Welcome  To:    

"Our Travels"

       This is the story of us back in New Hampshire where we had lived for the past 20+ years.

We spent over a year and a half selling everything, paid things off, and quit our jobs and hit the road.

Note:  To Have a More Enjoyable Reading of Our Journal.

 Read Each Update One at a Time.   Then Go Back and Visit the Websites in That Update Before Reading the Next Update.

Note:  Most of the websites listed here, I have never visited, so if there are problems please let us know!

Note:  Please Check Back   -  We add  new  Updates about every 3 to 6 months.

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Update #1 --- Nov. 2001 ---

Well as you know I had a big shift in life. Sold everything, Quit Work, and on Nov 22 2001 @ 11:30 AM started a rest of life tour of the US, Canada, etc. With our MotorHome and trailer (visit www.discount-rv-marine.com/images/trektrl.jpg  and see) So we went through southern NH,Mass,RI,Conn,NY,Penn,MD,WV,V,Tenn, Ga,AL,Miss, and Lousiana. In Penn. we visited a motorhome factory. (our next one, if ever) visit http://www.kingsleycoach.com/  and see. In Vir. we saw my 2 nieces and my sister was visiting from Minnesota too.  We did Vending @ 2 Flea Markets in Alabama + 2 in Miss. one in Hattiesburg, Miss. one in Gulfport, Miss. to try an make some income - seeing we don't have any. We spent Christmas in New Orleans,Louisana walking thru the French Quarter up Bourban St. etc. The following weekend we did a flea mkt. in Baton Rouge, La. Don't worry we're not basking in the sun, every few days we get a FROST! and it spit snow outside of New Orleans, then we headed for northern Texas. Well we went to Texas and did a couple more flea markets and bombed and froze to death. So decided to + made a 2 day trip to Florida {Orlando area} did some flea markets and RV rallys and car shows there for a month or so, had to have the fuel injector pump replaced {bad internal sensor} {$1785 + $350 labor} good the warrantee still had one more month. But then needed new front tires, new front springs and front end alignment. Then up to Jacksonville, Fla. to see my aunt + uncle and do another flea mkt. then up to Georgia for the past month to do 4 RV rallys and then back in Alabama doing a flea mkt and a Gold Wing Motorcycle Rally. In Georgia we met the owners of a company that makes brake systems for towed vehicles {behind motorhomes} + joined up with another couple that sell them + we will be doing vending @ the rallys and doing all the installs for them throughout northern Texas, the west, all the way to Calif. + back until at least November, to make some $$ so that we might eat. Also the owners set us up with a couple units to sell at NO COST {pay as we sell} Awesome now maybe we can buy fuel too! Next we went to an RV rally in southern Louisiana, then one in Oklahoma {blew a trailer tire on the way} , then to a rally in San Antonio, Tx. where we started working with the brake system people. The next show we do with them was in 2 months,so. we traveled to Tucumcari, New Mexico to do an RV rally then took out the motorcycle and rode 54 miles around town and up some gravel roads and one climbed a big Bluff overlooking the town. We where there at about 100 miles north of the big wild fire in New Mexico, for a week on the famous "Route 66" we've tooled around on the motorcycle about 200 miles the next few days. Lots of drought here the lakes will all be empty by end of summer, visited one the other day - a 60 to 70 ft deep lake was @ 21 ft. 3 brush fires in the town of Tucumcari in one day. Then off to Albuquerque, NM we stayed for a week and attended a weekend flea market + done over 500 miles touring on the bike in the area. {Hey! if you look on a map of New Mex. and straight above Albuquerque is a big light colored spot-that is a field} Then we worked our way through parts of Arizona seeing the Painted desert + Petrified Forest till we got here to stay for awhile because we are getting a new engine. What Happened? Well! We had the only trek diesel that used cardboard in front of the radiator @ temps below 75deg. most everyone else ran hot in the mountains. Well a design flaw has just taken care of that. At about 26000 miles it started running a little warmer and the engine fan running on most hills instead of just 2 or 3 times a day. Then @ 28000 miles a multi mile hill caused us to overheat and loose antifreeze so we refilled it with about 1 1/2 gal. and 2 hills later the temp. shot right up and we are now getting a 7 to $ 10,000 new engine. (Globe, AZ) The radiator overflow tank{gravity feed} which also has the low anti-freeze indicator which never comes on BECAUSE the tank never gets lower then 1/2" down while your engine is starving more + more for water {there is no cap on the radiator to check it there} BECAUSE the hose at the bottom of the tank goes UP and OVER the radiator and hoses and wires so the tank CAN NOT be low on fluid. When we put in the new engine we are rerouting that hose down and around the radiator. A few days after we got towed to Miami, AZ. {June 14 2002} a forest fire started back in Show Low, AZ. area {the Rodeo/Chediski fire} it was started by an Indian on the reservation who needed money so he started the fire to make money fire fighting. In 1 hr it grew to 100+acres within 3 1/2 hrs 1,200 acres. Then 2 days later a woman + her husband where out ATVing {but all forests where closed} they ran out of gas then she decided to walk out because she had to go to work tomorrow, so she got lost and seeing the planes and helicopters flying around because of the big fire she decided to signal them by starting a signal fire. Well within 7 hrs that fire had grown to 2,000+ acres. On June 23 2002 the 2 fires joined together. At times the fire line was over 50 miles wide.  Check out www.wmat.us/rodeochediski.html  During the height of the fire we rode the motorcycle to part of the Indian Reservation @ the head of one of the fires and watched the flames whipping 100s of feet in the air on the mountain ahead of us then looked to the right and back and could see smoke + flame on the ridges as far is we could see. {20+ miles?} and by the time the fires where out it was a total of 21 days + 468,638 acres. 

When we finally got the new engine in we went thru Phoenix and stayed in Quartzsite where it was 102 deg. yah but that was at 11pm though - 114 during the day traveling and 119deg setting still in the sun. Standing outside in the wind was like standing in front of a giant hot air blast furnace. It was actually uncomfortable taking a cold shower because the water was to hot. We then went to Pomona, Ca. for a rally, on the 3rd day there we said "Oh hey look, there's mountains around us" the smog would settle on the roof of the motorhome + trailer then the morning dew would run off the roof and down the side and look like someone had spilled coffee on the roof.  After the Rally we headed to Oxnard, CA. to do a brake install.  While there we met someone.  Do you remember back in the 60s + 70s there was a guy that was the, like best surfer in the country,had his own brand of surf boards and he was in several movies "Endless Summer" for one. he was the surfer that rode that 35 ft wave. Well the next time your in Calif. I will introduce you to Mickey Doyle We met him when we where doing a brake system install on the coast and he asked "Do you do installs?" So we ended up working for him for 17 days installing stuff on one of his boats. But while there we did Boating and Fishing, ate Lobster and tried Sushi.  Then we headed north and took Rt 1 + 101 One problem though not much Diesel along the way, we stopped at one station to fuel up and they ran out when we where just over 1/2 full then we actually ran out of fuel before we ever found another station with diesel. I hitchhiked 26 miles to get some that I was told was available 4-5 miles down the road. We took a Rogue River Jet Boat tour, see http://www.roguejets.com/  the boats had three 455 cu.in. engines with jet drives they used about 150-175 gals of gas and pumped about 1 million gallons of water on the 104 mile river trip, it was awesome. We saw Seals, Black Bear, Brown Bear, Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Ducks, Geese, Mink, River Otter, Steelheads, Salmon, also got soaked and saw smoke from a fire that had started 2 days before. We laid out on the beach at lunch time, and dry out. It was great. It was the 104 mile boat ride. Back at the coast we walked around the marina, & saw Harbor Seals, Sea Lions, Sea otters. Traveling up the Calif. and Oregon Coast was mostly beautiful steep rocky coastline and we where on the coast most all the way. I have been to the ocean many times in my life, but have never sensed the awesome size of the ocean till I just drove for almost a week and having it in view most all that time. Now a couple weeks later still here in Oregon and that fire has grown to 330,000 acres and there is another one north of us too 70,000+ acres. We did 2 RV rallys in Salem, Or. then hung around and did 5 cruise nights {classis cars} within the next 12 days then up to Brooks, Or. for an antique truck + farm equip. show. we volunteered for a couple days and helped out with the old trucks + tractors + equip. + electric trains + trolleys. We both got to be motormen and operate a old {1912} trolley.  http://www.pacificnwtruckmuseum.org/    While we where in Oregon we found Blackberries everywhere, it was great! but even better we discovered Boysenberries they look like blackberries, taste even better - a little less seedy and grow on vines instead of bushes and where growing up some of the trees 20 to 30 feet high, it was like being in berry heaven. OOP! now we left Oregon, we are in Washington, we spent the past 5 days driving up to and around Mt. Saint Helen the destruction was unbelievable 234 sq. miles damaged. http://www.mountsthelens.com/  and around Mt Rainier where we were on the motorcycle and it was 84 deg. {Aug 27} and we where like looking almost straight across @ the Mt covered with snow at times just 5 to 8 miles away. A couple days later we drove the rig south past Mt St. Helens on the east side {Rt 25} it was 23 miles of climbing mostly in 1st gear @ 20 to 30 mph then descending 30+ miles probably 60% of it in 1st gear with the exhaust brake on. {can't imagine being w/o one}

Well in the beginning of Sept 2002 we learned we where needed in Indiana to do brake installs, so we left on a 4 day trip through the Painted Hills of eastern Oregon www.nps.gov/joda/planyourvisit/painted_hills_unit.htm , the rolling brown hills of Idaho + a bit of Utah, then into Wyoming with its rolling meadows where the deer and the antelope played and some elk which excited us until we noticed they where in an elk farm. In Granger, Wy. we saw something we had not seen in over 6 months and 7,065 miles "Rain" {since Perry, GA.} In Rawlins, WY. after covering the motorhome and trailer with anti-freeze we stopped at the next truck stop and self-installed a new water pump. We then headed into Nebraska to spend the night at the most expensive campground in the country "Cabela's" {the largest sporting goods store in the country Try  http://www.cabelas.com/   you stay they're free but you usually shop big. As we crossed Nebraska we started seeing lots of "green" Fields, hills and our first trees since Oregon, and we believe this must be the Museum State - there must have been one every 10 to 25 miles. On to Iowa with lots of farm land, {yes Iowa corn fields everywhere} ribbon candy highways + white stone back roads. Then Illinois with its miles and miles of road construction, plus Soybean and Milo fields {cattle feed} everywhere. On to Missouri traveling its rolling highways where you where either going up hill or downhill all the time with each being about 1/2 mile to 1 1/2 miles in length. There where apple orchards abound and I thing we closed our eyes over every bridge {got to be the worst condition bridges there are} We finally arrived in Goshen, IND. for the RV Rally. {4 days and 2,117 miles later} 

Mid Sept. 2002 we left Goshen, IND. after 2,117 miles to the rally we did no brakes and under $100 business. Then we headed south about 20 miles then west and back to the west side of Chicago and stopped in at J.C. Whitney Co. {automotive parts + Acc.  http://www.jcwhitney.com/ } then west and down to Henry, Ill. to an RV rally, then another in Hutchensen, KS. another in Claremore, OK. also there we visited J.M. Davis arms & Historical Museum {the largest personal collection of guns in the world} 20,000+ we couldn't believe the numerous gun types we never knew existed. http://www.thegunmuseum.com/  We went to Will Rogers Museum too. http://www.willrogers.com/  Then on to Choctaw, OK. to some people's house to install a brake system and stayed the night in their yard and in the morning they had us in for breakfast then we went to church with them. Then just down the road to Shawnee, OK. for another rally. On to Waco, TX. to the next rally. After that one we headed down to visit MOM in Harlingen, TX. where we spent 2 weeks helping her out with a lot of household + vehicle repairs etc. and did a weekend Flea Market in Brownsville, TX. The weather has been different lately - we have seen about 3 days in the past 3 weeks w/o rain. After 2 weeks in Harlingen, TX. we ventured west along the Mexico border to El-Paso, TX. Along the route the trees kept getting smaller and smaller till there was just bushes + cactus then they kept getting smaller and smaller too. We stayed over in Sanderson,TX. {the cactus capitol of Texas} After Texas we drove thru a bit of New Mexico and into Arizona. the second day we arrived in Benson, AZ. to stop to look at a custom 2 floor trailer someone had built 48ft long x 13 1/2 ft high {for tractor-trailer} The next day we headed out on the motorcycle to Tucson, AZ. to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - A real "Don'T Miss" if your in the area.  http://www.desertmuseum.org/  In that valley you can find more types of minerals then anywhere in the world. The next day to Naco, Mexico then up to Tombstone, AZ.  http://www.tombstone.org/  where we walked thru the streets, salons, stables and graveyard, where the west was born + died ! The next several days we made our way up to Phoenix and spent a couple days there checking out truck dealers. The next day we stopped in Apache Junction because we found an excellent Fruit + Veggie place there last time we went through that we couldn't miss. 

