Below are some photos of our travels, click on the photos to see larger versions.
Love to all from New Mexico, Gary and Judy

Author 1: Renee- Mother and driver.

Red Rock Formations of Sedona

Author 2: Judy-Nana and childcare specialist.
Now, who’s idea was this trip? You got it! My sister Sonja took Gary and I on these gorgeous red rock roads a number of years ago and I was impressed sooooooo!

Mathilda at 7 Months

Georgia at 4 and a half

Author 3: Gary-Papa and navigator.
I loaded my trusty computer map program with the slowest most scenic route I could find through the Prescott National Forest and the Prescott valley to Sedona and the Red Rock State Park in the rim area of north central Arizona. It was an ambitions day of travel and as Renee related above, the road was anything but fast.

Georgia's Ice Cream Cone

The Girls at Montezuma Castle

When we arrived here we were contemplating riding our bicycle up the 18 mile road that connects all of the features of the park. At the entrance kiosk the lady checked us right through on our Golden Age Pass. (You youngsters eat your hearts out, our entrance was free.) The lady suggested that we might want to drop the trailer at the visitor center and then we could drive the motor home into the park. I asked incredulously, “You mean I could negotiate the park roads with this!” We found out it is true, 40 foot tour buses do it all the time, why not our little 34 foot Alpine. We watched the “ants” crawling up the 10 percent grade and switchbacks all the way up the face of the cliffs leading to the interior, and the bicycle adventure was put on hold. Path stayed in his comfy trailer and Arcturus got to tour the park.

We spent all day Saturday in the park. Winds were probably gusting to 45 mph and it was sending stinging sand grains into our faces. Still we hiked many of the shorter trails and made the one long four mile trek to Landscape Arch. We did see a tour group of about twenty bicycle riders. We saw several loose their balance in a swirling gust of wind and sand. Once you get up to the plateau the hills are manageable, but that first two miles are horrid.

Today we pulled up stakes and moved a whole ten miles to a BLM campground on the Colorado River. We actually rode the tandem further than the RV today. We rode Path along two different sides of Arches Park. In the morning we rode the South Western edge on a bicycle trail alongside US Highway 191. Sixteen miles round trip and 600 feet of elevation gain. We then drove Arcturus ten miles and after settling in at Big Bend BLM campground on the Colorado River we road Path another ten miles along State Highway 128. The river forms the South Eastern boundary of the park. This was a nice relaxing ride with gentle grades and slow traffic.

The grandeur of these two canyons, the Moab Fault Canyon and the Colorado River Canyon are just awe inspiring. Both canyons are about 1,200 feet deep where we were riding. The cliffs tower above you on both sides. It is only seven, mountain time and the sun has been gone for an hour already. There are no lights, so tonight promises to be a moonlit spectacle with brilliant stars in a perfectly clear sky

Folks, it is worth the trip. Make yourself a promise to come and visit some or all of these beautiful parks some day.

Gary and Judy

Silhouette of Landscape Arch, Arches National Park

Devil	Pine Tree Arch - Devil
Gary and Path in Moab Canyon - Old 191	Colorado Canyon Cliffs Tower over Arcturus

We started the day by boating over to the Casino at Havasu Landing on the California side for breakfast. We then worked our way across the sand bar at the head of the lake and into the Colorado River. That led us to Topock Gorge. We were looking for petroglyphs along the wall of the gorge. We reached river mile 226 and spotted the ancient art on a rock outcropping on the Arizona side of the river.

Gary was acting skipper and he took a couple of tries to land the boat in a suitable spot. “I could have landed it right the first time if it had sails.” Jack was able to run the pontoons further up the gravel beach just to make sure we had a ride back down the river when we got ready to leave.

We hiked around to the site and found a US Fish and Wildlife Plaque explaining the site and took several photos. (See below)

If you are in the area and wish to visit the site the GPS coordinates of mile 226 on the river is N 34 37.478 W 114 26.326. You can see the petroglyphs from the river at this point. This site is considered a sacred site by the Mojave Peoples so we took only photos and left only footprints. These are some of the best petroglyphs Judy and I have seen so far in our travels. They are well preserved and have not been compromised by thoughtless people.

