Destin Reunion

Well, here I am in Fort Myers with Mom. True, I haven't blogged since LA primarily due to the extraordinary, astonishing, unbelievable, marvelous, beautiful, wondrous, out of this world, frightening, earth shattering, death defying, uplifting, depressing, horrific, events I have experienced along the way. Wow, golly gee and holy doughnuts batman! Destin was so cold that the Fox and I nearly froze our Dove Dark Chocolate drops! You had better believe that traveling alone, by myself and solo brings with it so many challenges. I.E., the furnace wouldn't lite and it was 28 deg. No problemo, the ever ready Judy Colorado had an electric heater on board for just these occasions. Of course, it was a little harder to deal with the toilet that was leaking fresh water as soon as I turned on the pump. That problem caused a build up of water in the shower which necessitated the purchase of a small stool upon which to rest my feet when sitting on the throne in the middle of the night.

These small inconviences are to be expected when experiencing a life of adventure. Well, I was going to tell you about Destin. Such a lovely reunion with Ann, Bailey and Betty. Yes, indeed, as Betty noted, nothing had really changed in 40 years except out bodies. Despite the physical changes, we all recognized one another and proceeded to plan our first party. This one was a little different from the ones we used to have in Ethiopia, Snow Ball Parties. The SBP was just that, we started at one house, picked up those friends and moved on to another house, moving on for a day or two or three. Some of us would try and hide our cars behind the houses so no one thought we were home. Well, the Destin party was in a motel room, with wine and take out from the Fresh Market. Lots of fun reminiscing was had by all. Friends are the best part of life.

After our get together we went our separate ways, me on to St George Island. OH WOW!

Lake Fausse Point State Park, LA

This certainly must be a lovely park in the summer. That is, if you don't count the mosquitoes. Right now it looks like a dead, cold, rainy swamp. And, so it is! The sun managed to peek out for a short time while the Fox and I went for a hike. Very nice hiking trail here. Hope you enjoy the pic of the Armadillo and lake. It rained all night and we were glad to get on the road to Buccaneer State Park in Mississippi. Now here's a State Park! Right on the Gulf of Mexico and quite lovely. I will certainly make another stop here on the way home. The beach is beautiful and not a soul in sight. It is sunny, bright and pretty cold. We leave for Destin this am and will join friends for our Ethiopia Friends Reunion. What a great time to see everyone after 40 years!

On The Road to Florida

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All! The Fox and I are once again on the road. We left La Veta on the 27th of December for a long trip to Fort Myers, FL. The first stop was Dumas where the Ding Dong Daddys live (what is a DDDaddy anyway????). The name doesn't conjure up a pretty picture. That aside, they have a substandard City Park with a dump, water and. . . . get this, FREE electricity!! Whoa Baby! I pulled right in there for the night and paid no mind to the teens gathered for Monday night Happy Hour. Spent a cold evening but had a good sleep. As I get older it gets more and more difficult to drive for long periods. I had wanted to make it to Amarillo, but alas, my body said no.

On Tuesday we continued our journey to McKinney to visit my good friend, Jill. Now that was a long haul, 406 miles. When I stopped in to get gas I could tell I was once again in the land of "yes mams". I'm not sure I know how to spell "mam" it must come from madame or madam, however it is spelled. Uh Oh, I hear rain on the Casita, now what a surprise since I'm almost to Houston and it should be warm and sunny. But then this is the result of Global Warming or El Nino, or El Ninja, or however you spell those weather events. Now you know my secret of poor spelling.

I love the "Mams"! Said in a lovely twang. Oh, The Country Legends radio show is one (it's on all day). What's not to love. "Make the World go Away", Hey Good Look'n and such greats as "Luckenbach (there's a spelling stretch for ya) Texas" Gotta Love It! And I do, can't get enough of these great songs like Patsy Cline's "Crazy" just the best!

We spent 5 days at Jill's. She has two foreign exchange students with her, Ingrid from Germany and Sascha from France. Such cuties and I got to practice my German. Amazing how quickly it comes back. Not much came back, but a little. Jill has three Italian Greyhounds that are so cute. They are very small and all wear coats so they won't get cold. They drove Fox crazy with their humping attempts. I've never seen such horny dogs. Jill and I got a chance to visit and remember old times, some I dare not repeat here. She is living in one of those I wish I hadn't gotten married marriages. Sad.