We have now stopped in Quartzsite, AZ. where we will spend the next few months. Quartzsite Was a stagecoach stop in 1866 and was rich in prospecting + mining, now known world wide for it's Rock + Gem Shows there is like 750 population in summer, 55,000 average in winter except mid Jan. - mid Feb. with the rock shows and car show, then especially the 10 day RV show last year when there was a recorded 1.3 Million people staying here.  http://www.quartzsitechamber.com/   and  http://www.tysonwells.com/   might show you some of what's happening here. We are setup here on a lot on the interstate access road with our 10 X 20 Canopy. Through Nov. + Dec. the temps have been 40s @ night with some 30s and days 60s to 70 with a few 50s and about 3-4 days a month with sprinkles. About 11:30 every night you hear the Coyotes yipping + howling. Just after X-Mas we rode with another vendor down through Yuma, AZ. to Los Algodones, Mexico {below Calif.} to pickup medications {cost $20 in New Hampshire, but in Mexico $2.77 and I got a Dental checkup + tooth filled there, just $40. - January now with night temps. 40s + daytime 65 to 75 deg. {2 to 10 deg. above normal} and the desert is filling with RVs - February The desert is full and the traffic almost stands still.  Florida is having freezing and New England having a deep freeze, but here we are getting 5 to 20 deg. above normal, some days hitting the 80s {warmest winter in 16 yrs.} Today we rode with another vendor to Phoenix, AZ. he wanted to look at a couple Flea Markets. {240mi round trip} Hey! this morning I was outside and a little piglet came out of the brush, {24"? + 65lb?} it took me 10-15 minutes to coax him over then he kept trying to jump up on me hoping I was Mommy because he was hungry!! Well it,s Feb. 17th 2003 now, we are hitting the road again !!! 

OK its Feb 17th 2003 and in the rearview mirror is Quartzsite, AZ. Two days later we are in Tucson, AZ. at an RV rally and stayed around there for about 2 weeks and done a Flea Mkt. {Fri 3PM-11PM Sat 7AM-11PM Sun 7AM-3PM} March - On to an RV rally in Casa Grande, AZ. we left and ventured north thru Phoenix climbing from 1,200 ft + 82deg, to 7,645 ft up thru the snow {8 to 12"} and a bunch of the area where the big forest fires where last June {almost 500,000 acres burned} went through and spent the night in Show-Low, AZ the temp is 30deg.this morning {frost + ice on the farm ponds} We headed East over the upper grassy planes {9120ft} of the Apache Reservation with lots of snow and drifts. Becky saw a big Elk drinking from a stream. We continued thru Eager, AZ. and into New Mexico. Where we traveled through Lincoln, we walked through the whole town that has been mostly abounded since the 1950s and is now being restored. You can find some info + pictures at  http://www.ghosttowns.com/   It was the last place Billy The Kid shot someone {a judge}. That afternoon and night we spent in Roswell, NM. We didn't see or speak with any real Aliens but visited the Museum  http://www.iufomrc.org/   Then on to Carlsbad, N.M. and visited Carlsbad Caverns  www.nps.gov/cave   we walked down into the cavern for over 2 1/2 hrs the deepest being 1,037 feet and the biggest room being over 14 acres, Awesome! The next day it was on to Burnet, Texas to visit our friends that we do brake systems with and stayed 7 days. Then into Venton, Louisiana where they had the lowest Diesel prices we had seen in months {$1.34} we have paid up to $1.89 also there was a Casino there where we stayed for 2 days and left $203.65 richer, and they carded me and then didn't believe the date of birth on my drivers license.  So Hey!  I am feeling good today!  Then we where off to Rv rallys in Rayne,La - Greenville, Miss. - Lake Charles, La - Texarkana, Ark. 

Well it's May 2003 we are now in Little Rock, Arkansas where we just had a week of the most ever Tornados recorded in one week {300 Tornadoes} they where through Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas + Tennessee, Numerous ones passed to the north or south of us with the closest ones being 20 to 30 miles away. A couple towns got hit several times. We then traveled up to Evansville, Indiana to visit one of the companies we do business with. Then up to northern Ind. and stopped at a company that builds custom sleepers for tractor trailers.  http://www.doubleeagleind.com/   then on to RV Rallys in Barrien Springs, Michigan + Charlotte, Mi, - Then took a little 7 day 2,900 mile trip to Hummels Wharf, PA. to do paperwork on our new rig then onto Taunton, MA. to drop off our Motorhome then up to New Hampshire to pickup Becky's Car then back to PA. to pickup the new rig (See it at  www.discount-rv-marine.com/toter1.html  then back to Barrien Springs, Mi. for the next RV Rally {"that is a whole story - let us know if you want to hear it."} then off to rallys in E Aurora, NY on the way we had a mini van passing us at about 70 MPH when they headed off on a 30 deg. angle across the medium grass, swerving and sliding all over the place but stayed upright. We stopped to check on them. the driver, he had blacked out and his wife was steering from the passenger side, I praised her for a great driving job. A couple hours later in Cleveland, OH. a woman rear ended another car in the lane right beside us. We also went through VineCity, N.Y. where the whole town, except for people's front lawns was ALL grape vineyards - onto a Buffalo, NY rally - then back to Barrien Springs, Mi. for another. Then off to New Hampshire + Mass. for a month to visit everyone. It's the end of August and Raccoons Raccoons Raccoons, driving across southern Michigan there where dead raccoons on the side of the road everywhere. We must have seen over 200. Through Ohio we saw a Jeep CJ that had just hit a deer, it smashed the front and folded the windshield back in the middle and about an hour later a pickup hit the guardrail in the medium and flew dirt all over the Interstate. On the way through Lafayette, NY we saw a sign "Blue Grass Festival" they where just setting up. So guess what, the next 4 days we vended there. Then back on the road to Mass. to visit some of Becky's Family and pick up the Trek {motorhome - because they had tried to shaft us on it} then on to visit Family + Friends in N.H. and Maine then 3 weeks later headed back to Indiana. 

It's late August and we are on our way from New England now with "2 Rigs" back to Indiana and 2 RV shows in Richmond + Goshen,Ind. After Goshen we went back up to Michigan to get the Trailer that goes behind the Trek. Then on to Shawnee, OK. and dropped the Toter + Trailer then took just the Trek and Trailer to a Rally in Wichitaw Falls, TX. then a Flea Mkt. then back to Shawnee, OK. to wait for our next Rally, then off with both rigs to the Waco, TX. Rally then on to Houston where we left the big rig at a truck dealer on the interstate to see if they could sell it for us while we went to a rally in Houma, LA. then up to New Orleans where we stayed on the south side of town and the next day took the Motorcycle east to Rt 39 and down to Bohemia then took the Ferry across the Mississippi River then south to Venice, the furthest you can drive into the Gulf Of Mexico. There where all kinds of Refineries, Fishing Boats + lots of Oil Company Helicopter Pads. The next day we headed back west to Baton Rouge and stayed at, and did the Flea Market for a couple days. Then onto a Rally in Rayne, LA. The frog capital of the World http://www.rayne.org/  then back to Houston, TX. to pick up the Big Rig. (The dealer there had done thousands of dollars damage to the rig while we where gone by cutting our lock, trying to move it and dropping the trailer - They said "OH  It's Not our Fault" The next day Nov 18th we stayed put in Houston because a bunch of roads where flooded out, including Interstates and I-45 was closed due to Tornadoes. Yup! Yup! 19 Tornadoes touched down in Houston, but None on US! Just 5 miles west there was a tractor trailer that got blown over and a roof was torn off an apartment and a church leveled. South 10 miles an apartment complex was leveled. East 70 miles in Louisiana an east bound tractor trailer and a west bound tractor rolled over into the medium just hundreds of feet apart - the BAD part they where both carrying Hazardous Materials. So I-10 was shut down for hours. So - Headed west again on Rt 290 got into Austin and traffic wasn't moving because a tractor trailer from Canada hauling Chocolate crashed. We stopped and visited friends in Burnet, TX. and the next day drove past LBJ Ranch and multiple Goat Ranches then back on I-10 that we followed all the way to Yuma, AZ. unloaded the car and went to Mexico for Meds + Doctor visit then north to Quartzsite, AZ.

It's late November and we just arrived here in Quartzsite, AZ. 2 days later the place we are at had a big Thanksgiving Day Dinner, like a family of 100+ It was a windy day so we went and got our rig and parked it up wind as a 70ft wind break, worked great. This year we bought a 2nd 10x20 canopy and set it up behind our other one in an "L" to have room for consignment items. You can see pictures of our setup at  www.discount-rv-marine.com/vendingaz.html  We had like major wind here 4 times this year. Sort of like a white out, but kind of a brown out, with sand. You can barely see street lights. If your out in a storm {small or large} you can get "Desert Fever" We got some of it a couple times this year. {It is caused by the air being full of bacteria of dead and decaying plants + animals + animal poop, etc. out in the desert} One day a woman left here and got on the interstate west bound and called 911 to say there was someone traveling the wrong way !! Then another and another then 911 lost contact when she headoned a couple more cars. They where NOT the ones going the wrong way - 3 Killed. A couple RVs burnt here this year too. Back on the road again ! * * * End of February 04 

We left Quartzsite, AZ. then did an RV rally in Casa Grande, AZ. then North up to Flagstaff climbing over 7000 ft. to where they had 14" of snow a few days ago. We arrived in Flagstaff at dusk and there was a Pickup Truck that had just hit an Elk {big cow} The next morning we continued to a Rally in Farmington, New Mexico.  While there we went to some Rock Crawls - It's special built 4 wheel drive vehicles (toys) for climbing rocks.   See Rock Crawling Video at http://www.redbullrockcrawlers.com/action.cfm    then on to a Rally in Albuquerque, NM. Then East and North up 84 to Las Vegas - NO NO New Mexico, took the car out visited Old Mills, Hot Springs, Mountains, the "Castle" {now College} in Montezuma and passed the ??? Cemetery of Unknown Soldiers on a 198 mile loop. The next day headed North towards Colorado, but a couple hours out blew a trailer tire on the big rig. While changing it the lug wrench slipped and hit me in the nose and knocked me on my butt and I bled all over the side of the road. Stayed at a truck stop about 10 miles up the road that afternoon + night to recuperate. The next day North to Colorado. Hey! I only got one Black Eye. We arrived in Pueblo, CO. for the next Rally about a month early so we took a few side trips. {Note: read this update completely then go back and visit the websites} We stepped back in time a bit and visited Bishop Castle a present day one man project, nothing else to do in life I guess. You will find some info. at  http://www.bishopcastle.org/  Another day we visited Canon City  http://www.canoncitycolorado.com/  and while there visited The World's Highest Suspension Bridge 1,200+ Ft.  http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/  had lunch on the "edge" of the 1,200+ ft. canyon {we sat on ledges 3 ft. from the edge, off of a trail} Then North up Rt.9 West to Cripple Creek               http://www.cripple-creek.co.us/   then to Victor "The City of Mines" check out http://www.victorcolorado.com/   should be some info there. There it seemed like we could throw a rock to the top of Pikes Peak. Then went South down Phantom Canyon Rd. {35 miles of gravel road along Mountain sides, canyons, edges etc. traveling from 11,000+ Ft. down to 5,000 Ft.} It is the old narrow gauge RailRoad Bed of the 1890s You might see something at http://www.goldbeltbyway.com/  and/or  http://www.web-xpres.com/stcfgdrtour.htm  After the Pueblo Rally we left the ToterHome at the Fair Grounds and headed South West to a Rally in Farmington, NM. again, then headed north thru Durango, Colorado and East thru Pagosa Springs and stopped and saw, what else - The Pagosa Springs Visit  http://www.pagosahotsprings.com/  Then climbed up through "Wolf Creek Pass" @ 10,850 ft. Just after the pass guess what we saw. Looking to the right side of the road in a large "Snow Covered" clearing about 100 ft below was a Creek and walking beside it a Gray Wolf and then a 2nd one about 100ft behind. We later stopped at "Great Sand Dunes" National Monument near Alamosa, CO. They are 100s of feet high. You know all that sand and dust that keeps blowing across the planes has to stop some where, and I guess this is one of those places. Saw about 8 Mule Deer there too. Then back to Pueblo, CO. to pick up the big rig then North and Visited "Garden of The Gods"  http://www.gardenofgods.com/  In Colorado Springs. We drove through there with both rigs, we where taking up the WHOLE road. {Hey there where no signs saying cars only!} Went through the town of Manitou Springs  http://www.manitousprings.org/  and saw the Indian Cliff Dwellings http://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/  and drove through the town of "Old Colorado" Then headed North to Denver and turned from 470 N onto I-70 West where they where doing bridge construction - just minutes later an 80,000 lb steel bridge beam 100+ ft long collapsed onto I-70 crushing a passing Dodge Durango killing a family of three. The next 3 days we spent at a Race Track they had Dirt Oval, Tar Oval, 2 Moto-Cross and a Go-Cart Track. We left the Big Rig there (for about a month) then headed north to Wyoming. * * * Mid May 2004 * * * 

