bobanddenisewanderlust

Saturday- We left Cherry Hill RV Park and drove west on I-40 to Double D RV Park in Texola OK, right on the Texas border. We have been watching the weather very carefully, but we have missed the cold front which caused the flooding in Texas and Hurricane Patricia.

We arrived at Double D RV Park, a small park, $12, PA rate for 30 amp/water. We pulled into our site, set up and settled in. I started the crock pot and we had the TV running. All of a sudden, we heard a ‘clunk’ and we lost the electric. Bob went outside to check the post, but it was ok, the breaker had not tripped. The electric came on and flipped off numerous times.

Bob walked over to the office and the gal moved us to another site.  So we packed up and moved. We still had no electric. Hmmm, okay, it is us. Bob walked back and told the gal it was us, not the park. So now we were boondocking. We could use the generator, but not the outside electric.

Most RV parks do not let you use the generator, but there were no rules here. So we ran it the minimum that we could so that we would not disturb the other folks. It was really cold that night, in the low 40’s, but we were warm under the covers with the dogs snuggled up to us. It was cold in the morning when we got up and started moving!

So now we did not want to stay in another RV park, so we searched to find a safe place to spend the night. Our plans had now changed. We needed to get to an RV repair facility. Bob had decided it was the power management system. It is 11 years old, so we figured it was time to replace it.

We found an RV repair facility in Albuquerque. So that was our new destination. Of course, it is Saturday and nothing is open until Monday.

Sunday- We left and continued west. into Texas.

Bob added water to the tank at the park.  We stopped in Amarrillo to dump at a Flying J, $5 with our Good Sam and Flying J cards.

We continued west. About 35 miles west of Amarillo, just past the town of Vega, the tire monitoring sensor went off. It told us we had low voltage. Uh oh! We pulled off at the first exit we came to. Bob went back and checked the car. The battery was dead!

There was a rest area a few miles ahead, so we continued on I-40. We pulled into the rest area. It was one where we could not park the MH next to the car to jump start the car, so I called Good Sam. The gal set up a tow for us. They will only pay for one service, so if we requested a jump start and that did not work, we would have to pay for the tow. So we requested a tow. The guy was to arrive at 2:06 PM, per the text Good Sam sent us. So we ate lunch, walked the dogs, and settled in to wait. They guy arrived at 1:15! We told him the problem and he jumped the car. He called his office and they told him that it was the same price for the jump and the tow, so we signed the paperwork and off we continued. I drove the car and Bob drove the MH.

We passed into New Mexico. We stopped in Santa Rosa at a McDonalds which had truck parking. We pulled over to the far side and settled in for the night. We went to dinner at the MickyD’s as the parking lot was sloped and we could not open the big slide, but we could open the small one in the bedroom. We settled in to the MH, ran the generator for an hour, and went to bed.

Monday- When we woke up there were 3 trucks also in the lot. We ran the generator and with that we were able to take showers. We went to the McDonalds for breakfast, then drove out of the parking lot at about 7AM. Here was the desert sunrise. We were afraid that the car might not start, so we had parked the car next to the MH batteries to be able to jump start if we needed too!

We went to a rest area and stopped to call Tom’s RV Service in ABQ. MaryAnne had recommended them. They said that they could not take us today, we could go on tomorrows schedule,  but they might find the time in the afternoon. We decided to go there and park. We needed to run around and find a place to park for the night where we could run the generator.

We checked in with the receptionist, Elaine, and Tom went with Bob to check out the MH. He decided that he thought it was the switch. So he ordered one and we left the keys and MH there. We took the dogs with us and went to look at the local Moose Lodge. They had RV boondocking parking.

We then went to The Suds and Duds to wash the sheets and towels. Bob walked the dogs and I washed/dried. We left there and went to Panera to pick up sandwiches. We took them to a park and ate at a picnic table. The dogs enjoyed the outing.

We ran some other errands, then returned to Tom’s and moved into their lounge. The receptionist, Elaine, is a sucker for a canine face, so our two dogs made out like bandits. She has milk bones in the cabinet!  The dogs know they do not get a treat unless their butts are on the ground. Elaine thought that was hysterical because as soon as she opened the cabinet door, two sitting canines! We settled in and watched TV/read.

The tech went back and forth with what he thought was the problem. He decided it was the power management system( that is what Bob thought). We had 50 amp but no 30 amp. Bob decided he did not want to boondock another night, so we moved to the KOA ($54)about 2 miles up the road, as we have to be at the shop by 8 AM The problem is not fixed, but we were able to get through the night.

We moved into the KOA, checked in , set up, ate dinner, then went to their hot tub. That felt really good! We went to bed exhausted.

