight we had leftover sirloin steak and cubed rutabagas. The rutabagas were in the frozen food section of our local grocery store. I was surprised to see them there. Autocorrect is always interjecting words into this postings that make no sense. Crazy. Tomorrow we are headed to Murfeesboro, AR to Crater of Diamonds State Park. Happily the weather is not unbearably hot. And it is not expected to rain tomorrow.

Day 6 - Memphis KOA

Since I couldn't get a 50 amp full hook up site in Hot Springs for tonight, I went to plan B. We stopped by the campground office to see if we could stay an additional night. DH said to me that he was sure that they were willing to take my money. They did need to check to see if the space wasn't reserved already. It wasn't so all was well. First thing on the agenda was to visit the giant pyramid that houses the Bass Pro Shop. DH and I paid the $10. Each to ride the 460' glass elevator to the point and look out area. There was a restaurant on top and with an inside view plus an outside observation deck that was made of glass. DH walked right out to the edge but I couldn't step on the glass at all. MIL did not go up. We went the Cotton Museum next and their was a pleasant fellow who told us all about cotton. It was amazing that one acre of cotton plants produced one 500 pound bale.
The biggest producer of cotton is China, then India, then the United States. Relearned about the cotton gin and the boll weevil. I never knew that the boll was part of the plant that had the cotton inside. The weevil gets its name from eating the cotton or laying eggs in the boll. From there we went to Central BBQ which when I was researching places to eat showed up as the best place in Memphis. DH and I split a 1/2 rack of ribs, Mac & cheese and coleslaw. MIL got Mac & Cheese. We also got a peanut butter pie slice which we all shared for dessert. From there we went to the Railroad & Trolley Museum. It was more on the history of the railroad in Memphis rather than any actual trains. One of the docents recommended that we go to Schwab's  Department store on Beale Street as it had an old fashioned soda jerk bar and ice cream parlor with real glass dishes. They had the syrups and phosphates to make about 15 different flavors of soda. DH and MIL got a dish of peanut butter chip and I chose a small dish of pistachio. Walked around the block back to the parking garage and after trying use the ticket to pay for the parking, we decided that it wasn't the right ticket.
So after we pulled out of the space I got out to see if some papers on the ground might be the ticket. A parking attendant asked me what was wrong and I said we had lost our ticket. So she gave me one that was paid for already, so I paid her the $10. On the way back to the campground DH had suggested I look for a supermarket so after trying, I gave up and chose a Super Walmart. For those that know MIL, they know she dislikes and is boycotting Walmart. So you might be surprised that she did shop there today. They had her fruit, yogurt and whole grain bread that the other grocery store in Marion, AR did not have. We came back to the motorhome and I took a nap. I woke up to the smell of mushrooms cooking. DH was cooking dinner which was bell peppers, steak and mushrooms. Delicious! There was a puddle all over the floor after dinner due to the connection between the drain and the pipe in the kitchen leaking. So I see a stop at Lowes Home a Improvement or Home Zdepot will be a stop tomorrow.