I left Jill's on Sunday for Livingston, TX where Escapee Hdqs and RV park is located. I am spending 2 days here getting a feel for the place. The park is nice but not close to a golf course or hiking. I don't get the impression many of the folks here are very active, not with bingo on the activities list. Ah well, on to St. Martinville on the morrow to visit the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline Historic Park. I fell in love with the epic poem sometime in high school and have never forgotten it. She and her love, Gabriel, were separated when the British stormed the Acadians out of Nova Scotia. Many Acadians ended up around St. Martinville. Poor Evangeline looked for her love the rest of her life. Of course, she found him dying on the battlefield as she helped the other wounded soldiers. You kknow how it is, they got to talking as she wrapped the bandages. . . Oh, where are you from? Really, Acadia???

Lew & Clark Rolling Rally Campsites

OK, Here it is, hope you can make some sense out of this.



LEWIS & CLARK ROLLING RALLY
Tentative Schedule and Campsites

The prices listed here are regular prices, however, many parks accept Golden Age (GA) passes for additional discounts. All parks have flush toilets, dump stations and showers unless otherwise noted. When reservations are available phone numbers are included. Most people will want to see the sights in St. Louis prior to departing on or about June 15th. The entire trip will take approximately 34 days not including your trip home. As said before, all are invited to start at any point along the journey or come along for the entire ride. Getting home is up to the individual. Nothing is set in stone so please feel free to comment and/or suggest changes. The mileage stated for each site is the distance to the next campsite. These distances are approximate but as close as I could figure. I will not list points of interest on this document. Suffice it to say they are numerous and we shouldn’t lack for interesting “stuff “ to do or places to see. When possible I have chosen campsites on the river so those of us who wish can try out our nautical skills.


1. Babler Memorial State Park, MO The rally begins just a few miles west of St. Louis at Babler. The park has 41 E sites at $21. GA 800-334-6946. 2 night weekend
178.8 mi

2. ARROW Rock S.P., MO 34 sites at $21 E GA 800-334-6946
143.3

3. Lewis & Clark SP, MO 62 sites at $21 E GA 800-334-6946
221 mi

4. Lake Manawa State Park, IA Council Bluffs 37 E sites $14-$16
153mi

5. Lewis & Clark SRA, Cottonwood Garvins Pt., NE 77 E sites at $14 402-388-4169
201mi

6. West Whitlock Rec Area, SD 103 E sites at $14 Res 800-710-2267
170mi

7. Sakakawea Lake, Garrison Dam Downstream,ND 101 E sites at $16 701-654-7411
155mi

8. Lewis & Clark SP, ND 80 E sites at $20
161mi

9. Downstream, Ft. Peck, MT 73 E sites $16 Res 406-526-3224
168mi

10. James Kipp Rec Area, MT 34 sites $15 or GA $10 No hookups. Vaulted toilet; Shuttle for floaters. BLM This is the natural, way it was in 1804, Missouri River near the Missouri Breaks.
143mi

From the Kipp Rec Area I have plotted 2 routes that could be taken. The first continues in the Missouri Breaks region to Coal Banks Landing. There are no hookups at Kipp or Coal Banks. There may be some of us who require electric hookups. In that case, we can go to Havre and stay in a commercial park. There is also a county park, Beaver Creek, 20 mi south of Havre, but no hookups. As I said before, none of this is cast in stone and after input from everyone I’ll have a better idea of which route to pursue. I have listed the possibilities below.

11. Coal Banks Landing Rec Area No hookups or stay somewhere at Ft. Benton with elec.
Kipp to Coal Banks 143 mi.

12. Havre, MT Evergreen Campground E sites at $25
Kipp to Havre 98mi

13. Beaver Creek Park, 20 mi south of Havre, no hookups
Kipp to BC, 110mi

There isn’t much from Havre to Black Sandy in the way of public campgrounds. However, we will certainly want to take a look at Ft Benton and Great Falls. From Havre to Black Sandy it is approx. 204mi.

14. Black Sandy State Park, MT No hookups, $15, dump, toilet on Hauser Lake Helena 406-495-3270, Res? 86.6 mi to Caverns

This is a relatively short distance but Caverns does have E and a chance to stock up. Also, it gives us time to visit Missouri Headwaters State Park.