It's the end of May, we just got into Wyoming from Colorado traveling with just the MotorHome + Trailer, Stayed the first night in Casper, stopped at "Hell's Half Acre" a Mini Grand Canyon http://www.bowebox.net/hells_half_acre_in_wyoming.htm   We turned north @ Shoshoni, WY. up through Wind River Canyon to Thermopolis - home of one of the largest Hot Mineral Springs in the world bubbling from the ground @ 127deg. @ "Hot Spring State Park" We soaked in it for about a half hour - 107deg there.  http://www.thermopolis.com/top-10.html  We then continued west through the "Grand Tetons" {them is big mountains} and into "Grand Tetons National Park"  Visit www.nps.gov/grte   (Hey! Diesel $2.18) then North for a 160 mile loop spending 2 nights in "Yellowstone National Park" with cold and 2 days of snow squalls - 2-3" one night. I bet you have never seen our Motorhome dirty - you should have seen it then. Our Fuel Distributor Sensor died there and we did 350+ miles @ 10 to 30 MPH because if the Sensor doesn't work the Engine Computer doesn't know what to do. But we saw Herds of Bison + Elk, A Bear, 2 Coyotes and a Pup, bunch of White Pelican + Trumpeter Swans, Lots of Geysers + Hot Springs, Waterfalls and Things and Stuff plus lots of road construction. Visit  www.nps.gov/yell  We went through  Jackson, WY.  (Real Expensive Resort Town - No they just call it "Jackson Hole")  Well now we finally got to Pocatello, ID. {@10 to 30 MPH} and spent 3 days at the Chevy Dealer getting a new Injector Pump put in. Then back up the road 20 miles to our next rally in Blackfoot then south and visited Great Salt Lake, Utah the shore edge was black with Billions of Brine Flies, smelled too! We rode the Motorcycle about 28 miles all around Antelope Island State Park, Visit - http://www.scenicutah.com/antelope/antelope.htm   Then to a Rally in Nephi, UT. The second day there it was 91deg. so we took a 75 mile loop on the Motorcycle into the mountains getting to 9,000+ft ? and 72deg. with snow on the sides of the road up near Mt. Nebo (11,925ft) "Felt Good" After the Rally took Rt40 back over the Rocky Mountains to a Rally in Ft. Collins, CO. in 2 days. On the way Stopped for a bit in Dinosaur, CO. @ Dinosaur National Monument but only had time to watch the movie @ the visitors center  www.nps.gov/dino  just after that there was what looked like oil or Diesel Fuel had spilled in the road and had been tracked by cars - well it was just thousands of squashed Mormon Crickets, Yuk! We stayed the night in Steamboat Springs (very ski resort - think 70 to 80% of all houses are new and $200,+) went to see and hiked to the base of Fish Creek Falls 283 foot drop. The next morning on Rt 14 we hit about 50 miles of seeing Hundreds of I guess Colorado's version of the ChipMunk ?? they where like 4-5" Prairie Dogs. Speaking of hitting, approaching the last big pass before dropping into the Rally in Ft. Collins I made the MotorHome tires do some squealing - we saw our 3rd deer in the past 100 miles, we where doing about 60mph climbing for the pass when another Big Buck in Velvet decided to run across about 20 feet in front of us. After the pass it was Beautiful!! about 60 miles down hill following the Poudre River ravine down into Ft. Collins,CO. After that Rally we headed back to the Race Track where the Big Rig was. While we where gone it got vandalized, someone climbed up on top of the cab and destroyed the Stainless Steel Wing while they where stealing the Chrome Exhaust Stacks. I looks like they used a screwdriver or pry bar to do it, I can't believe they where much good by the time they got them. So we replaced/rebuilt the Exh. + Wing, etc. while spending another week or 2 @ the tracks. For entertainment we drove Karts around the 1/2 mile track @ times hitting 50 to 60 MPH racing each other. Well it's July 2004 we are leaving Colorado for our next Rally in Napa, CA. 

Well we just left Denver, Colorado area heading west, crossing over some passes @ over 11,990 ft on I-70 traveling through the Colorado River Gorge "Awesome" and back into Utah where we dropped south to explore Arches National Park Visit:  www.nps.gov/arch  The next day we went on to Delta, UT. and that evening attended the 30th Annual Demolition Derby and Figure 8 Races and Fireworks. In the morning we headed across Nevada, their sign said Rt. 50 "The loneliest Highway in America" going over 6-7000 ft passes then crossing plains usually diagonally for 10 to 40 miles to the next pass, then a plain, then a pass, over and over again for over 400 miles. Climbing them at only 15 to 35 MPH and descending at 35 to 45 MPH. It was nothing to come down into a plain and see 2 to 6 Dust Devels swirling dirt and dust 100s of feet in the air. When we dropped into Austin, UT. we really did, we came through a 7,600 ft pass then about 6 miles of 7-8% downgrade and hairpin turns right into the middle of a little old mining town. The plain just after that we started seeing HUGE Crickets in the road (probably 3 to 3 1/2 inches I took a picture with a little 25 cent piece beside one. You could hear the crickets during the day on the road but at night there was TOTAL Silence and TOTAL Darkness. Next day stopped in Reno, NV. Motorcycled around town + took a picture of the sign "RENO The Biggest Little City in the World" other then that Nothing impressed us. Then we climbed through "Donna Pass" * * "UNBELIEVABLE" * * No wonder the whole Donna Party died trying to cross it. I can't believe that anyone got to the West Coast alive if they where this far north. Well we have been dealing with temperatures of 50s to 70s and sometimes 80s and a 90 or two but we just dropped from 8,000+ ft. to 350ft into Sacramento, CA. @ 104 deg. GROSS !! Yup We Made It to Napa, CA. Well Barely !! When we turned onto the last road here the SMOKE was pouring out of the left rear trailer axle on the big rig. We got parked and a couple hours later pulled the wheel and Hey! Lucked Out! the inside bearing was destroyed but NO major damage. So now we will be here for a week so we can fix it and repack the other bearings. The last day here we where greeted by a show, "The World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions" They don't start training them till they are 3-4 yrs. old and train for at least 6 yrs. before being in a show. To see more visit: http://www.lipizzaner.com/  We where so impressed we now own one, well a little stuffed one anyways. Headed North - and stayed at a race track  http://www.thunderhill.com/  a 3 mile test track and we watched a bunch of small Fords "SHO" the next day all Datsuns it was their 1st day of a 4 day event. We headed north with them to Mt. Shasta Ski Area. On the way there on the interstate I ran over something that flipped up and tore the sidewall out on one of the big rig trailer duals. At the Ski Area - (much higher + cooler) for the next 3 days of events. To our North we are right beside snow covered Mt. Shasta and to the South looking out over rows and rows of mountains, some snow covered. The last morning we drove the poker run route they did which took us up the road to Mt. Shasta - a 14 mile climb to 7,800 ft. where there was basically no trees up there but there was snow. Looking "UP" @ the 14,162ft. summit. Visit:  http://www.mtshastaphotos.org/   Today we headed South to Redmond then west with the car with the Kayaks on top and stopped @ Wiskeytown Lake and Kayaked around for hours. There are 2 towns under the lake, but to deep to see, Oh Well ! Visit:  www.nps.gov/whis  then North up Rt. 3 through the "Mountains". In some areas it was so steep and winding that we where in 2nd gear for miles. The next day with the motorcycle we climbed 2 different mountains 8 miles and 13 miles to lakes up near the tops. The next day 180 miles on the Motorcycle to see 5 waterfalls. Back on the road again, North to Oregon. - - - - Late July 2004 

Hey we are in Oregon, so we stopped @ 12,000ft. Mt. Mazama, Well it used to be a mountain till about 7,700 yrs ago when it had a Volcanic Eruption  Just 42 times the magnitude plus ejected 150 times more volcanic rock as Mt. St. Helen did and lost it's top 5,000 ft. then Collapsed and eventually filled with water and is now "Crater Lake" Just 5+ miles across and only 1,943 ft. water Depth with an underwater visibility of 142ft. America's Deepest + Clearest Lake + Blue Too! It also hosts the largest population of Wintering Bald Eagles in the US, but we didn't see any today. Visit: www.nps.gov/crla  Then up to the Bend area and visited Lava Butte - a 500 ft cinder cone that formed over 7,000 yrs ago when it spit out 9 sq. miles of lava. http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/LavaButte/Locale/framework.html  Then to Lava Cast Forest - where lava flowed through the forest incasing the Ponderosa Pines then cooling leaving molds of the trees. http://www.myoregon.net/Newberry/photos.html  Then Lava River Cave - we walked a Lava Tube where molten lave once flowed we took multiple flashlights for over a mile @ 50 to 80ft below the surface dropping over 200 ft towards the Deschutes River. Visit: http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/showcave/or/lavarive.html  The tube was varying from maybe 50 ft in dia. to 5-6 ft in dia. in places, and just 40 degrees.  Then on to the Big Obsidian Flow - where only 1,300 yrs ago an eruption pushed out over 170 million cubic yards of Obsidian + Pumice, so it's basically a  "Mountain of  Glass"  We then drove to the top of  Paulina Peak (7,985ft) and viewed the "Glass" flow from above. You should be able to see all these things at http://www.obsidianlab.com/sourcecatalog/or_bof.html    Another day we took the Kayaks from Wickiup Reservoir Dam to Pringle Falls, Yup! Yup! - just 8.4 miles and all we saw was Numerous King Fishers, 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Broad Winged Hawk, 2 Mink, 2 Red Tailed Hawks, 3 Ducks, 3 Bald Eagles, 4 Otters, 6 Osprey, and a Deer.  25 miles West of Bend, OR. is "Three Sisters" Mountains, since 1997 the West side has been bulging - an area 10 miles in dia. has now bulged nearly a foot - They estimate that the molten Magma is about 4 miles below the surface. Hey! maybe we will get to see this one ??   It's getting a little smokey around here with a Forest Fire about 50 miles away. They grow unbelievably around here. Day 1   400 Acres - day 2 1,500A - day 3 3,000a - day 4 7,500A - day 5 10,500A - day 6 13,500A  now under control.  Sunday morning we headed down the road and about 10 miles out KaBang !! The right outside dual on the Toter blew. We are lighter now! not all that sheet metal and stainless trim back there to weight us down.  (when a big truck tire blows they can do a lot of damage - 100+ PSI)   Hey we made it to our next Rally in Prineville, OR. The next week to One in Redmond, OR.   HEY !!! we sold the big rig !!! A company in Texas is going to use it for promotion of their fuel savings product. So we are back to one rig. (Motorhome + Trailer)  Now we are stopping to vend at a Truck Show in Brooks, OR. @ the "Antique Powerland Museum" Visit: http://www.antiquepowerland.com/    Then to Portland, OR.  we stopped at the Freightliner Truck Factory and got a tour of the new Tractor/Trailer Tractors being built.  Now North to Washington.  While there we might select a Truck and have our New Rig built??  We are here at just the right time of year, well at least I think so. I have been using our Telescopic Ladder and have been climbing trees getting fresh wild Apples, Pears, and Plums, plus Blackberries and Boysenberries.  I have bags + bowls of stuff in the MotorHome all the time - Yum! Yum!  OK we picked out a truck and got things started and now back to Oregon for a couple RV shows.   OH! NO! Not! Again! We just ended up in another Chevrolet Dealer to have another Fuel Injector Pump replaced, but this time they looked better I guess, they found metal fuzz in the fuel filter so we had to pay for dropping fuel tank + cleaning, buying a new fuel pump, + flushing the system then they gave us a new (under warrantee) fuel injector pump.  But I bought and installed a second large fuel filter with magnets too.  We did one of the Rallys then went back up to Portland to visit friends while there we visited the Columbia River, Hood River and stopped at Calamity Jane's in Sandy, OR. It's a "Must Visit" if your ever in the area! (huge hamburgers, to big to eat + like 38 flavors w/enough big fries to feed 2) on the way up to Timberline Lodge - a huge place at the snow line of MT. Hood Visit: http://www.umich.edu/~hartspc/umsdp/TL/index.html        - - - - End of Sept 2004 - - - - - 