On our way back down the river we came across a coyote on the edge of the river. He was a little leery of us and I was unable to get the camera out in time to get his picture. He was a fine healthy looking animal. There are reports of wild donkeys in the area, but we did not catch sight of any of these critters.

We do send our sympathy to our friends back home and even those hiding out in Texas. The cold and snow are quite widespread this week. Well, except here, we had a simply marvelous day climaxed by a gorgeous sunset.

With Love from Gary and Judy and even Sonja and Jack from Lake Havasu City, AZ.

Sample of Petroglyphs in Topock Gorge, (Largest Figure is About 5 ft High)

Sample of Petroglyphs in Topock Gorge, (Largest Figure is About 5 ft Wide)

Colorado River in Topock Gorge

Thursday morning we took off for Canada. We got a good early start, we were underway by nine. Things went smoothly to Laurier at the Canadian border about 30 miles away. Since some of my tools and computer are made in China and other countries I stopped and took the precaution of registering the serial numbers with the US Customs Office. That took about an hour. Then we buzzed down the road 50 feet to the Canadian Customs and they directed us to the side and gave us a thorough once over. It was nearly lunch when we caught up with Sonja and Jack at Cascade Falls. We did some hiking around the falls and I got some really nice photos of the torrent of water gushing through that rugged canyon. What a spectacular sight.

That night we camped at Kekuli Bay Provincial Park, in Vernon, British Columbia. It is on Long Lake which is a sizable lake in itself but nothing like Lake Okanogan the home of Ogopogo, a Loch Ness style lake monster. I think we are safe here. We are probably 100 feet above the water. The original natives called him “N’ha-a-tik” and were in the practice of bringing a small animal with them in their canoes and would throw it in the water to appease him. Eye witnesses claim that Ogopogo is about 20 feet long with a heavy snake’s body and the head of a goat or horse. There is something strange about this monster that makes him impossible to photograph.

Friday we had to deal with changing some of our money into Canadian. They are very close to the same value this summer. The hard part was finding a bank that was open and somewhere we could park a couple sizable RV’s. We finally found a bowling alley parking lot and walked to the bank in Kamloops, BC. We bought our first Diesel fuel today for about $3.50 a US gallon in US dollars. Gasoline is about $4.20. We are about 1/5 of the way from Washington to the Alaska Border. Our next big town will be Prince George, BC

The weather is good and we are all having a good time.
Love to all from Gary, Judy, Sonja and Jack.

Judy Stands Above the Surging Cascade Falls Canyon

Besides exploring the depths and heights of Death Valley, we also explored Mosaic Canyon, Scotties Castle and Artists Drive. What was missing this year was the wild flowers. Sue was able to photograph a few Desert Gold wildflowers, and a ranger pointed out a singular Brown Eyed Evening Primrose about to bloom. What a difference a little water makes. Last year was a 100 year bloom and the desert was just alive.

The hike in Mosaic Canyon was just as spectacular this year, however. This canyon is near Stovepipe Wells and it is a combination of broken rock cemented together in something called conglomerate and polished marble. There are these rather neat slides in the canyon made of polished marble and they look like they belong on a playground. Some are narrow for little baby bottoms and some are quite large for more mature derrieres.

We have to ship Sue back off to rainy Portland in the morning. We have already noticed the moss on her back starting to dry up and flake off.

We all send greetings from Pahrump Nevada where every day is warm and sunny and the nights are nippy.

Bye, Gary, Judy and Sue.

Intrepid Explorers, Judy, Sue and Gary

We have done several nifty things like walking over from Larado Texas to Nuevo Larado Mexico for a two hour visit. This was our second visit to Old Mexico. The first time was a 15 minute bike ride across the border from Arizona at Naco Mexico. We were not very impressed on the first visit. Our second visit did nothing to improve our opinion of Mexican border towns. The walk over was easy and took five minutes. The border guards motioned us right through. The return trip was another matter. We stood in line for 45 minutes. There was no hastle, we had our passports. It was just that there were thousands of people walking across the same bridge all at the same time.