15. Lewis & Clark Caverns, Whithall, MT 40 E sites at $15. 406-287-3541
To Lolo 155 mi

16. Lolo/Missoula? Wal-Mart or?? TBD There are 2 resorts we can try at Lolo.
175 mi to Dent.

17. Dent Acres, ID Orofino 50 E sites at $16 Reserve America 1-877-444-6777, PK 208-476-1261, 188mi to Hood.

18. Hood Park Campground, Pasco, WA 69 sites E, $18 RA 877-444-6777, PK 509-547-2048,
Hood to Mary 118mi

19. Mary Hill State Park, WA 50 E sites at $27
Mary to Ft Stevens 188mi

20. Ft. Stevens, Astoria, Ore Lots of E sites at $27 This is the last stop and Cape Disappointment is very close (day trip). Stay as long as you want and rest up for the trip home.

On To Gallup

I convinced my fellow travelers to stop at Acoma Pueblo on the way to Gallup. Acoma is the oldest continually inhabited pueblo in North America (2,000 yrs). Commonly referred to as sky city it is set upon a mesa jutting up 375 ft from the valley floor. A really beautiful place to see. Since I had been there before I didn't take any pictures, sorry about that. If you are ever in this part of NM it is a must see.

We camped that night in the Cibillo National Forest, a much needed break from the KOA. A lovely relaxing evening. Pete entertained us with a flute concert. Both Native American and Celtic music. We had a huge campfire and ate brats that Maureen fixed. I must say that I was so tired from the day that I could hardly keep my eyes open. Foxy and Pete's pup, Oscar, had a high old time playing ball together. What a pair. They both needed to run off a little excess energy.

The next morning I had to leave the group and head home. Truly, I will miss them, such a lovely group of people and I enjoyed traveling with them so much. I really hated to leave. But. . . since I had to be at another Casita Rally at Cheyenne Mt. State Park on Friday, it was time to say good by.

The Fox and I drove to Shiprock then turned right and headed into Chama. I wanted to make it all the way to LaVeta but was much too tired so we stopped at a camp by the river and rested for the night. When we pulled into La Veta the next day we stopped for the mail, milk at Charlie's and took off for home. My first job when I walked in the door was to lie down and nap for 2 yrs. Then I got up to do wash and get ready to leave the next morning. Thurs night is always Taco night at Sammie's so Deb and Larry picked me up (didn't want to unhook the Casita) and we went to dinner. Wow, what a trip! Great fun and great people.

A Few Pictures

Moving on to Albuquerque

I am so tired when the day ends that I don't have much energy left to blog. Maybe I can catch up some. On the way out of Amarillo we had to stop at Cadillac Ranch. . . old cars with fins buried half-way in the ground. This is the work of Stanley Marsh who has a ranch in Amarillo and is somewhat famous for his "doings" in the '60s. The cars are located on old route 66 west. I remember when Stanley had them on his ranch and they weren't covered with graffiti, they were kinda neat then. But, it's worth the look see if you're in Amarillo.

Take a look at the Bates Motel sign. Gotta a laugh out of that. Moving on at a turtle's pace we stopped at the midway point of route 66. A great little cafe with the best pie ever, despite the ugly crust. I had pecan to go. Further down the road about 40 min we stopped for ice cream. I had pecan praline and put it on top of my pie for lunch. Oh wow, was that the best. Our group is so lay-back and friendly, we take it slow and make lots of stops for fun and photo opps. The plan is to stay on old 66 as much as possible and when we can't, get back on the freeway. I was happy to get to Albuquerque, set up camp and kick back for awhile.

Next day four of us went to old town to shop and have lunch. On the way down Route 66 we stopped and took pics of old motels and scenic spots. I have so many memories of that time in 1960 after I graduated from high school and the family took 66 to CA. A new gal joined us, Carol, from Sholow, AZ. She is my age and a solo traveler. Great gal and she drove us down to old town. We had a super New Mexican lunch in a lovely courtyard. The food was great. While we were eating another gal joined us. That made me, Carol, Gloria (Washington state), Diane (N Carolina) and Maureen (Indiana). After leaving Old Town we just had to find a Route 66 Diner and Malt shop. Oh yes, we all sat at the bar in the diner and had malts. Oh boy was mine the best.

We planned to leave Albu early the next day so we could stop at Acoma Pueblo on the way to Gallup, NM.