Update#14 - - - Still End of Sept. 2004  

Now back to Salem to do the 2nd Rally. Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! - Yup, Mount St. Helen is getting more and more active every day, we may see something soon. The visitors center and the general area of the Mt. is crowded with visitors, everybody wants to SEE what's going to happen. Oct 1st 11:57 AM she started blowing Steam + Ash for 24 min. and tonight 30% more activity (more coming) over 5000 people are expected to visit there tomorrow. Oct. 2nd they evacuated everyone back 6 miles today, to much ground activity, "It's Coming" Oct. 4th Well here we are back in Washington to start working on our New ToterHome. Today twice as much Steam + Ash @ Mt. Saint Helen. Oct 5th today I got ashed on - 3 times as much Steam + Ash. Finally 12 Oct. "LAVA". Fall I guess isn't all that Touristy here in Washington, for the past 3 weeks we have been seeing 2 days of Sun then 3 to 5 days of Rain, then 2 days of Sun then 3 to 5 days of Rain again. Well Rig progress is going SLOW! So we've got to get some income. So we decided that Becky is going to AZ. and setup and I am staying in Washington to get the Rig built ASAP. So we headed for Oregon to get stuff and the car out of storage. We headed southeast around Mt. Rainier through Cayuse Pass and Chinook Pass on packed snow covered roads and through Yakima, WA. with LOTS of apple orchards then down Rt.97 and stayed overnight in Shaniko, OR. (the most written about Ghost Town in the country. Search for it at  www.ghosttowns.com   We did our thing @ storage in Redmond then West and onto Rt 20 - We came down out of the mountains on a narrow winding road with a downhill grade of 6% for 11+ miles with Moss covering the trees, rocks + ground, it was almost creepy! Yet Neat! Back in Washington now, its Nov. 11th and Becky just left for AZ. Mt. St. Helen is putting out Lava now at the rate of a Dump Truck Load every Second ! Average growth 18 ft higher per day. Now mid Dec. and the outside of the rig is done and now we have been working on the inside. Dec 18th I sold the Motorhome today and delivered it to the guy's house about 75 miles North. So now I can pay for the finishing of the ToterHome and pay for the Trailer. I am now staying in a 6ft X 10ft utility trailer sleeping on the floor with boxes and wood piled around me and hardly any floor showing until the rig is done plus another week or so to paint it. The shop owner's wife flys a lot and has a lot of frequent flyer miles so they got me a 6 day round trip ticket to Phoenix so I can go see Becky for Christmas. "Surprise!!" OH Boy! Heat !! I'am getting tired of this 38 to 48 deg. with rain or fog or drizzle 60 -80% of the time. Well at least half of the time in AZ was a little warmer, it was a cold week but they said they had a warm one last week. OH Look ! 2005 Has Arrived !! Well! Well! Well! it's Jan 30th The Rig is done and painted and I'll be on the road tomorrow. But not to Colorado because now the trailer is still not done, so I am headed for AZ. So I drove to Redmond, OR. and spent a day @ Storage then left @ 3PM and drove till Midnight then slept 4 hrs. then drove 4AM till 11:30PM to Arrive with Becky in AZ. When I left WA. I thought I would get away from the rain, but this has been the rainiest season here in like life! They have already gotten almost the total annual rain fall here for the year, The Deserts Are Blooming and California isn't having any earthquakes but they are just slowly slipping into the ocean with lots of mud slides. Well It's Feb. 28th and we are back on the road for the summer ralley season.

Update#15     - - - - -    March  2005 

        East Bound in the new rig now, with the first Rally being in Casa Grande, AZ. (70 to 85deg) Becky is following in her car because the new trailer is STILL not done yet. After Casa Grande Rally we did a Flea Market in Tucson, AZ. (70 to 75deg) and picked up a nail in one trailer tire and a staple in another, so plugged them. Because of the "LOADED" trailer we blew one of those tires the next day in AZ. and the other one in NM. so drove the car to the next town for 2 new tires. Stayed over in Demming, NM (37deg that night) we stayed there an extra day because the interstates where Closed E-W from Albuquerque,NM. to Amarillo, TX. + N-S from south of Albuquerque to Colorado with 8" to 24" of Snow and a lot of Accidents. The next morning I winterized the rig and headed for Pueblo, Colorado, to pickup the trailer, instead we spent 3 1/2 days there rushing around to finish the trailer (30deg @ night - 60 day time). Then when they where jacking it up to put on the tires it fell off the jack and damaged the left rear, so they now had to repair that. Well we finally got on the road now with the full rig. (see a picture at www.discount-rv-marine.com/ourrigs.html ) We drove to southern CO. that evening @ 34deg and feels like 20-30 MPH winds. The next morning to Amarillo, TX. fueled then headed for 2 Rallys in Wichita Falls, TX. (@ 55-75deg.) While there we went to a FreeStyle Motocross Jumping Demonstration where they hang off the bikes at all kinds of angles while in the air. After the Rallys off to the next one in 2 days in Lake Charles, LA. then up to Alexandria, LA. to visit Becky's Aunt. One afternoon we sat around a "Louisiana Campfire" (that would be a propane tank, burner and a big pot of crawfish) we pigged out that night. While there we noticed a screw in one of the trailer tires and had to get that patched. When we left there heading north we hit Heavy Heavy Rain (6") and saw Lightening Hit about 150ft to our left by a farm house in the pasture - the cows there where like all stunned, they all just steered @ where it hit. On to the next Rally in Texarkana, AR. When getting ready to leave there I noticed a 3/8" bolt through the left front tire. (they are 16 ply @ like $538.00 Ea. and one garage wouldn't patch it because it was on the front, so we drove down the road 7 miles to another tire place, now here we sat for over a day and a half till they opened Monday. (Ya know most people can't wait for a weekend to get here, but for us It's OH! Crap! Another Weekend - can't mail, can't ship, can't receive, can't get tourist info, can't get repairs.) We then headed north on Rt. 71 up through the "Ozarks" then west onto a Rally in Claremore, OK. Then East and stopped in Little Rock, AK. to Visit my Cousin. Now on the way to the Tenn. Rally we stopped in Brownsville, TN. to enjoy a couple days of Heavy Heavy Rain and visited their Cotton, Music + History Museums, Wildlife Preserve etc. then onto Jackson and visit their Train Museum, saw a HUGE! building where they used to build Steam Locomotives, and on (Apr. 30th) the 105th Anniversary of the Legendary "Casey Jones" we visited Casey Jones Village/Museum (See: www.caseyjones.com ) In Jackson we went to Loretta Lyn's Ranch. In Waverly a Civil war house on top of a hill that was in the middle of a battle and was used as a field hospital, and the site of the 1978 Train Wreck that killed 16? + ! injured hundreds when 2 days later 1 of 2 20,000gal Propane Tank Cars Exploded. Then finally we arrived for the Rally in Lebanon, TN. days early and found that another rally was about to happen so we ended up doing 2 Rallys there. Then headed for New Hampshire, on the way up we went up through the Great Smokey Mountains of VA. + W. VA. then MD. then up on the mountain ridges of PA. with all the old and active Coal Mines then through NY. + MA. and now at the N.H. Rally. Hey it's nice to see "CLEAR" Rivers + Lakes again! instead of brown or gray or red ones. Well it's July now and we've done Rallys in NH, MA, ME, and on the way to CT. BANG!! there goes a new tire on the right rear of the ToterHome, We must have ran over something on the road with the front tire then it kicked up and took a big chunk out of the rear tire. So besides Rallys we have had time to visit Friends + Family and now we are leaving the coast and starting to head west.

Update#16 - - - July  2005

        The East Coast is now behind us with our first west bound rally in NY. On the way west on Rt 2 through the Mass. Berkshires we pulled over to walk down to the stream to wade a bit, when we got down there looking up and down the stream with the water and all the rocks it reminded us of the Ocean with Seals laying on the rocks. Why, because when looking up and down the river laying on the rocks where 8 Naked People. About 6 of them shouldn't have been doing it in public. Well next we stayed over a couple nights in a mill yard on the river in N. Adams and headed out on the Motorcycle and climbed Mount Greylock the state's highest peak 3,491ft. a 10 mile drive from bottom to top the temp. went from 92 to 72. The next day we Motorcycled north on Rt 8 and stopped at Natural Bridge State Park, you can find them both at  http://www.mass.gov/dcr/listing.htm  Then north to Vermont then over to Bennington, VT. drove around the sites and visited the Bennington Battle Monument, 306 ft high, built in 1887, dedicated to the Battle of 1777. After there we drove back roads and went through 3 Covered Bridges (you should find info on the monument and more at ( http://www.historicvermont.org/bennington/  ) then back down RT 7 back to the rig. WOW !! It's been like Southern HOT! here for a couple weeks. They say that New England is having the hottest summer since 1942. Well we got to Frankfort, NY a week early, so 1 day we headed out on the motorcycle for a 147 mile loop. We didn't get wet wet but we hit 2 miles of light rain, multiply sprinkles with a total of over 100 miles of wet roads as we followed showers all across the country side, but we did see 3 flocks of Turkeys and 2 Deer. OOPS! we decided to go back to a Big RV Rally in Ma. on the way we came over a hill then in front of us was a bridge that said 12ft 8" OH! OH! we are 13ft high. I tried to measure it but it was to windy, so Becky went out the back door and left it open and climbed the ladder on the trailer and I slowly creeped under the bridge, hey we had 6-8" clearance. I guess somebody doesn't know how to measure a bridge. Sunday afternoon we stopped @ a truck dealer to spend the night to talk to them in the morning. We met a Repossessor there that brought in 2 of 5 tractors for non-payment he said "Do ya need anything?" He sold me about a dozen tie down straps for $40 (they sell for $36 @) Gave us a big pile of Rubber Bungies, then we siphoned about 60 Gals of Diesel Fuel into our tanks. Hey! it was kinda worth stopping there. We are through the Mass. Rally now + we are finally headed West for the MN. Rally. On the way we spent time in Rhinebeck, NY area and drove the car in a big loop around the Catskill Mt. area. One thing we saw was a small personal Shop/Museum with lots of unique things made from old car parts. Maybe they show them on their website http://www.fabulousfurnitureon28.com/fabstuff.html  Another day we visited the Home of Frederic Church (Most Renowned Artist 1850 -1870) on top of a hill overlooking the Hudson River. The House is a Masterpiece it's self. Visit - www.olana.org  Also stopped @ the Home of Robert R. Livingston Jr. (The Clermont Estate) - Chancellor of NY the Highest Judicial Post in the country. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and he gave the Oath of Office to George Washington as First President of the United States. You might find info. at http://www.nysparks.com/sites/info.asp?siteID=3  or www.friendsofclermont.org  We went to the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum, home of The Oldest Flying Aircraft,(+aircraft from 1900 -1940) Weekend Air Shows of First Aircrafts and WW1 Dogfights. Sunday we Helped out a little building a "Spirit of St. Louis" Replica (Full Size) Visit: www.oldrhinebeck.org  One evening we where parked behind a restaurant and some Deer - a Doe + 2 Fawns walked out of the wood and walked by us.               Heading West again!! 