Day 5 - Memphis KOA, Marion, Arkansas

We were forced into a deluxe site in  KOA campground in Nashville since our motorhome is 42 feet. The sites were paved with perfect grass, fire pits, synthetic patio furniture, ample space and beautifully landscaped. So as we were leaving DH had his nose out of joint cause I neglected to tell him the place had a hot tub. I didn't tell him because I didn't know it either. Say bye to Nashville! I plotted the Garmin which should be called the Gremlin for the Memphis KOA which had a weird address of I-55 as the street when in fact it is on a service road. As we were headed to the campground, we saw a brown sign for a Railroad Hotel Museum at the next exit which I quickly Googled to find what it was and whether or not it was worth going to? Also how far away it is from the Interstate? So this particular thing was 15 minutes away. So I mapped it and found out that it was in the heart of a small town. So I suggested dropping the RV off at a shopping center and taking the car in to town. But No, that makes too much sense. DH drove to the museum and said is there any parking? Yes but not for Big Bertha and her Gal Sal. So here is this tiny one way street and DH says, "I think I can make the turn?" I say No Way! He then says how did U get him in this predicament? Ha! I said you did it yourself as I told you to drop the motorhome and go by SUV. So finally I told him to go straight and fortunately there was a big empty lot which he had to jump the curb to get into. So we drive all the way across the lot to park. The museum is relatively small but there is a very knowledgeable docent giving a tour. Which we were able to join. The highlight of the museum for me was that they had a HO scale railroad layout set up in two of the rooms upstairs. It's kind of funny that this hotel was for men only, the hotel for women was on the other side of the tracks in town. The docent plugged an eatery called the Front Porch for lunch. So we decided to check it out.
I ordered a chicken quesadilla, rice and black beans; DH ordered a Rueben except he subbed coleslaw for sauerkraut; and MIL ordered two salmon patties, stewed potatoes and white beans. MIL ordered a mile high chocolate cream pie slice for dessert which we shared. Both DH and I liked our main meal. I didn't like the black beans, and MIL thought her beans were salty but tasty. She liked the flavor of the salmon cakes but felt they were dry. The pie had about and inch thickness of chocolate pudding and it was piled high with tasteless meringue which we took off. DH tasted it and decided it was like shaving cream. We decided it might have been as it was done in the movie Jurassic Park. We left there and headed to the campground. On the way we stopped at a Pilot and got diesel. In the parking lot which was full of trucks there were two ways to the pumps. So DH was convinced that the route toward the pumps was blocked by a truck that was backing into a space. I said I was pretty sure that it was the other route. So once the truck moved he could see that I was right. So he said, "You are right!" I said, "What? I didn't here you?" So he said, "You were right!" So after we got diesel we headed for the Memphis KOA in Arkansas. We are driving on I-55 when we drive by the KOA. The Gremlin has not said a peep about getting off at the exit we just passed. So DH gets off at the next exit and does a loopy loop over the Interstate. First before he makes the turn, straight ahead is a field of cotton. So while we are driving down the access road the Gremlin is spouting off all types of crazy directions as it as no idea where we are? Since we stopped at the other museum everything I had scheduled for Memphis was tossed out the window. However, I am going to see if we can stay another night here so we can go to Memphis tomorrow. In addition I didn't make reservations on the weekend in Hot Springs and the campgrounds are all booked, but I was able to get reservations for Sunday. When we got to the campground they had pulled pork sandwiches for sale which we ordered. They were delivered to our RV and they were good except for the coleslaw which was too vinegary for our tastes. After dinner we all went to the local grocery store. The young girl who checked us out didn't know what bell peppers were which I thought was amusing but I was nice believe it or not and didn't break out laughing. MIL couldn't believe as to what the store was presenting as French bread and there were no fruit like strawberries, blue berries, raspberries or the like. She couldn't even find frozen fruit. Of course we are in a very rural area. Back to the motorhome we went to watch a remake of True Grit.

Day 4 - Nashville KOA

Today we left Pigeon Forge in the morning with the intent of going to the Smokey Mountain Knife Works that we tried to get to yesterday but gave up on. As we were driving up the main drag the people were lining up their beach chairs on each side of the road yet again. I took a video of the hot rods lined up on the right side of the road west bound. DH was starting to think we passed the knife works so I plotted a course for it. We passed all sorts of weird buildings like half of a Titanic ship, a building that was upside down and the Empire State Building with King Kong on it just to name a few. As we approached the Smokey Mountain Knife Works we parked on a side street. We were asked to move the rig into the lower lot which had RV parking. The store, I easily could have spend all day in. The first section I came into was all kitchen  everything. I purchased a plastic butter dish for the motorhome so if it falls out of the refrigerator it won't break. The next room had all minerals and museum type relics such as ceramic bullets from the early American History, antique guns, arrow heads, chain mail, Civil War uniform buttons, cannon balls, old books etc.
the minerals were of all varieties from copper to toddler sized geodes cut open revealing crystals galore. There were also bear skeletons and fossils of a variety of animals. So I am looking at the various fossils when I think I heard my name mention over the loud speaker. "If there is a Debby K. in the building, come to door number 3."
So I am thinking to myself, which door is number 3? So I took the chance that it was the same door we came in. First I looked at my phone and I noticed DH had called and texted me. He said he was lost in the store. Anyway, I found him in the kitchen supplies area near the door we had come in. We left there and head toward the Mt. Juliet, TN, to the Wal-mart Super Center that we had stayed at on a previous trip to Tucson, AZ. That Wal-Mart sheltered us all during a tornado warning that was close a personal. However on the way, DH talked me into staying at the Nashville KOA, and it worked out good. MIL decided to stay in the Motorhome to do laundry (her favorite pastime) while DH and I went into downtown Nashville. First we plotted the route with the GPS that came with the MDX only to realize it was lost. So then I used Google maps on my phone and it too was temporarily lost, but then it found its way. The first GPS took us a couple of Miles out of our way in the wrong direction. Finally we got there. So we pull into this parking lot and a guy comes up to DH and says, "Would you rather pay $30 for parking or 75 cents at the meters across the street, so we turned around and went to park at the meters which had a sign that said NO PARKING. So we didn't park there and went around the block and parked in the same Public Parking Lot from a different street. We paid at the kiosks and put the ticket on the dashboard. $23 for 6 hours. We went to numerous hat and cowboy style boot stores but bought nothing. Most of the bars with restaurants had loud music coming from them from hard rock to country, plus many had live bands. We also were looking for BBQ and finally found one called Jack's Bar-B-Que. We shared a partial rack of St. Louis style ribs, Mac & Cheese and sweet pickled coleslaw. We had two beverages and they also threw in a piece of flavorless cake bread thing that was as stale as one of the fossils I had seen earlier in the day. Everything else was very tasty. After dinner we were walking and a pan handler shook my hand and asked me for some money but all I had was plastic. But when he smiled at me, every tooth was gold. We walked further and looked in more shops, then crossed Broadway Street and walked down to the park by the river and the U. S. Marines had their tanks, personnel carriers, antiaircraft guns, tents, and other equipment on display. Children and parents were allowed to get in the vehicles on display. I sat on a wall overlooking the water and so drunk came up to me asking if I saw his bottle that he left there. I moved closer to the Marines lol. Then I called DH to find out where he went. I told him the creepy peeps were out & about and I always attract nuts where ever I am. So he had been looking at all the military equipment. I finally said I was ready to go due to the heat. The MDX was like a sauna but eventually cooled down. Went back to the motorhome and we are watching sequel of Jurassic Park. Tomorrow we are headed to Memphis, TN.