Tuesday-  This time we were more prepared. We packed up and moved back to Tom’s RV Service center. We checked in and settled in the lounge. I completed last weeks blog and started on this week. The tech checked in with us and let us know that he now thinks it is the power management system, and they need to find the part. So we are on hold for now. they said we could leave. Tom had to contact our Extended Warranty plan to get approval for the repair/part.

We left around 11 AM and went to Happy Valley RV Park, a PA park, $22.35. We pulled into a 50 amp FHU site. We settled in, ate lunch, then went to Walmart in Edgewood, just east of the park. Bob wanted something else for his cold as he keeps waking up at 3 AM coughing and blowing.

Tom called and everything is all set with the part and the Extended Warranty plan. We are to arrive at 9:30 in the morning. Bob took a nap and I put dinner into the crock pot.

Wednesday- We left the park at 9AM and had an easy drive to ABQ and Tom’s RV Service Center. We arrived and put the dogs into the car. Bob took the keys in to Elaine and we went to Duke City Doughnuts, the #1 doughnut place in ABQ. Excellent doughnut. Bob had a double chocolate and I had a pecan praline. Yummy!

We left and went to Petsmart to purchase new harnesses for the dogs. The current ones, which we bought in 2010 in Oregon, are wearing out. The dogs enjoyed the trip into Petsmart and the treats that the cashier gave them. We stopped at Subway for sandwiches, as I had forgotten to make them this morning. Then we returned to Tom’s. The MH was in the lot and the tech was working on it.  We ate lunch at the RV repair facility. The work was completed and we left at around 12:45. We paid our deductible and hit the road.

We drove west on I-40 to Gallop NM. We stopped at Red Rocks Park, a Gallop City Park. $20 for 50 amp/water. We would have had water but they have closed the water down due to the cold temps at night.

We parked next to Sven and Sharon Novion, Alfa and Roadrunner friends. We have been following them since Branson. They were off sightseeing, but they returned around 5:00. They came over and looked at the changes to our MH and we went to look at theirs.

We went out to dinner in Gallop at Jerry’s Café, a Mexican restaurant. You know the food is going to be good when you walk in and the place is full of locals. During dinner we had a lot of jewelry solicitors, Native Americans, coming through offering us silver jewelry.

After dinner we went to the Motel El Rancho, a National Historic Site.

The lobby was beautiful and reminded me of a smaller version of the Yellowstone Lodge.

Around the second floor they had autographed pictures of the old stars who have stayed at the hotel. Here are some….there were at least 50!

We toured the upstairs pictures, noting people who were long gone and some who are still with us. All of the pictures were autographed by the stars and personalities. We could see into the hallway where the rooms were located and found that each room had a stars name on it.

We wandered through the gift store, then returned to the park. We said good night to our friends.

Thursday- We left Red Rock park, after saying good-bye to Sven and Sharon. . Here are some pictures from our site.

Above is church rock. There are hiking trails all over this park and you can hike up there..

We traveled west on I-40. The weather changed to rain some of the way. Once we crossed into Arizona, our phones changed time. That confused us, as we thought we were on Arizona time. The problem was that we now gained an hour, so we were going to arrive at our next destination way too early. We could not check into the park until 2 pm and we would arrive around 11:30.

So we found that there was a Little America truck stop in Flagstaff. We drove there and parked the MH. We ate a quick lunch, packed up the dogs, and drove north on Hwy 89 to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Parks. The drive was about 30 minutes.

The first stop was at the Visitor Center at Sunset NP. We checked in at the Visitor Center, stamping our National Parks book.. The cost would have bee $10, but was free with the Geezer Pass. The volcano last erupted 900 years ago.

We continued on, driving north,  leaving Sunset NP and drove  to Wupatki NP. The drive between parks was beautiful. We stopped at rest areas and could see the Painted Desert in the distance.

The residents of the area, who survived the volcano, lived in these Pueblos, 800 years ago.  the people were of course run out of their homes by the soldiers who arrived and moved them to reservations. These are the ancestors of the current Native American Hopi, Zuni, and Navaho, in addition to some other tribes. We  ran through Wupatki Pueblo quickly, as there was an approaching thunderstorm.

There are tours, but we needed to move faster. It started to rain while we were there, so we jumped back in the car. We stopped to take a picture from the car of Citadel Pueblo. There are four Pueblo’s in this area plus a cave dwelling.  These are the ones open for viewing. There are remnants of many more in the area.

We continued back to Hwy 89. We returned to Little America and picked up the MH. I drove the car and Bob drove the MH to Williams AZ, about 30 miles west on I-40. We checked into Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel (established 1901), RV Park. This was a PA park, $25 per night. It was very nice, with asphalt sites and rocks, with nice picnic tables.