Update#17 - - - Aug  2005

Well we didn't get far, only to Accord, NY    BUT Don't say it wrong, people get upset here if you do, (it's ack-ore d) So we stayed @ Accord Speedway and spent 5 days there, one night was to be Kart, Motorcycle + ATV racing (But Rained Out) and 1 night of Stock Car, Mini Sprints + Vintage. Seeing that we where allowed to stay there for nothing we said let us help you out, so while there we cleaned out + rebuilt the Pit Shack and setup a Watering Truck (we did pump setup + plumbing, valves, electrical etc. then the next day we ran it to wet down the Driveway, Pit Roads etc. for the Races. Visit: www.accordspeedway.com 
OH POOP! we just stopped at a Truck Dealer and on the way out we Fried an Alternator - Lots of smoke coming out from under the hood. Ouch! there goes the Pocketbook again!     YAHOO! we are at the Carlisle All Truck Nationals truck show in Carlisle, PA. Vending and entered the Rig too. It's the end of our Free Ride, we have finally used up the Free Fuel we got from the Repossessor.   Hey the good news!! We entered the Rig in the show and took Second Place in the ''Special Interest'' class. See pictures at www.discount-rv-marine.com/truckshow.html  You wouldn't believe some of the things we lost points for - dirt or rocks in tire tread, dirt or grease on undercarriage, dirt or grease under hood, bugs or spots on windshield. Now off thru VA a piece of W VA, OH, IN, IA. and now in MN. Visiting AL's Mom and Sister then an RV Rally in Willmar, back east to the ''Mall of America'' the Largest enclosed Mall in the US, 4 floors, over 520 Stores, a complete 7 acre indoor amusement park - and the World's Largest Underground Aquarium gee we only spent a little over 7 hours there. See all at www.mallofamerica.com  or The Aquarium - www.sharky.tv  The Park - www.campsnoopy.com   The next morning visiting AL's Mom and Sister again for a couple days. Then we headed East into WI. while there we visited two Cheese Factories of course and ate Fresh Curds. You can visit www.carrvalleycheese.com  and probably see what a cheese factory is like. Then South through part of Iowa and onto Henry, Ill. for another RV Rally.
Well Hurricane Katrina just hit Louisiana + Mississippi and has Destroyed a lot of what we got to see there the past couple years. Now Fuel Prices are going to go Sky High !! But it's different this time the Oil Companies actually have a reason, not just greed this time. Our next Rally is Columbia, Missouri in 21 days- we'll find something else along the way and some sightseeing.   OH Wow !! we just heard about a Gold Wing Motorcycle Rally next weekend just 250 miles south, we'll be there.  On the way we stayed in Springfield, IL. and visited Mary & Abraham Lincoln's Home and Neighborhood www.nps.gov/liho of which 8 houses have already been reconstructed back to the mid 1800s  Did you know they had 4 children (Edward died @ 4) (William died @ 12) (Thomas died @ 17) (Robert lived to 82 and had Children) Abe became President in 1860, was Assassinated in 1865. We visited the Lincoln Depot - the Train Depot where he gave his first speech as President. and finally the Lincoln Tomb, his Tomb was built by a Vermont Marble Company, Visit:  http://www.nps.gov/linc/index.htm  The Gold Wing Rally was nice but kind of small, but we where at a Fair Grounds that the State Fair just ended at so we stayed one day and visited with a family from Florida that travel around the country putting on shows with their 8 European Brown Bears. Then we moved to the camping area where there was also a small RV Chapter get together and behind us that weekend was a small Quarter Horse event. So all together we done OK. There where several ponds at the Fair Grounds and people would come in and fish. I was talking to one guy for awhile and when dusk came he came over and gave us 4 big Channel Cats, we filleted them and had Deep Fried Cat Fish, Yum !! Yum !! Then we headed southwest a whole 25 miles to the 54th Annual Murphysboro Apple Festival, there was no room in town for our Big Rig so we found a just mowed field just outside of town (we can hear the music at times) Hey we didn't do much, but we weren't out on the road spending fuel money, and prices are coming down now.   We are now in the state of misery, NO not because of the fuel prices. I mean in the Great State of Missouri. We stayed in Farmington and Motorcycle toured parts of Iron County including towns like Ironton, yup you guessed it ''Full of Iron'' and Graniteville, yup you guessed it again lots of Granite and Belleville, Nope Sorry No Bells. But we visited Elephant Rocks State Park there, Yes you guessed it, sort of, Giant Granite Rocks lined up like Elephants. http://www.mostateparks.com/elephantrock/photos.htm  Also Fort Davidson site of the Battle of Pilot Knob in 1864 http://www.mostateparks.com/ftdavidson/photos.htm  Also visited a Pumped/Storage Hydroelectric facility (The Taum Sauk Plant) consisting of a Dam on the River and then they dug out the top of the Mountain to make a 55 acre 1.5 Billion Gallon reservoir with a 7,000 ft long shaft and tunnel inside the mountain so they can pump water up at night when power demand is low and release it during the day to create up to 450,000 kilowatts during peak usage. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taum_Sauk_pumped_storage_plant  Our second night in Farmington was Lots + Lots + Lots of Loud Thunder and lightening almost keeping the sky lite up, and of course Heavy Rain. Then about 1AM and 3AM the Tornado Sirens where going off, but the next morning we where still alive and well.                                                                                               - - Late Sept. 2005 - -

Update #18 - - - Late Sept. 2005 - - - 

We're now headed for "Lake of The Ozarks" a man made lake that I believe you could never see the whole thing in your lifetime. If you boated from an Eastern cove to the West end I am sure you would travel over 150 miles. It has 1,150 miles of shureline. The West end seens to be about 50% Condos and Covered Docks and Boat Houses and nothing for small boats everything seems to be 26 to 57ft. Visit: www.funlake.com  We also explored "Ha Ha Tonka State Park" with it's 100ft X 500ft Natural Bridge, Sink Holes, Caves, it's little Spring putting out just 48 Million Gallons of water per day, and a Castle, Yup a Castle. In 1905 a Kansas City Businessman built his dream home atop a mountain overlooking all that and the Town below. Find it at http://www.mostateparks.com/hahatonka.htm  Then we went to California, No No not the big one, but California, MO. and toured Burgers' SmokeHouse hickory smoked meats since 1952 - one of their smokehouses can hold up to 25,000 Hams. Visit: www.smokehouse.com (check their History)  Then on to the RV Rally in Columbia, MO. then East past the big Arch of St. Louis, MO. to the Brandenburg, KY. Rally - Fort Smith, AK. Rally - Clairmore, OK Rally - Waco, TX. Rally then west to Odessa, TX. then north past lots of Oil Rigs, well we thought lots until we turned West past Hobbs, NM towards Artesia where there where places where you looked out over the scrub brush and desert grasses to see 50 to 75 or more Oil Pumps, Tanks, etc at a time. Then we stopped in Deming,NM at an RV Park belonging to an RV Club "Loners on Wheels" (Singles) when we pulled in at dusk, they said Hey just shut off your rig and come in we're having a Pot Luck Supper. Great!! We where stuffed. The next day we unloaded the car and headed north to see City of Rocks State Par! k (search at: www.nmparks.com ) then up through lots of winding narrow canyon roads with lots of switchbacks, many times we where climbing in 2nd gear for miles. (one sign said 44 miles to go + time 2hrs) up to Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument The Cliff Dwellings of 7 Natural Caves on a Canyon's south wall with a total of 40 Rooms of which 5 caves have ruins of possible occupation during AD 100-400 AD 1000 then lastly the Mogollon Indian Tribe from the 1270s through early 1300s The Women where approx 5ft. 1in. and the Men 5ft. 5in. Visit: www.nps.gov/gicl  About 10 miles from there we saw an Arrastra - Yah you know, a round pit lined with big rocks with a center turnstile pulled by mules to drag bolders around in a pit to extract Gold from Ore, and visited the town of Pinos Altos a Mining Town started in 1860, by 1890 had over 1000 residents. The Main St. is still like in the 1800s and some of the peoples houses too. The interiors have improved I bet. Visit: ! http://www.pinosaltos.org/histsites.html  When we returned to the RV Park and g! ot ready to go Surprize!! the rig would not start. There's two nice things about having a rig like this. First your engine does not self distruct, it protects it's self, and your not always at the mercy of the tow truck + vehicle dealer, just check the in-dash computer to find out why it's not letting it start, then I hunted around town for a new sensor and changed it. It probably saved us hundreds of dollars. Next stop Globe, AZ. to visit friends and while there did a Craft Fair @ Wal-Mart then West Again. ----- Beginning of Nov. 2005 -----

Update #19 - - - - - - - Nov 2005 - - - - -

Well we arrived in Quartzsite, AZ. setup the tents and 2 days later headed for Mexico. Down there we went to the Dentist. A woman waiting there said she had her teeth cleaned before leaving home (Idaho) last week for $125 today in Mexico Becky paid $20 I remember I got a simple Root Canal on a front tooth about 10 years ago in New Hampshire and paid $971 Well today on a back tooth I got a Root Canal, Post and Crown and a cleaning for $385 Then went to a Bakery and got 2 bags of breads and pastries for about $3 Then to a Pharmacy and got like 800mg Ibuprofen - (in US about $8.00 + prescription Cost) we got it over the counter for $4.80 and Penicillin (in US about $18.00 + prescription Cost) over the counter for $8.00 and picked up 2 bottles of Kualau ($24.00 US) for friends for just $9.99 and it was a bigger bottle. Christmas Day we got together with other Vendors and had a Pot Luck Supper. On the 26th we drove to the California Coast (315 miles) and visited Friends, while there one night we went out for Sushi - Good Stuff like Raw Tuna, Raw Lobster, Raw eel, Raw octopus, plus Raw regular + smoked salmon. We returned the 28th. It rained after we left. Rain, Rain, Rain, OH No! not here, that was last year with rain every week, but this year a couple days before we left, on the 132nd day with No Rain !! we got a bit of rain in the early morning but by 10am everything was dusty again. During the season we had about 4 real windy days but today (Feb 15th) beat them all this year with gusts of 40 to 60 MPH and very limited visibility at times. One gust out on I-10 they could not see at all causing a 10 vehicle pile up, with cars, trucks, a 5th wheel camper and a 45 foot motor home. Well tiz the end of the season and we're now headed for Mexico for Dental + Meds + Chile Shampoo. Then off to the summer rallys. Oh Hey! does your Government Homeland Security make you feel secure with its borders protected from Terrorist ??? Well being near the Mexican Border you hear how secure things are. Since Oct. Border Patrol have captured over 40,000 Illegal Aliens,129 in one hiking group today, over 500,000 last year. And that's just the ones they caught!! "Hey I Feel Good" - Right! ------ First of Mar. 2006 ------ 

