Adventures at Monument Valley and Arches - Beware - lots of pictures!

Nacho here, reporting in.....it has been a very trying two days in my opinion. 

Tuesday
After a fairly early start, thanks to KT and I, for getting Mom and Dad out of bed, we pulled out of Durango by 8:30 and after a pleasant drive of 4 1/2 hours, we arrived at Goulding's Landing at Monument Valley.  Gee was it hot!!!  102 degrees!!!  We needed to get out and walk for a bit, but KT was ohhing and ahhhing and picking her toes up due to hot rocks!!!  It was a very short walk, just to give us some relief.  Dad and Mom got the campsite and Airstream set up in our site quickly, while we stayed cool in the air conditioned trailer.  What a good thing!

Then we headed over to Monument Valley which is owned by the Navajo Tribal Nation.  Dad's Senior National pass didn't work here, just like it didn't work at Four Corners earlier in the day as it also was on Tribal land owned by the Ute Tribe.

Dad decided and Mom agreed (we didn't get to voice an opinion) that we would take the 17 mile road through the valley.  KT and I felt like we were on an extremely rough roller coaster (whatever that is) and Mom looked like a bobble head doll bouncing around in the front seat while Dad drove.  It was extremely bumping, uneven, boulders and rock and lots of sand over every inch of the road.   Mom said this was truly an off road 4-wheeling experience. 

 

Entry to Monument Valley

 

KT looking out over the valley

 



 

The extremely rough road and this is a "good" section. 

 

Now for some awesome views, be prepared for quite a few.   :)

 

 

 

 

After this, we headed back to camp and Mom fixed supper and we went to bed early, but not until we had to have ANOTHER bath because everywhere we walked, we were covered in red sand!  Dad took us hiking on a trail while Mom fixed supper and boy, did we get covered, I was a black dog with a red outer coat.  Ugh!!!  (We had just had a bath because we were covered in blowing sand from Santa Fe!!!)

 

We were exhausted after being shaken up so much, we went to sleep quickly!!!  Besides Mom and Dad said we were getting up at 4 a.m. to go watch the sun rise over the Mittens. 

 

 

Wednesday

 

Nacho here again; KT and I couldn't believe how early we had to get up, gee I usually start to wake them up about 5:15 (I'm still on Central time), but Mom says I have to stay in bed until at least 6:30.  But today she woke us up at 4 a.m.!!!!!  That was way to early.  We crawled in our bed in the truck and went right back to sleep.  :)

 



So here are some early morning pictures of the right and left Mittens as the sun is coming up.  



 

Mom said that are lots more pictures if anyone wants to see them. 

 

So after a nice breakfast and packing up the trailer we were on the road by a bit past 8 a.m. again this morning.  Dad said these early mornings are great!!! 

 

Well, after passing through Mexican Hat, UT, I alerted Mom and Dad to a horrible whooshing noise!!!  We had blown the rear driver side tire!  It was as flat as a pancake!!!! We were stranded on the road (no place to pull off) and in the middle of no where.  Mom got on the phone or attempted to because we barely had any reception for the phones.  After numerous attempts, she was finally connected to someone in the Utah office for AAA.  (She said the money we spend for membership is worth it).  Bad news was, because of where we were located, it would be at least an hour for a tow truck to get to us.  The closet town with a tow truck was 60 miles away!!!!

 

While Mom was attempting to reach AAA and tell them where we were (thanks to the GPS feature on Dad's Garmin), Dad was setting up a orange triangle behind the trailer....hmmm what is that thing?  Also, starting to get his tools and stuff out of the back seat. 

 

While Dad was preparing to get the tools out and get to the spare tire, a Bureau of Land Management Ranger, by the name of Bill Story drove up with his lights flashing.  Boy,  that set me off!!!  Mom didn't appreciate my alarm though....sheesh.  Dad told him who Mom was attempting to reach, and Ranger Story said to Dad, let's not wait for them, you and I can get this thing changed.  Well, it was really hot out there at 10:30 a.m. and already 84 degrees in the blazing sun, but with both of them under the truck, they got the spare out and the flat tire off the truck.  By then, Mom had reported it would be at least an hour, so Ranger Story said call them back and tell them to forget coming, we'll be done long before then.  And they were!!!   Yeah!!! It was really hot!!!!  So with thanks to Ranger Story we were on our way with a detour to Moab, UT which was the closet town with a store that could get Michelin tires like Dad wants.  They ordered them and they should be in by 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.  Dad thought this was working out great, because we would have the afternoon and evening to explore Arches National Park, which Dad thought we wouldn't have time to see.  

 

He said it was way to hot for us to go, so after they got us set up at camp with the air conditioning running on high, they left us in our kennel to catch up on our beauty sleep while they went exploring at Arches. 