The most impressive visit we made was to Seminole Canyon State Park near Del Rio Texas. This is part of the Big Bend Country. The feature of this park is the cave paintings by aboriginal peoples as far back as 4,000 years ago. You must walk down in this narrow canyon, guided by a tour guide. The caves are high on the canyon wall, and the paintings are all along the back of the caves. The sad thing is the paintings have weathered poorly during the last 100 years. As the surface of the rock spalls off, the paintings are lost forever. The setting was serene and we felt like we could connect back through the years to those people, hunter-gatherers, as they eked out a living in this harsh environment.

Photos are below.

This is the end of our first calendar year of Full Timing. I thought I would include a few statistics from the year. It’s the Engineer factor, you understand.

Distance driven in 2005 – 18,738 miles.
Fuel purchased in 2005 – 2,253.715 gallons.
Average cost of fuel in 2005 – $2.72 per gallon.
Average economy in 2005 – 8.31 MPG
Average cost for camping – $12.63 per night
Number of times we moved – 170 times.
Average distance each time – 108 miles
Number of times I filled the water tank – 88 times
Amount of water into water tank – 2,706 gallons
Distance we bicycled in 2005 – 1,318 miles

Don’t you feel sorry for Judy, being married to an Engineer.

General interest information for those of you contemplating Full Timing. Our grocery bill is very similar to our costs before we retired $5,700 vs $5,200. Heating expense is lower, $395 vs $1,567; this is for gas and electric. Insurance is higher $14,400 vs $4,300. The RV insurance is three times Home Owners, but medical insurance is out of sight. The medical, however, would be the same on the road or sitting in Scappoose. Total transportation costs are higher, $9,000 compared to 2,000. That includes all licencing, fuel and service. Note that two tires for the Honda cost $117: Two new tires for Arcturus cost $918. In all fairness those tires should last five years. Our tax burden is only a third of previous figures, and again that would be the same on the road or sitting in Scappoose.

All in all, you can Full Time in an RV without breaking the budget. The RV cost and upkeep is similar to a home. You don’t have to drive 20,000 miles a year. Many people travel to and from their winter camp and simply stay put. We are just not there yet.

We are off to a New Years party here at the Escapee’s park. We wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Love to all, Gary and Judy

Fate Bell Cave at Seminole Canyon State Park, Texas

4000 Year Old Cave Paintings in Seminole Canyon Texas

This is going to be a series of short takes about our stay in Death Valley because we have no internet here at the bottom of the North American Continent.

Thursday, March 3, 2005: We are camped in Sunset Campground at Furnace Creek in the middle of Death Valley. We are 190 feet below sea level. It is warm and sunny, Wahoo!
So far we have explored three canyons, the Harmony Borax Works and Scotty’s Castle. The wildflowers are blooming their hundred year best, and half of the roads are washed out. We just returned from the 7:00 pm ranger talk at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and Ranger Dale Housley is a wonderful, enthusiastic fountain of knowledge and lore about Death Valley. We first met him at the Harmony Borax Works, and then again tonight. Dale has his roots in St. Helens Oregon, and yes indeed he is related to the Housley’s and Nickelson’s that we ourselves know. What an incredibly small world it is.

Our favorite canyon so far is Mosaic Canyon near Stovepipe Wells. We were able to walk a little over a mile into the canyon, crawling up and over sand/water polished marble. It was indeed much easier coming back down. Many of the chutes were as polished and slick as a slide in the park. You just sit down and scoot down the chute. Boy are we sleeping well at night. While in the canyon we were treated to an air show. Two military jets, (I think they were F-14′s), came roaring over the canyon at a middle altitude, about 10,000 feet. They started doing simulated combat right over our heads. Twisting and turning, looping and chasing each other for perhaps five minutes. The thunder was reverberating off the walls of the canyon. Suddenly one of them tucked his wings back in and punched it and the second jet followed. As quickly as it started it was all over.

We spent part of the day Friday on a Wildflower, nature walk. The volunteer showed us about twenty species of wildflowers in the space of a one hour walk. I will include some of our favorites below.