Update #20 -------- Mar. 2006 --------

On the road again with our first RV Rally in Casa-Grande, AZ. and it finally got here !! Rain !! after 143 days it's been raining 
over 24hrs now. people are loving it after a 7 year drought. But it was not all rain, in the mountains near Tucson and about 100 
northeast around Show Low some places had as much as 15" to 30" inches of Snow!!! Headed NorthWest now to Laughlin, NV. Hey if 
anyone ever says between Wickenburg and Wikieup there is nothing !! well they are telling the truth, we are spending the night here in 
Nothing, AZ. A Sheetmetal Garage, 1 Gas Pump and a dinky yellow Store - population 4. Along the way there are areas of scrub brush, 
areas of big rocks everywhere, areas with lots of Saguaro cactus and areas with lots of Joshua Trees (cactus family I believe) Ok we got 
to Laughlin, NV./Bullhead City,AZ area (both sides of the Colorado River) after the rally @ Avi Casino, we spent 
several days exploring the area. One day we started th!e big climb west out of the valley then took a gravel road up into 
the mountains and visited Grapevine Canyon to see the Native American Petroglyphs  Visit:    http://www.birdandhike.com/Glyphs/LAME/Grapevine/Grapevine.htm    We then continued over 29 miles through Mountains, 
Christmas Tree Pass, exploring old mines and looking down at the spec of a city and lake below at times, then coming back down and 
exploring Davis Dam on the Colorado and it's Lake Mohave, the Automobile + Slot Machine Museum @ Don Laughlin's Riverfront Casino and the little Colorado River Museum, Another day we Visited Oatman,AZ an Historic Gold Mining town on Old Route 66 that started as a tent camp in 1906 and grew to 10,000 by 1930's The mine closed in 1942 "War" leaving many Buildings and Burros. Visit:     http://djcenterprises.com/oatman1.html   and  http://djcenterprises.com/oatman2.html     We then headed East over the Black Mountains for an Awesome drive to Kingman,AZ. then back to the rig. Two days later we where in Boulder City, NV we visited the Museum and hiked the old railroad bed (2.7mi - one !way) along the cliffs of Lake Mead The lake is over 110 miles long with over 550 miles of shoreline. With seven years of drought this year the lake actually came up a bit this year (still 60ft down) If the 
drought does not continue it will probably take about 15 yrs. to refill, evaporation alone consumes 7% (6,000 gallons per hr)   
  That RailRoad Bed has 5 tunnels, we also saw 4 BigHorn Sheep and I found out why their necks are so big - in the museum there was a set of horns and they where about 3 times the weight I expected (15 - 20lbs??) The R/R was built just for the construction of Hoover Dam. Then at the Dam I couldn't take a single picture of the face of the dam - it takes three to get it all. The Dam is 45ft Thick on top 1,244ft Long, just 660ft thick at the bottom and 726ft high, how high is that - well if you drove over the dam it would be almost one and one half 10ths of a mile down, with only enough Concrete to build a Highway 16ft wide X 8" thick from San Francisco to NY City. (6.6 Million Tons or 3.25 million cu. yd.)     http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/      They are now building a 
bypass "just" south of the dam with a HUGE!! bridge - done in 2008 ??   It will be a Great!! view of the Dam. Then into Las Vegas, we 
parked the rig in a beautiful little spot under palm trees with nice landscaping (yup a grocery store parking lot) about 5 min. from the 
Las Vegas Strip. That night we drove up and down the Strip and walked through multiple Casinos. Well to us Country Folk Vegas is just 
another City, but has one street that never closes and has 4 times the lights and 4 times the Drunks of any other City. For those of you 
who still want to come here we learned from a local that if you go to the North end of the Strip your gambling odds are better then in the 
thick of it. Visit:    http://www.lasvegasphotoimages.com/las-vegas-night/index.htm  for Night Photos and   http://www.lasvegasphotoimages.com/las-vegas/index.htm   for day Photos.   Then we headed NorthEast up through the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and near Overton we pulled over out into the Brush and Dust for 6 days on top of a Mesa (numerous other RVs Boondocking !
here) over looking Lake Mead to the East with Snow covered Peaks behind in AZ. to the West the Snow covered Peaks past Vegas and the Sky stays bright there all night (lights of Vegas) then the little town of Overton "Down" to the North. It shure does get windy up here on the Mesa. While here we drove through the "Valley of Fire" to see all the Spectacular Red Sandstone Formations sticking out of the olive green mountains and beautiful desert. Look for info @     www.parks.nv.gov/vf.htm    it's much prettier in person !    We then walked a 2.7 mile loop down onto the lake bed (remember 60ft low) to look over foundations of a town that was under the lake and talked to a guy and 2 kids that had been fishing and that night we had a big fresh Stripped Bass on the BBQ. Hey also Indians lived on the original river banks for thousands of years. We visited the "Lost City" Museum to learn about them.     The next week we setup at the Clark County Fair/Rodeo in Logandale, NV.  the weather was Great during the Fair but REAL REAL Windy for 2 days before and the day after. I would go out @ 1-2-3 in the the morning to check our tent and contents and add stakes. After the Fair we headed NorthWest across the Estratrerrestrial Highway and through Rachel, don't blink, plus we didn't see Area 51!! ,it was over the hill. (you know that top secret government installation dealing with Aliens!! and home of the Stealth Bomber) On the second night, half way to Lake Tahoe after traveling through hundreds of miles of Open Range and over MT. Passes seeing Cattle, Pronghorn and Wild Horses we stayed in Tonopah "Queen of the Silver Camps" a town born in 1900 with the discovery of Gold and Silver. Over $150M before closing in the 1940s (today that would be $1,120,000,000.00) It looks like a small mining town in PA. but without any trees. they say there are over 100 miles of mining tunnels under the town and over 500 miles of tunnels in the area, as deep as 1,200-1,500ft !   We toured some old mines, buildings, equipment + stopes. Visit:  "The Mining Park"  http://www.tonopahnevada.com/TonopahHistoricMiningPark.htm    "The Town Museum"   http://www.tonopahnevada.com/CentralNevadaMuseum.html    and "The Town"    http://www.tonopahnevada.com/history.htm        (They said there is a mine a mile north of here thats 2,400ft deep)

Update #21 -------- May  2006 --------

While staying in Henderson, NV we went to Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park containing the Old Mining Ghost Town of Berlin 1896-1911 @ 
6,840ft elevation. We went underground into the Diana Mine with a lot of their equipment still inside, it seemed like we were visiting on 
their day off, not 95 years later. We looked through lots of old Berlin mining buildings, etc. Their mine was an incline shaft mine 
with 8 levels and 3 miles of tunnels. Visit:    www.parks.nv.gov/bi.htm    We continued higher up (scattered snow) 
to 7,880ft where in 1928 they had found 8 Ichthyosaurs (pronounced   ICK-thee-o-sor-es) A total of 40 where found throughout the park. Oh 
what are they? An ancient marine reptiles of 225 million yrs ago. The most highly specialized reptile ever to have lived on earth, one 
of them just 55ft long. They have been found on every Continent except Antarctica, yet There is no evidence linking them to any other 
reptile. Visit:    http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/people/motani/ichthyo/index.html     Then we continued up to over 8,000ft and climbed the south hillside (no 
snow) and searched the rocks and found a bunch of fossils of Clams, Snails, Oysters, Coral etc. On to Lake Tahoe area now and visited 
Virginia City No the Cartwrights where not in town, Hey I bet you thought Virginia City was just a western gun fighting town, well 
there are over 650 miles of Gold and Silver mining shafts and tunnels under the city. It was the riches place on earth with over $700M 
mined. (today's value $4-5 Billion) It's the biggest old western town we have ever seen, and a lot of it was new, well not that new. A lot 
was rebuilt after a Big Fire that burnt down over 2,000 buildings in 1875. Today about 800-900 people live here, but in the late 1800s 
22,000 people and WOW was it up in the mountains (6,200ft) I can't believe Horse and Wagons climbed that like 5-7 percent grades for 7 miles and 
some 15 deg the last mile on the south side or the 20 mile climb on the north or that they survived the decent!
There must have been a few rich cowboys at the bottom that would replace brakes and some rich ones half way up that sold horses. Visit: 
  www.virginiacity-nv.org       OH! the town purchased a new Horse Drawn "Amoskeag" Steam Fire Pump in Jan 1873 built in Manchester, NH 
"Yaa" but on its way it got diverted to Boston's Great Fire of 1872. It could pump a stream 241ft out of 1,000ft of hose. Visit the Fire 
Museum at:    www.comstockfiremuseum.com    From there we drove across the valley and up over Mt. Rose Summit 
@ 8900ft, past Mt Rose @ 10,776ft with Snow banks in one place over 3 times the height of the car. They have to use just big snow blowers up 
here. The Ski area there seemed to have no ski slopes, just lifts to the tops then you just ski down through the woods and all over. So 
over the top and down to explore around Lake Tahoe "Beautiful" The water is so clear and Blue + Green that looking down at the shoreline 
you would swear you where looking into a bay in Bermuda or Hawaii, but the Trees and the Snow on the shore kind of give it away. North 
thru Reno (been there, done that) cross into California, over the mountains and stayed in Chester with snow filled woods and snow 
banks. While there tried to make a 100 mile scenic route by car but got detoured because  Lassen Mountain Pass was closed with 33ft of snow, they 
said they didn't expect it to open till July. Then on down to Chico, CA for another RV Rally. After that Rally we toured around Oroville and saw the Huge Earth Dam - Tallest in the US  770ft + 6,920ft long, it took 80 Million yes of material to build, enough to build a 2 lane road around the world, 
with an unbelievable Spillway. It created a lake with 167 miles of shoreline. We went Hiking to the 6th Tallest Waterfall in America 
(Feather Falls) 642ft. "Totally Awesome" It was a 9 Mile Hike on a path through the California Wilderness in places about like a Goat 
Path on the side of the Mountains with lots of ups and downs and streams. In one area we crossed a Stream that runs all year and stays 
55-60 degrees, and if your there from Nov. to Mar. you will find Millions of Lady Bugs on the Canyon Walls that Migrate there every 
year. You might find info. @    www.oroville-city.com   and   www.californiawild.org/wild/FeatherFalls.html   On the way Further West we stayed a couple days at a city park in Redding, CA. "Turtle Bay" @ the Sacramento River w/fishing, 5+ miles of  Hiking/Biking trails, Sundial Bridge, Museum, Aquarium, Arboretum, Gardens, Art Gallery + More. Visit:     www.turtlebay.org    Then off to the West over more mountains with more Narrow and Windy roads. (Rt 299) We stopped in the town of Hawkins Bar (1 store, gas, propane etc) Your in the mountains with white water rapids below and snow capped mountains North + South. We drove the car up into the mountains on miles and miles of Logging Roads. probably not the ones your used to, but ones just cut into the sides of Steep mountains where it looks like only Goats should be and more then half of them are Paved. We drove north to the top then headed West following the 
Mountain Ridges, the road had just been plowed - Yah it's May 14th but they do that year around here to plow off the rocks, branches, 
trees + dirt. So we continued climbing past where the plowing had stopped, dodging rocks and branches and a couple washouts and we 
hooked on to 5 or 6 trees with our tow strap and pulled them out of the road till we finally got to the point where we couldn't go any further because the 
Snow was too deep, so we sat down and had lunch. To give you an idea of the terrain, the trip back to town was 18 miles, of 
that about 1 1/2 to 2 miles was level or climbing the rest was down hill mostly in 2nd gear (steep) with LOTS!! and LOTS!! of Curves. 
(Example - averaging 20 to 35 MPH with hand on Steering Wheel @ 12 O'clock then quickly turn left to 6 O'clock for 5 sec - straight for 10 sec - 
right to 6 O'clock for 5 sec - straight for 10 - left for 5 - WOW!!) We did see a couple Deer, a Gray Fox, a Black Bear and many Squirrels. In 
2 places we came across trees that where Stuck in the road, it took us awhile to figure it out, but what had happened was a tree had 
broken above the road, and being so steep it would slide down the side of the mountain shearing off all it's branches coming through the 
forest and having such speed and momentum that when it got to the road below it just stuck deep in like sticking your finger into a pound of 
soft butter, Unbelievable !!          A little more west then we setup at a small CampGround that was having a weekend Swap Meet, we did good there.             OH  Hey! We have arrived on the West Coast !!    
--------- Mid May 2006 ---------