Day 3 - Pigeon Forge KOA

We stayed two days in Pigeon Forge, TN. The campground is nice although they are packed-in, at least the section we are in. This week leading up to the weekend is a huge car show. People put chairs out on the sides of the main drag like they are waiting for a parade to begin. All of the old cars are parked in all the parking lots of various stores facing the road for miles in both directions. Around 8 PM the people cruise in their cars in the right lanes on both sides of the road to look at the cars parked. Also the old cars also cruise along in the right lanes for the people in their lawn chairs to ogle at. This is what DH saw last night when he went to the drug store. It reminded me of when I was in high school, we would go up to Burlington, NJ and cruise High Street.
The guys all had their cars lined up on either side of High Street. My friend Phyllis would drive us in her Ford, dubbed "The White Wonder" which stood for "I wonder if it would start?" Today we went to Gatlinburg which when I was a kid was quite honky tonk. But nowadays it is tame next to Pigeon Forge. We stopped at the welcome center and I bought 3 all day passes to get on and off the trolleys. The fair for the trolleys was $2 each.
We parked in a handicap spot that was on a hill, so to get out of the car, I had to use my feet to hold the door open. Both MIL and DH could essentially just fall out as the door swung out easily. You would think they would put the handicap spaces on level ground. We rode the purple trolley to the main hub which was at the Ripley's Believe IT or Not Aquarium. We did not go there and instead hopped a red trolley to go to the Space Needle which is 460 feet high with an elevator. From the glass elevator you can see the open back steps that they would use to descend should the elevator malfunction. Up on top there were the wacky mirrors which amused MIL and myself. DH who has no fear of heights was up close to the railing looking straight down. I couldn't get any closer to the railing then 6 feet away and my legs were feeling like jelly. We left there and walked down to Star Cars. MIL sat outside while we went in to look at cars used in TV shows and movies. Just to name a few we saw the Mitsubishi Galant bright green street racer & Dom Toretto's Charger from The Fast And the Furious movie, the original Bat Mobile, Beverly Hillbillies jalopy, the General E Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, The Aston Martin from Janes Bond, Ghostbusters mobile, the yellow Jeep pick-up truck from Twister, and the motorcycle from Terminator 2.  There were 40 cars that were all made famous either by the movie or TV show they were in or by the star that owned them. From there we decided to go to one of those "escape games" based on the recent experience of our DD#1. However when we got there, it wasn't open as they were building it. False advertisement. Then we decided to walk to see if we could find a Trolley stop and found one but it was in the hot sun and it was so hot the perspiration was dripping into my eyes while just sitting there. DH bought stale peanuts from the freshly roasted peanut stand lol. Hooray it finally came and we were shocked to find out that we were waiting 30 minutes for the trolley when we were less than a block away from the hub. So then we had to wait an additional 18 minutes for the Purple Trolley to go back to the MDX. Once in the MDX we drove to the Roaring Fork Auto Nature Trail which is a single lane one way road winding through the Gatlinburg area of the Smoky Mountains National Park. DH was looking with envy at all the people with their picnic lunches on the trail. We decided to go back to the motorhome to eat lunch. MIL decided to stay while we went to the giant knife store. The lady in the pool yesterday had told me there was a jerky store next to Margaritaville so as we were driving to the knife store, I noticed Margaritaville. So we stopped there and bought teriyaki jerky. They had every jerky imaginable from Kangaroo to alligator. We bought beef.
From there we started looking for the knife store. After driving 30 minutes down the main road, I Googled it and found it was another 30 minutes from where we were so we gave up. I said maybe we could go on the way to Nashville tomorrow. We came back to the motorhome and both took naps. The heat always knocks me for a loop and today it was 96. After I woke up to a phone call from DD#1 who was calling to lament about her latest calamity. She had a power surge after a storm at her house that knocked out her refrigerator, her air conditioner, several outlets, her cat Link messed in his cage on route to our house which she is staying at while we are away since she now has no working refrigerator or A/C, her Sandal broke and now she has poison ivy. She couldn't just leave the windows open because Link uses his nails to rip the screens and he and Mooney her other cat then escape to the back yard. So after talking to her, DH told me there was a Corky's BBQ Ribs joint in Pigeon's Forge. We went there for dinner. We had eaten at Corky's many years ago when we went to Kentucky. Funny thing is I had planned on going there in Memphis. When we came out I saw the sampling of the people, the old cars, old trucks, hot rods and the people lined up in their beach chairs. Came back and DH & MIL watched the Big Bang Theory while I worked on my blog entry.