 

Here's some pictures from Arches and Mom said there are more for anyone interested.  :)

 

 

 

After two more walks with Dad, we ate supper and now I'm working on this blog.   I'm exhausted, it's 11 p.m. and we've had a very eventful day.   Check back soon!!!

 

Kisses, Nacho

 



 



 

On our way again

Our time in Santa Fe was enjoyable as we got to know other members of the 4CU of WBBCI.  The campground was on a hill over looking the valley and therefore, it was quite windy each day.  Usually about 7 or 8 pm  the winds would die down enough that we could sit outside on our patio and enjoy the view, the town lights sparkling below.  It was really dark up there.  

Friday we went to visit a bronze foundry that I had found on Trip Advisor. It wasn't too bad of a drive, just about 10-12 miles and was entertaining for a couple hours.  Dave enjoyed talking to the employees and they were interested in his background.  He spoke their language.  The had a larger than life size figure of a horse and rider that is being finished and then will ship to Oklahoma. 

 

They also had a figure of a lion for a zoo that they were finishing up.

This gentleman is responsible for all the bases, pedestals, packing and shipping that is prepared for every item that is sent out.  Here is a small replica of the large statue that he is preparing to ship.

 

Here are a few other pieces from the foundry.

 



 

Saturday was a lazy day around the campground, doing some chores, and just visiting with people.   Each evening we had a potluck and they served breakfast each day also.  Dave said their biscuits and gravy with green chilies were really good.  We had a Taco bar one night, BBQ brisket another and another potluck.  Lots of good cooks in this unit.  :)

 

Sunday we went to the local flea market where Dave found a huge assortment of petrified trees.  The man that had them for sale said they were all taken from his land.  We found one piece we would have loved to have for the front yard at the new house.  Problem is it probably weighed in at over 2000 lbs!!!   We settled for a piece that was about 30 lbs.   He had some beautiful pieces with great colors.   It was very interesting walking around them all and trying to choose.  :)

 

Then we went back to the campground and I did laundry, oh so fun....... yeah right!  Anyway, the restrooms and laundry at this facility are immaculate and very nice, so doing it wasn't so bad.

 

This morning, Monday, we packed up and headed to Durango, CO via Chama, NM and Pagosa Spring, CO.  Just stopping over to break up the drive to Monument Valley, UT which will be another four hours after we leave Durango.  It took a bit over four hours to get here. We stopped for a lunch break at a small lake at the base of Chimney Rock National Monument.

 



 





 

I'm sure I'll have lots more picture the next few days as we visit John Wayne's stomping grounds at Monument Valley.   :)  

 

Talk to you soon!!!

Quilting in Santa Fe

We arrived yesterday at about 4:30 and got set-up in our site; I need to get a picture of it and post, will do that later.   Nacho is lying by my side, too tired out from all the fun he has had today, running in the dog park and meeting other Airstreamer dogs.  So far, I believe he has met 7 new friends.   :)

Here is the entrance to the Santa Fe Skies RV Park, it is a very nice campground, well maintained though typical desert soil and landscaping.  We are told they have only had about 1 1/2 inches of rain in the last year, so everything is very dry.  We told them we were bringing Iowa rain with us and it has been sprinkling this evening.   This park sits on a hill above the valley and it is very windy!  I think it is worse than Iowa!

They have a collection of old implements from the original ranch that was on this property.  Here is a very old John Deere.

 

 So after spending the morning walking around the park and meeting the other early arrivals and exercising the dogs, we went to the Plaza in Santa Fe to explore a bit and to see the quilt show at the State capital rotunda.  One of our fellow Airstreamers from the 4CU actually has three quilts on display.  Once a year they have an artistic quilt display and it was amazing.  Here are three of Rod's quilts that were displayed this year.  I'm including some of the detail work on one of them, it's beautiful. 

 

 Below are a few of the other quilts on display.  They were just beautiful!!!

 

 

 

 After strolling around the Capital and admiring the talent on display, we were quite hungry so walked down to the Plaza to find a place for a bite to eat.   Along the way we passed the oldest house in the western United States. 

 

 

We found a restaurant with outdoor seating on the balcony overlooking the square.   It was pleasant to sit and people watch and enjoy our salads. 

 

After relaxing on the balcony, we headed back to the RV park to see how many more Airstreams had pulled in.  They are expecting about 27-29. Some people are backing out because they have heard of the fires in the mountains southwest of Santa Fe.  We aren't affected by it at all but the sunset had some neat coloring tonight. 

We meet about 4:30 this afternoon to have an ice breaker for the early arrivals (the rest are supposed to arrive tomorrow) and discuss going to dinner as a group.    So about 6:15 we all met at the entranced and caravanned to the Picos Trail Inn for dinner.  As we came out the sun was setting and the colors were beautiful.