Update #22 -------- June  2006 --------

Yes the Coast is Clear - I meant the coast is near - No No I mean the coast is here!    We have arrived in Eureka, CA.   The next day we checked out the town and area with it's 1800 architecture, like the 1886 Carson Mansion. http://www.eurekaheritage.org/the_carson_mansion.htm     The following day headed south on Rt 101 and drove the Avenue of the Giants  through the Humboldt Redwood State Park. Visit:   http://www.terragalleria.com/california/california.avenue-giants.html   If you are ever traveling up Rt 101 you MUST take this 21 mile parallel road, don't stay on Rt 101.   Then we turned West on the highway to the Lost Coast for the next 3 miles we went past the Largest Redwoods (this is another 3 mile Must Do!!)   The largest Redwood (was the tallest in the world) is no longer standing, it fell in 1991, it was just a mere  365 feet tall (now long) 17ft Dia - that's 52ft Circumference weighing only about 1,000,000 lbs. and survived for an estimated 1,500 years before toppling in March 1991 after being hit by another falling tree. This is the Dyerville Giant, which now begins the slow process of decomposition - the huge 17 foot thick trunk is likely to remain intact for several hundred years more. After it fell they measured it at 370ft - thats 200ft taller then Niagara Falls.  Visit:  http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/humboldt_redwoods/sites.html  The 2nd largest, still standing is like 16+ft  Diameter and just  363ft high.  Then we continued west on Mattole Rd. (where you don't want to go) with winding roads and steep hills (some over 12%) thru Honeydew just to get to the coast for about 2 miles of all fenced in grass and beaches for cows, then back inland over more winding roads and steep hills and Down into the Nice little old town of  Ferndale.   It was like a 50 mile loop thru No Where.  Then North into Oregon with lots of meadows and streams in one area where we saw Hundreds and Hundreds of Elk on both sides of the road, then on to Brookings, OR.  to do a 3 day Azalea Festival. Visit: www.brookingsor.com/photo_gallery.cfm  No Boondocking here, so we had to stay in a Campground 100 yds from the ocean, but of course with our rig only the ToterHome could barely fit in.  From there south back into Calif.  to take Rt.199 N  this is another MUST SEE!!  the first 3 miles off of RT. 101 is all Huge Redwoods.  Well up the road now to Cave Junction, OR.  a little town, we could tell by a local bulletin board with ads like "wanted - small chair for old man to watch TV" and another ad "small boat for sale - aka dingy"  we stayed there in a parking lot for 3 days.  On the 3rd night @ 10PM  a Tractor Trailer Flatbed turned into the parking lot and cut his corner way way short and sideswiped a Telephone Pole and it crashed down in front of us with Wires + Cables up over us.  I called 911 and said you've got to come see this.  We where up till 1:30am, we ended up with just scratches and a dead CB Radio.   Off again, North to White City where we did a Pow Wow , it was really great fun. The next weekend up to Roseburg to do a Gold Wing Motorcycle Rally, then East thru Bend where we stayed at Wal-Mart for 2 days and on the 2nd day there was a Prevost ($700,+ Bus/RV) parked beside us. They started up to leave when his wife remembered they needed Q-Tips, so while her husband was in Wal-Mart getting them, an Old Pickup and 5th Wheel Camper came in and cut his corner real short and like tried to tear off the front of the Prevost, so that was good entertainment too, but then a couple hours later we had some more, a Marble Sized Hail Storm with High Winds.  OK now off to a Good Sam RV Rally in Madras for the weekend. Then West over the mountains to Salem for an 8 day Airstream Rally. On the way, one morning we checked all tires etc. as usual every time before we roll, but then about 3 miles down the road the right rear tire on the trailer blew and destroyed the whole bottom right corner of the trailer.  If we would have gone some place to get it repaired it probably would have cost $1,000+  but we talked to some Racers who connected us with some other racers who made up a new panel, welded it in and primed it for $60.  This is the 1st week of summer now and it has been the hottest in history. (hit 106deg. here)  There are few lakes here but many rivers so this 1st week of summer there where 15 drownings in this county.  This year for some reason most all RV Rallys where scheduled in June so there's like nothing to vend at right now so we are going to a full time Flea Market in Cascade, ID over 300 miles away till Sept.  On the way we swung up to Ridgefield, WA. for a Tune Up, something that you might get for $150.00 to $500.00 on your vehicle. Well we had several things tested and checked and had the Tune Up and it only cost us like $3,864.00     On to Cascade we traveled north of Boise, ID. on Rt. 55 along the Payette River Gorge - Awesome!!   In Cascade the flea market was on the main road, and was basically Thur -Sun but we could stay open 7 days a week, we did 5 to 7 and where doing OK.  Hot again - breaking records to the south in Boise with 103 to 108deg,  we had 90 to 101 but 60s at night.  There was a Bad Attitude by numerous marketers there so we decided to get away one weekend so 6 of us (3 couples) went camping for 2 1/2 days at a small lake 10 miles away, at higher altitude and 15 deg. cooler, Great Fun!  With Tenting, Swimming, Sitting around the Camp Fire and Jeeping the back Mountain Roads.  Smoky here at times, a Bad Fire Season again this year, they have 17 Major Fires in the state right Now!!  (Major fires are ones involving 1000s of acres each)  While there we became friend with some Nez-perse Indians, they are allowed to fish with nets and gaffs and hunt.  We got lots of  Fresh Salmon, Salmon Smoked with Alder + Apple woods and Apple + Plum woods plus Smoked Elk too!   Well we left Cascade a month early because one of the other 2 couples said they had a 27ft boat, what do you say we leave this heat and head for the coast and do some Boating + Crabbing + Fishing and do Vending at a Flea Market there.  Then the other couple said yah and on the way we can stop at some good places we know and we will show you all how to do Gold Panning. Then in Sept. they are all going to Salem to vend with us at the big RV Rally there.  So we headed for the coast with the boat owners leading, and on the way we stopped over in Cave Junction (the town of that Telephone Pole incident) but all was quiet, well until 2:30am when a pickup truck came through town at like 60 - 70mph then tried to make a 90deg  left turn at the intersection in front of us, would you believe he didn't make it !!  He took out a Big attractions Sign (6ft X 12ft) jumped the Curb, wiped out a Stone Wall, flattened a Pay Phone Booth and spread it across the Gas Station lot, broke off his right front Wheel, missed the Gas Station and a Coffee Shop, jumped the ditch and sidewalk again and kept going down the road he was headed for, but only got about 1/4 mile then left the truck behind a store.  He was the owner of the new Sub-Way that just opened in town.  It took me a couple hours to get back to sleep after that one.  The next day we got to the coast with no stopping for Gold.  We setup at the Flea Mkt. with all the other, One (1) vendor  in Charleston, OR. Where it was foggy most days, with mornings in the 50s days 60s to 70   We are on the coolest 50 miles on the west coast, averaging 15 to 40 deg lower then the rest of the state.   We left there a month later after having gone Crabbing for a couple hours one day and not much good vending.   We are now headed for a big RV Rally in Salem, OR. but alone, because both couples changed their minds, now we've got 3 booths, 3 parking passes and 6 name tags. So it was a costly rally for us, but we still came out ahead.  The last day we packed up, headed West 9 miles and setup for another small Rally.  

--------- Late Sept. 2006 ---------

Update #23 -------- Oct  2006 --------

Well Becky Flew home to surprise her parents for their 50th Anniversary - on the way to pick her back up at the Portland Airport 
(100+ miles away) I took Arizona up Mount Hood and we played in the Snow!!    On the way back we took a shortcut up over the mountains 
w/some gravel roads and Spectacular Sites. Also stopping @ the Indian Museum @ Warm Springs  Visit:   www.warmsprings.com/museum/    Having 
21 days between the shows here we stayed for Free 2 weeks back @ that Reservoir, then stayed a week @ a Couple's House (another Escapees 
camping group members) and they said this winter they will be heading south and will stop and see us too!  Then on to do 2 big RV Rallys in Redmond. At big rallys they usually have good Entertainment, at these where  B.J. Thomas + Susan Summers - The Nelson Brothers (Ricky Nelson's Twins) + Debbie Boone + Tony Orlando.   The following weekend we did the annual Cruz-In in Terrebonne (down town car show)  The next weekend off through the mountains to Sumpter for a Labor Day all town Flea Market. Visit:   www.historicsumpter.com    There in the mountains @ 4,424ft above Sea Level and 100 miles from Navigable waters, they have a 1,240 Ton, 52ft wide Vessel that has operated around the valley for 20+yrs creating it's own pond as it goes, dredging over 1,600 acres of Pastures and Meadows for Gold leaving the mounds of gravel all over the valley. Visit: www.historicsumpter.com/sumpter-oregon-history.html   or  www.bakercounty.net/areas/sumpterdredge.htm   and watch the panorama.  They also have a Narrow Gauge Steam Train. (6 mile Ride)  www.svry.com  Now West again stopping in John Day to see the Kam Wah Chung & Company Museum of an 1887 Chinese Store + Herbal Doctor - Original site of a China Town too!  www.oregonstateparks.org/park_8.php?md=pic  and watch the panorama.  Then to Canyon City to the Grant County Museum with lots of Gold Rush, Rocks, Pioneer + Chinese stuff  See: www.ortelco.net/~museum/exhibits.htm   and the Oxbow Wagon Restoration Company  See - www.oxbowtradeco.com/index.php    (they restore all horse drawn wagons and equipment)  then to the John Day Fossil Beds where over 2,000 Extinct Fossilized Species have been found, plus there are more types of fossils and of more steps in evolution here then any other place on Earth!!  See - www.nps.gov/joda    So after a few days around 82 to 85deg we figured we would get a little coolness so on the way through the mountains west we stayed at the highest point we could find and woke up to FROST!!   Then down into a Car Show back in Redmond before returning to Richreal a few days later for 2 more small RV Rallys.  On the way over the mountains to the western side of the state we stayed the night @ the highest point - HooDoo Ski Area.  I took the car out and drove to the top of the Ski Lift "Awesome Views"  That night North of us we heard a Low Bellowing Groaning Growl and it came closer and closer then passed to the East. When it was beside us we started hearing another on the ridge to the West. It was like Nothing we had ever heard. (a sound like a cross between the Bellow of a Beagle and the growl of a Bear, but deeper and more powerfull}   Yes BIGFOOT was there !!!!  Arizona didn't like it and Becky locked all the windows and doors.   Then in the morning, (yes we survived) on to the Rallys,  Then we stopped at the Diesel Shop again so we could complain about Reduced Power again. This time they did a Dyno Test. If you don't know what that is they strap the rig down to a giant Treadmill that puts loads on it up to 70 MPH. So they said again, there is nothing wrong, so we can't fix it.  The results of the Dyno Tests showed that there is no power problem as the engine was putting up to 442 HP to the wheels with 27.5 pounds of  Turbo Boost and 1520lb of Torque.  The next weekend we went back to that Barter Faire again. Then we left Takillma and headed straight up!!   13 mile climb East through the Wilderness, then 9 Mile 9% Grade down into Cal.  Then traveled about 75 miles @ 900 to 1,100 RPM (10th gear 45-53MPH) into Yreka, CA. Lots a pretty Mountains and Woods. North on I-5 then East on Rt66 which on the map was a straight red road. Well guess what?? Twisty, Windy, Mountainous and they had a sign recommending nothing longer then 50ft So that was a fun road !! (we are 72ft 5 1/2 inches. Example - there was one left hand turn where the trailer was way across the centerline and the right front wheel was @ the edge of the hottop, and off the right side of the road was about a foot of gravel before about a 400ft drop into a Whitewater River. No No No they don't have guardrails, are you kidding.  We traveled on across South Eastern Oregon over a couple hundred miles of  Hi Desert plains, scrub brush, Mountains and hills before dropping into Nevada. When coming out of one set of mountains and onto more desert plains you could see another row of mountains just ahead, Yah Right!! It took 27 miles to get there. Down into Nevada and East on I-80 (Yes an interstate, we have to do that once and awhile)  Next stop Elko, NV. We took the car up into Lamoille Canyon, up to over 6,600ft - some describe it as driving the bottom of a mini Grand Canyon. www.exploringnevada.com/nevada-pictures-photographs/backcountry-scenic-drive-photos/lamoille-canyon-photographs/   Then we went south and even higher (over 8,800ft) up through Harrison Pass  www.nevadadventures.com/recsites/elkoco/harrisonpass/harrisonpass.html  where Many Many Early Pioneers went over these mountains - including the "Donner Party" this one they made, but later west of Reno into Calif. they didn't make it.  Further East we crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats, Yup 28 miles!! No we controlled our self, we didn't do 200 to 300mph. http://travel.webshots.com/album/66020443XmPgIR  On into Utah now and down I-15 for about 60 miles then back onto the back roads and Saw Red Canyon (near Bryce Canyon)  www.americansouthwest.net/utah/red_canyon/photographs.html   One place we stopped was the Moqui Indian Caves  See: www.moquicave.com  Then down into Arizona and stayed @ Jacob Lake, AZ @ 8825ft.  In the morning we went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (Note: they close for season 15 Oct, but you can still drive out @ No Charge till snow) we went out to the Lodge @ 8225ft. (built in 1937 to replace 
the original built in 1928 that Burnt), walked out on Bright Angle Point, then drove to Point Imperial and a couple other lookouts towards Angles Window + Cape Royal where you get to look down a little to the River, Yup! a little RIGHT! - over 6,000ft BELOW!!! and to the other side just 10 miles across. We could see several rain/snow showers happening @ places out over the canyon. If your going to the Grand Canyon try to go to these North Rim locations - (With Animals, Forests, Meadows, but small walks to the views. The South Rim - is Deserty, Hotter, more Crowed, but parking @ Canyon's Edge.   Overall the Grand Canyon is 277 Miles Long and 8 to 16 Miles Wide.  On the return drive back to the rig we hit 5 to 10 miles of Snow, at times the wipers and defroster couldn't keep up.   Visit: www.nps.gov/archive/grca/photos/   Then South to visit the Factory where they build the Wind Generators we sell, Then we headed farther down into Arizona for the winter.
  ----- Late Oct. 2007 -----

This video is a Beautiful Trip across the Country that you've got to watch   http://mybeautifulamerica.com/mybeautifulamerica.htm  and we have been to over 90% of all these locations.    (Note if you have a slow internet connection and the video starts and stops then when it's complete just click on "Refresh" and run again)