We settled in, ate dinner, then went to the hotel to the soak in the spa. We sat in the hot tub until we pickled! We returned to the MH, watched some TV and went to bed.

Friday- We were up early as our bodies have still not changed over to Arizona time. We left Williams,taking the dogs with us,  and traveled north, about 54 miles, to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our first stop was at the Visitor Center where we watched the movie, narrated by Peter Coyote. It was very good.

We returned to the car and hooked up the dogs leashes and walked out to the canyon. Most of the National Parks only allow dogs in the parking lot, but Grand Canyon allows leased dogs on the trails. The dogs are pretty well behaved so we had no issues. People would stop to pet them and other dogs seems to leave well enough alone.

The views were spectacular!  After Mt. Rushmore, where we could not take pictures with the Presidents in the background, we bought a selfie stick at Walmart. Here is the result!

We walked back to the car, and drove the east rim of the Canyon. The west rim is closed to cars. You have to take a free bus, but with the dogs, we were not able to do that; we knew this when we decided to take the dogs with us. Our National Parks of the West book told us a lot about the park and we decided that we had enough to see in one day with the east rim route.

The road is actually called the Desert View Drive and is 25 miles long. We stopped at various viewpoints along the road.

Aren’t these rock formations interesting. They were right below the road. Below is from the Grandview Lookout, the next 2 pictures. Originally there had been a hotel on this spot, called the Grandview (which it is!). People would take a 12 hour stagecoach ride from Flagstaff to the hotel. When the train came to where the visitor center is now, people stopped taking the stagecoach and the hotel went out of business.

We continued on east bound. The wind had picked up considerably. We had no wind when we first started out; the temp was in the low 40’s with sunshine. When the wind picked up it became bitterly cold.

We stopped at the Tusayan Museum and Ruin.

Inside the little museum were exhibits of artifacts found in the area. I found these particularly interesting. They are small animals made from sticks. They were hidden under rocks in a cave in the area. They are thousands of years old. Archeologists have not been able to figure out their significance.

 

There was pottery and arrow heads and other artifacts.

The ruins are built on the hill, not far from the canyon, which was across the road.

There was also a smaller kiva, but when it burned, they built the new, larger one.  As cold as we were, wearing warmer clothing in this wind, I can’t imagine how these people were able to survive in such a harsh place in the winter.

We continued east stopping at the  Navajo Point lookout. These guys were sitting there talking to us. We did not scare them in the least! They never moved. Little beggars!

We could see our last stop, the Desert View Watch Tower.

We continued to the Watch Tower exit. We parked and walked with the dogs down to the Watch Tower.

We walked to the tower. Bob found a spot, out of the wind, and stayed with the dogs while I went inside. There was a gift shop at the bottom. I walked up one flight of stairs to the first landing.

I went back downstairs and relieved Bob of the dogs. He took the camera and went inside. He climbed all the way to the fourth floor (top) and took the rest of these pictures.

The Desert View Watch Tower( 1932), architect  Mary Colter,  was modeled after ancient ancestral Puebloans watch towers found in the four corners region of the southwest. The art on the walls was done by Hopi artist, Frank Kobotie.

We walked back to the car and decided that we would have to eat lunch inside the car. We went back to the Grandview lookout and sat viewing the canyon while we ate our picnic lunch.

We drove back west to the Visitor Center and went looking for the historic buildings. This is the Hopi House which opened in 1905. It was built to be a market for Native American crafts. The architect was Mary Colter, same as for the Desert View Watch Tower.

This is the El Tovar Hotel. It also opened in 1905 and cost $250,00 to build. It is directly on the rim of the canyon. Some people who have stayed there are Teddy Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Sane Grey, Bill Clinton and Sir Paul McCartney.

We left and drove back to Williams. On the way, we stopped at the McDonalds at the entrance to the Grand Canyon park, in the town of Tusayan. We were going to buy ice cream cones. The price was $5.35 for two cones. We looked at the guy in the drive thru like he was nuts! The usual price is $0.99 per cone. We said no deal and continued our drive!

We drove past Bedrock, the Flintstones hide out. A kiddie tourist trap. It is for sale if you are interested, LOL.

We returned to Williams and dropped the dogs off. We drove into town to cruise Rt. 66. Williams was the last town on Rt. 66 to be by-passed by I-40 . Here is the entrance to town.

   

It was a cute little tourist trap! We did not buy anything, just drove through town looking. We returned to the MH, ate dinner, then went to the spa again. There was a new RV’er in the tub, so we talked to him until we were all prunes.

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