 

This is the view behind our Airstream at the park.

We had an enjoyable day, met some interesting people and observed a bit of artistic beauty.

 

Guymon, OK - Corral Drive In Theater and RV Park

Nacho here, I told Mom that it is my blog, so I should get to do the blog once in a while!!! 

Tuesday 

It was a really long day from Eagleville, MO to Guymon, OK.  We only stopped to get gas and take a short walk!   Mom says we were trucking it, whatever that means.  We passed through the Kansas Flint Hills and saw lots of cows.   I sure like looking at them.  I bet I could round them up too.  :)

While Mom drove, Dad did research on places to stay tonight (I think he likes his new iPhone and using Mom's iPad).   Anyway, he found an RV park that was just constructed this last year out of an old drive-in movie theater.  And they still show movies on the weekends!  Dad wishes we could stay (almost) because they are showing "Fast & Furious 6 and the new Star Trek movie".  We could sit outside the Airstream and watch the movies.  How cool is that?  The owner is also a big John Deere fan as he got a used tractor from a friend, and used it to grade the whole campground, AND it is very level.  Go John Deere! 

Now there is a big storm blowing in and our trailer is rocking!!  Mom doesn't like this at all!   Temps were 92 when we arrived and they have dropped to 84 degrees in the last 1 1/2 hours.  Severe thunderstorm with ping pong ball hail and 70mph winds!   Signing off!! Pictures and more later! 

Wednesday

Nacho here again.  It was a late night because Mom didn't want to go to bed until the storm passed which was about 11:30!  I snuggled up close to Dad because he was laying in bed watching the storm while Mom paced from window to window. 

We slept late and then ran an errand, so it was 11:30 when we left Guymom, OK.  We followed the Santa Fe Trail for most of the way to Santa Fe.   Here we are taking a quick break at a rest stop at the bottom of the Rockies.

We arrived at Santa Fe Skies RV park about 4:30 MT time.   It's a nice park with pleasant views, but boy is it windy out!    

Well signing off until tomorrow. 

Kisses.....slurp, slurp!

Nacho 

On the way

So after spending the morning taking care of some last minute details, we pulled out about 12:40 pm.   We originally thought we would make it south of Kansas City, KS but since I didn't sleep well last night, we decided to stop about 5 pm.  After searching, using the handy RV campgrounds apps that I have on the iPad, we decided on Eagle Ridge campground in Eagleville, MO.  It is very small, but clean and nicely maintained.  It overlooks some rolling hills and a small pond.  

We pulled into the campground and went inside to check in; we were gone max 5-6 minutes and came in and found KT had unzipped my purse and was gorging on garb mix with raisins, peanuts, sunflowers and M&Ms!  None of which she should have, so I'll be keeping a close eye on her tonight!  

After getting set up, taking the dogs for a walk down by the pond, we came back and I fixed bacon and blueberry pancakes with rhubarb sauce for supper.  Dave LOVES blueberry pancakes so he was tickled to get them our first night out.   :)

Well that's it for now, just going to relax and go to bed early.  More tomorrow.  :)

Santa Fe or bust!

Roof leak fixed - check

New door handle and lock - check

House shown - check, though no offer, but they liked it a lot. 

Loading Airstream - in progress

Meeting with banker - scheduled

We are moving forward and on schedule for lift off on Monday afternoon.   Yeah!  Tentative first night at Hillsdale State park in Kansas.  

Big shout out to Ryan at RV Revive for keeping us on track and rescuing us once again!   Without his experience and ingenuity, we would not be leaving on time. On Friday he diagnosed and repaired the roof leak.  Then when the new Lock kit from Inland RV in CA arrived Friday afternoon,  Ryan still had us done by Saturday afternoon.  The kit had poor instructions, but with Ryan's knowledge it was installed correctly and we have a much better handle and a more secure lock.   Big thanks Ryan!!!!!!

Very disappointed with Inland RV, we asked them to ship it so we would receive it quickly, but it did not arrive until Friday afternoon, (they said it would arrive by Wednesday) it arrived with a scratch all across the top of plate for the handle, and they didn't return our old one.  If we hadn't overnighted the original to them, we probably would still be waiting.  Considering we overnighted to them the original a week ago Thursday, so they could repair or send a new kit, their service did not live up to what we had been told. 

So another thanks to Ryan for his super quick service! 

Nice handle, too bad about the big scratch!

Dave also had mud flaps installed on the truck to protect the Airstream from road debris.  Nice work by  Custom Blacksmithing in Waterloo. 

Sharp looking, right?   :)  Stay tuned........