Day 2-Pigeon Forge ~ September 6

We are towing our Acura MDX SUV behind the motorhome. We have a brake assist system that helps brake the MDX when DH applies the brakes in the Motorhome. We left Harrisonburg KOA in VA at around 8 AM this morning. As we were driving, the darn brake assist in the MDX was malfunctioning. It was causing the motorhome to jerk when we came to a stop. Then when we started to drive the motorhome the assist in the MDX would brake hard and jerk us again. So once we got on I-81 South, DH pulled over on the shoulder and I walked back to the MDX and got in the passenger side. The tractor trailers were wising past me rocking the MDX. I am not a very flexible person so it took some doing for me to get into the driver side bucket seat to take the brake assist off the brake pedal. So now I am stuck upside down with the gear shifter hindering me from getting back out. I had to put it in park. Laughing didn't help either. Finally I got out and then got back into the seat sitting up so I could put the MDX gear shift down through all the gears stopping at N. Waited several minutes before turning it off. Climbed back out, shut door. Came back & double checked the emergency brake was off which it was. Got back in the motorhome and off we went. Stopped a few time for breaks. DH was hungry at 11:30 so we decided to stop at a Cracker Barrel on the way. MIL got this giant special consisting of pumpkin spice pancakes, sausages, scrambled eggs and grits. DH got scrambled eggs, potato casserole with country gravy and biscuits. And I got pecan pancakes with butter and maple syrup. DH wanted a hot tub so the only campground I found that had one in their advertising was in Pigeon Forge which is where Dollywood is. So we decided to camp there instead of Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge is another Honky Tonk town with glitz, tourist traps galore, wax museums, amusements of all kinds. We arrived at the campground around 4 pm. After settled DH and I went to the hot tub, however I chose the pool which was refreshing while DH got in the hot tub with a group of guys. The ladies were all in the pool lol. I did finally get in the hot tub which was definitely hot. Came back to the motorhome and had pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw. DH had an upset stomach and went out to the store to get some Mylanta.
DH told us that the strip we had driven through in the day light was even crazier in the dark much like the Vegas Strip. He said on top of all of the neon flashing lights there were people trying to cross the boulevard, and many of them were using walkers.
Tomorrow we hit Gatlinburg.

September 5 - Harrisonburg, VA

DD#1 slept overnight this morning. And took our critters home with her as she will be minding them for the duration of the trip. We packed up last minute items such as our pillows, laptop, iPads, food, DH's oxygen concentrator, bottle filler, blankets, hairbrush, toothbrushes and the like.

Stopped at Wawa for Sizzlies, 44 ounce diet soda and 20 ounce cup Colombian coffee for me. We also gassed up the MDX since gas is cheaper in Jersey as a rule. By the time we put everything away it was around 8:30 AM. I set the GPS for Gatlinburg, TN even though I knew we wouldn't be going there the first day. After last time in June with the hassle of the GPS only wanting us to travel through the Baltimore Tunnel, and it constantly recalculating the course back to the tunnel over and over again, I routed us to drive directly to the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Hallelujah ! From there I change the course to the Harrisonburg/Shenandoah KOA. Called them and got a nice shaded pull through. The site is super wide without any hinderances to impede our 4 slides.

The campground has free range chickens for fresh eggs. We counted 6-7 hens and 1 rooster. The owner of the chickens checked to see if their were any eggs. She told MIL and I the eggs were an array of colors, which I imagined were like Easter eggs, but in reality they were very subtle pastels. It brought up memories for MIL since she had a chicken and a rooster when she was a child. The owner let us feel the eggs with were still warm, and then told us to wash our hands.

Chicken anatomy lesson as to where eggs come from? Whahaha! I had no idea that the chicken urinates, has bowel movements and lays eggs all from the same place. It was news to me! I'm 59 and I never knew that. Actually it never occurred to me to even ask, which leads to another question, can they do everything else at the same time they are laying an egg? Which come first the egg or the other?