Saturday was another heavy duty bicycle ride and a walk up into a canyon again. This time we rode thirteen miles out to Natural Bridge Canyon. The problem with this canyon is the road into the canyon trail parking lot works its way up the alluvial fan deposit from the canyon for a mile and a half. Think about what it would be like to ride up the side of a gigantic gravel pile. We went from minus 200 feet to plus 600 feet. That is an average grade of 10 percent and the first half was more gentle than the upper half. We finally ditched the bicycle about half way up and packed in from there. Cars and trucks were spinning tires in the washboard gravel. The natural bridge was impressive enough, but Mosaic Canyon is still our favorite. The forecast of 20% chance of rain didn’t materialize and the temperature was just above 80 when we got back to the coach. We finally have had our touch of warm sunshine.

A warm greeting to all our friends and relations back home from Gary and Judy.

Judy in the Wildflower Patch, Death Valley CA

Two Desert Five Spots and a Rock, Death Valley CA

Desert Chicory, Death Valley CA

Natures Bouquet on a Gravel Bar, Death Valley CA

Now we did get to enjoy Flagstaff a bit before the snows came. We found a parking lot near the fire station that would handle Arcturus, our Alpine Motor Home. We dug out our tandem bicycle for the second time that day and rode up to the Lowell Observatory. Yes folks they build observatories on the tops of hills, so we did our walk-a-while, ride-a-while routine and made it to the observatory just in time for a guided tour of the eight ton, 24 inch Clark refracting telescope that Percival Lowell used to sketch the “canaille” on Mars. We also got to see the 13 inch camera telescope used by Clyde Tombaugh to discover Pluto in 1930. Yes Pluto was discovered right here in our own back yard. The only planet discovered from the American Continent.

In last weeks series we told you we were going to ride over to the Meteor Crater just off I-40 in Arizona. We did indeed do that. We made an early morning ride over and up to the rim of the crater. There was some wind but not bad. After a couple hours poking around at the edge of the crater we noticed that the wind had picked up considerably. We got a ride back to the RV park that is totally unprecedented. It was down hill and with a 20 mph wind at our backs. Yes, I know it is unbelievable but I swear that it is true; miracles can happen.

With this e-mail we are welcoming aboard a new reader, Ed Mauget from North Carolina. Eddie and I were eggheads together in Rogers High school back in Spokane Washington in the 1950′s. I suspect that he is going to copy some of the good stuff into the John Rogers Class of 1960 web page .

Saturday, October 24th, we pulled up stakes and headed for Grand Canyon Arizona. This is the second hole in the ground we came to visit. We grossly underestimated the time required to get there, and it was well after dark when we arrived. We did plan ahead, and made some reservations in Grand Canyon Village, on the South Rim. In spite of a lot of trepidation, we were able to drive straight to the camp ground, and the one site they held for us fit the rig perfectly. Sunday was a wonderful clear day. Somewhat cold, but sunny and nice. We pulled our tandem out of the trailer again and rode to Hermits Roost. This was another ten mile ride to the end of the road, and again we had about 300 ft of vertical gain to ride. The difference was the elevation. 7,000 feet. Both Judy and I were puffing like a couple steam locomotives getting up the first big hill. We were a little smarter on the return leg, and rode very slow up the hills. We also had time to take in two ranger led presentations, and learned about fossils and Phantom Ranch.

That brings us to Monday morning. We went to Flagstaff Arizona and tried to pick up our mail drop from my sister, Cher. Only half of it arrived, so we must go back tomorrow. Meanwhile we are near a place called Meteor Crater, Arizona. In the morning we will go stare at the third hole-in-the-ground. This one made by a meteor strike that hit the earth centuries ago. We plan to once again go by Tandem Bicycle. This time it is only five miles from where we are camped.. Riding should be easier since the terrain is flat and the elevation is only 5,400 feet above sea level.

Looks like we must head even further south. There is snow predicted for Flagstaff on Thursday. We plan on getting down out of these mountains very soon!

Judy and I send our love to all.

Bye Gary