Then Click your   [BACK]   Button to return here

Update #26   -------- March  2008 --------

----- Late July 2009 -----

A week and a half later I headed 50 miles north to do another small Animal Swap.         I have been Searching to get another Rig (medium duty Toter and Trailer)      Well I got a phone call and one trailer that I was looking at (from OH) said he is going to be in eastern MO this weekend so I headed there to the Sand Drags to see it and got there 3 days early.  Well that day I got a call from Chicago from a place I was talking with about a Toter and they said they couldn't wait a couple weeks for me to buy it and they could bring it down near St Louis tomorrow and meet me.   So I started packing a bag to hitchhike when I got a phone call from Indianapolis, IN from a guy I was looking to buy an Observation Platform from @ an excellent price (for viewing from roof of race trailer) and he wanted to know if I still wanted it and could I get it sooner.  So in the morning I hitchhiked 120 miles up into IL. and met the guy bringing me the truck I was buying, then I drove it 240 miles into IN and picked up the Observation Platform and drove back to the Middle of MO and left the new Toter @ a truck stop.  Then the next morning I hitchhiked 130 miles back to my rig in eastern MO in time to meet the people with the trailer and see the races.  The trailer ended up being just what I wanted, but 2 feet longer then what I wanted it to be, oh well keep looking.   The races where pickups, jeeps,atvs and dragsters that where Drag Racing in Sand (200ft strip) some where 750 to 1,100HP and doing that 200ft in 3.8 seconds @ 77.1mph  or 2.36 sec @ 89.92mph.  Visit:   www.bigriversanddrag.com/4.html   to see pictures. (click on film strip/arrow @ top to start slideshow)    The next day I drove the rig back to western MO to get ready to help another vendor do the State Fair, (Bob - Waterless Cookware for 10 days) parked the rig then hitchhiked back about 100 miles to pickup the new Toter I had left @ the Truck Stop, and drive it back to the FairGrounds.        Whoop!     here we go again !   It's 2 weeks later, and  I just bought a trailer @ a dealer in Florida, the same make and model as the one I just looked @ and it's 2 ft shorter, has a larger generator and more options.   The price started $10,000 dollars more, so I offered them $17,000 less, they said they could only come down $4000  So I made them another lower offer and they took it, but later said to help me with the cost of  transferring the money they knocked off another $500.   So that now makes it $500 less then the other one I just looked at.    Then they agreed to meet me part way, and deliver it to Alabama (800+ miles) which saves me an extra 1600+ miles of round trip.  Most dealers would charge $1,300 for that!  So I drove through MO, AR, MS and AL to the FL line. (OH! I drove past the Nissan Factory in Canton, MS.    "Wow- Huge"     So now here I set on Wi-Fi @ a Library in Loxley, AL near the FL line awaiting my trailer.     I had designed a new trailer to be built, but the little company that we where going to have build it just Stopped Building rigs because of the slow economy and loosing so many workers to other jobs.   This trailer is Very Very close to what I had designed !  and I will make some modifications to bring it more in line with my designs.     Well I got it and it's awesome!  I will eventually get a picture of it on our website @   www.discount-rv-marine.com/ourrigs.html      OOPS!  they forgot the electrical power cord, but I guess that was alright, he knocked off another $250 for that. While they where getting it ready to deliver they also replaced the following: a new spare wheel and tire, 6 new trailer tires, 2 new batteries and they could not find the keys so they are sending me 2 new door handle/lock assemblies.    Anyways, I found a business just down the road with a forklift to take the Observation deck off my Toter and raise it up onto the roof of the trailer that already has an observation Deck !! and I tied it down onto that. (you see I did not know if the trailer I would find would have one, so I can sell it and pay all these travel expenses or mount it up there too and make a storage box out of it, and have Both)       Now I am heading north (mostly back roads of course - to see the country) to an RV Rally in Henry, IL via AL, TN, and KY  but with what you say, my trailer is empty ??   Well the new Toter is loaded, Full Cab, Full Tool Box and stuff tied down on that Observation Deck I have strapped on back, plus before leaving MO I loaded one compartment of the other vendors motorhome because he is going to be @ the IL Rally too.    I got to the Ill Rally (70 miles from Chicago) and they said OH! we don't remember your email and you didn't pre-register...    So I spent a week @ the town park on the river, got free fresh fish from fisherman and visited people @ the rally several days.  The Rally is over now, so I headed east to Iowa - there I visited Fort Madison (a reconstructed fort of 1808)   www.oldfortmadison.com  and the Santa Fe Railroad Depot  (the oldest still in existence from that era - 1910) and the Museum. Just south of the depot used to be a little rail yard that had 22 tracks, 35 miles of rail with room for only 2005 rail cars.  Also they used to have a Steam Locomotive Factory there.    I weighed to much to cross the river so I disconnected the trailer and crossed the "Santa Fe Mississippi River Bridge" (the Longest and Largest Double Decker Swing Span Bridge in the World)  3,140ft with a 525ft swing-span.    The original in 1888 had a center train track with high wooden fences so the train wouldn't spook the horses and one way wooden wagon roads on each side.   They said during May Fly season they get so thick on the rails that the trains would loose traction and would have to be pushed across and they would have to clean the rails with blow torches.    While in the area I attended the Tri-State Rodeo and spent 2 days there passing out flyers to cowboys from across the country.   Visit the town website to see all these things   www.visitfortmadison.com    When I got back to central Missouri where the ToterHome and Trailer where, I transferred some things to the New One (Toter and Trailer)  then headed south with the Big Rig to Dallas area, because I am doing a Flea Mkt in Canton in a couple weeks. On the way I was going through the Home Town of a Country Singer I saw on a poster for a small Rodeo a couple months ago in MO.  I had emailed her a couple times and now said I was coming through and asked to take her out to lunch, I was blown away when she accepted.  I am a lot more blown away now that I have learned she's not just the small town country singer that I thought, but an Awesome Gospel Singer and  Real Awesome Person Too ! - Susie McEntire Luchsinger.  Visit her website:   www.susieluchsinger.com  and listen to her music and read her Bio.      Well when I got to TX  I found an awesome place to leave the Rig !   I visited a shop that can do the final !!  estimate on the ToterHome from the Tire Blow Out and talk with the insurance company to Hopefully Finally get this settled.  And guess what, they also build Custom ToterHomes and Trailers (All Aluminum Construction) so maybe I can sell some of their units for them.     I will leave this rig there, return to the New One via my car. (in Trailer)      So I drove the car back through the back roads of TX, OK, KS and MO.  on the way      through farmlands, mountains and country.   I stopped to visit a mushroom farm factory, Oh Boy!  but bummer no tours, no brochures and no samples. In Kansas we stopped @ Fort Scott (of 1842)  which has all been restored or reconstructed  www.nps.gov/fosc and the town is very nice and historic too, of course.  In Joplin, MO I stopped at a huge truck chrome shop. www.chromeshopmafia.com    One night in a rest area I was awoken by a tractor trailer revving and revving it's engine ??   He had turned into the rest area and instead of swinging wide (like you have to) he stayed on the right like a compact car, and of course the trailer when down into the ditch then up onto about a 4 1/2ft banking and tipped so far over that it twisted the frame of the tractor and picked the drive wheels off the ground on one side and he kept revving it up thinking it would go some where, until I walked down there and told him he needed to call a wrecker.   Another night I stayed @ a Wal-Mart and a 5th wheel camper pulled up to the gas pumps and realized he was on the wrong side, but instead of backing up and pulling forward to the other side he drove around the pumps then around the parking lot and just as his truck passed a car he took a hard left.  Oh Yah he did have a trailer behind him !! so it hit the side of the car and pushed it sideways - Bravo !!!       The next day I was back in MO and stopped @ a Truck Salvage Yard to try to find a few things for the new Toter, then got back to the new rig the next morning and drove it  to Northern MO to do an RV Rally there first.  Then drove down through MO to OK and stopped and unloading the car and drove about 1/2 of the "Talimena National Scenic Byway" atop one of the highest Mt Ranges between the Appalachians and the Rockies.  One of only 2 mountain ranges in the US that run East and West with sharp turns and 13% grades, Awesome !   See:  www.talimenascenicdrive.com  Hey if I didn't already have something scheduled for this weekend I would have stayed in that area and attended the Big Foot Festival  www.bigfootmountain.com   Now in Canton, TX  to do the "1st Monday" Flea Market, it is the largest in the country.  I have been wanting to do it for years, but every time we are in that part of the country it is the wrong weekend.  Checkout   http://firstmondaycanton.com/PhotoGallery.aspx  (check out that Aerial View and read History)    then we're headed west (by leap frogging and hitch hiking back numerous times) to get both of the rigs to AZ, well unless some one buys the ToterHome and Trailer or just the ToterHome on the way of course.      Well we ended up driving the new Rig all the way to AZ,  then on the lot there I nailed down all the carpets, setup the tents and all the tables.  Then after calling numerous Gold Wing Motorcycle Club members, I drove my bike 120 mi and left the bike in a members garage and he gave me a ride to the airport.    I flew to Minnesota which was supposed to be a 2hr stop, but got there late and gave Mom and Sis a quick hug, then flew onto Dallas where another member picked me up @ the Airport and dropped me @ another members house who drove me all the way to my Big Rig on his motorcycle (64mi) back in Canton in time for me to setup for an RV Rally 2 days later, and to deal with the insurance company before driving back to AZ all over again.  On the trip back to AZ I was accompanied by another vendor for all but the last 200mi.  On the way he blew a front tire and we spent 7 1/2 hrs with our rigs parked up against a concrete barrier (on the medium side) with 4 lane of traffic buzzing by a foot away just outside of Dallas while waiting for Road Service.  then 2 days later he blew another, a rear tire and we spent another 5 hrs there awaiting Road Service, then parked in the tire shop that night and half the next day getting 6 new tires.   When I got back to Quartzsite I had a trailer tire coming apart, so I changed it  (I like my Non-Road Service better)  it took me 15min.    (A big truck tire takes me about 45min)    So I spent 1 day there then headed north 75mi to do a 3 day Gold Wing Rally, then came back and finished opening up.            OH!  the insurance company - Well after calling them 3 times in TX and they said they where going to send a local appraiser right out to get things finallized.   Yah Right!     I was right ! !      It has now been over 30 days and No One has contacted the body shop or me !!

Wow !  we finally got to Quartzsite, AZ for the winter - what a month it has been !!

----- Nov 2009 -----

Well lets see this past winter had some interesting points.  On Dec 7th we had the Storm of the Century, there was a major storm coming down from Alaska and when it hit we got Heavy Rain, Hail - Yes Hail and winds of 25 to 35mph with Gusts of 45 to 55 and about one hundred miles north of here (Flagstaff) they had some gusts of 70mph with 18in of Snow.  So here with about 3/4 of the structures in town being Tents and the wind gusting for 6-7hrs there was a lot Destruction. with probably 3 out of 5 tents getting damaged and I saw 10 or 12 around town that only had tables or piles of products strum around the area where their tents used to be.  Myself, my 3 tents and the neighbor's that I was watching had no damage, I tie them down right, but stuff inside was a mess.  Five miles east of here a Tractor Trailer blew over and on the interstate 90 miles south of here 4 Tractor Trailers blew over within a half hour.        Wow here we go again - It's now Jan 21st 2010  and we are in the midths of 4 storms coming in from the Pacific.  The windiest part of the storm only lasted about 1-2 hrs this time. Highest wind reported in AZ 74mph (probably 50s here)  The washes all overflowed closing many roads and 3 Interstates where closed - one down south because of 5 Tractor Trailers flipping over and 2 closed up north (150miles) because of up to 67" to 92" of Snow.  100miles east of here @ an Auto Show, one big tent blew down another lifted up and ended up on the Interstate, also a Tornado Warning in that area, and one reported on  the ground in Haden, Avalanche Warnings up north, northeast of here 17 communities evacuated because of expected flooding from all the snow and rain.  The Governor, she declared AZ a State of Emergency.  The storms brought more rain and snow then in ALL of 2009.  They called it the Storm of the Century (because it was the Bigest Ever since the last Biggest Ever)                          Well it's March again, we are usually heading out to do the summer shows across the country, but we are stuck here for awhile because we have so many projects to complete on the New Toter and New Trailer to get them ready to roll, so we will stay for  awhile and do that.   (see a picture at www.discount-rv-marine.com/ourrigs.html )         Well we did stay awhile and got a lot done - thru March, April and May Too.  This spring/summer was cool - usually it starts hitting 100+deg by 2 Apr, but, all the way thru Apr and May we had like one day of 101deg and two 100deg.   I finally pulled out on June 1st and drove 100 miles north and got some welding done before heading east.  The day after we left it hit 108 and the next day 112 degrees.                   Oh you probably are wondering what happened with the insurance - They are still saying we will send you the original undisputed amount (about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost to fix)  it's now been over a year and a half !!

----- June  2010 -----

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