LABOR DAY and waiting

Labor Day 2009- Labor Day? You say. Yes. I have been remiss and have not posted. We camped in the woods of Northern Arizona near Gooseberry Springs. We took a drive, followed by a hike to an old fire lookout tower where Caleb found a pump that still worked to provide water for the dogs.

Although we couldn't get into the observation room, we were able to climb up very high...

for some spectacular views.

Truth is, there's definitely a letdown after being on the road. And although we are blessed to have jobs and head out once in a while, the gypsy spirit yearns to be going down the road. Perhaps my old cayuse (horse) Talmir is feeling the same way. He's 26 now and has learned to open the gate to the corral. Of course the other horse follows, and Tal trots down the road to a nearby ranch to see what those horses are up to. Now our follower, Drifter, allows himself to be haltered when we catch up and he dawdles on the lead line home. But not my Arab- oh no there is no catching him when he runs free. Luckily he decides eventually to start running home, so we follow and warn fellow drivers rushing home from the mad dash called Life. (Don't be alarmed, this is NOT a busy road!) So I am much like my aging horse and desire to open the gate and run free.

We had thought about running free this week, as I have a week off of school for a Fall Break. But, not all of us have the time off. So we are at home. This is the time of year the snowbirds start flocking but we wait for the next opportunity to open the gate!

Stucco & Sticks - Arizona

A view down I-25...
The road from New Mexico into Arizona brought lots of familiar desert scenery.
Once again we had two beautiful driving days. Yesterday we moved south from Las Vegas, New Mexico and turned west at Albuquerque to head towards Arizona.
We stopped for the night at the Meteor Crater RV Park outside of Winslow to allow for an easy drive home this morning.
The Arizona sign welcomed us to our home state as the thermometer in the truck crept up. But it was still in double digits which is always good news in the summer.

We drove a short 120 miles to our stucco and sticks today, arriving early enough to beat the heat. We were on the road by 8:15 AM. Why? Because Arizona is on Mountain time and we were still operating on Central time. :-)

Here's some stats from our summer excursion:
nights on the road = 34 nights
miles traveled = 6483 miles
Average nightly cost = $25
gas cost = well, I didn't get that figured out yet, but in general we were seeing prices of about $2.55 per gallon

Caleb had a hard time last night realizing our vacation in the trailer was ending. So we all promised to camp once per month and geocache at least once per week. So stay tuned... our next adventure won't be very far away!

New Mexico- The Land of Enchantment

Tonight we are in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment. It was a beautiful driving day with clouds scattered across the sky, raining in the distant mountains, yet sunny over the road. My picture finger has been asleep the last two days, so no pictures of that... sorry. When I realized I needed some pictures to show you, I ran outside to get a shot of our site at the Las Vegas, New Mexico KOA. As you can see, the sun was already going down! We've been driving towards our Arizona home since leaving Custer State Park on Tuesday morning. We drove the red roads from Custer, South Dakota down into Colorado. When we pulled into where I thought we would spend the night in Sterling, Colorado... it did not give us the good camper vibe, so we continued down the road. There was one year when I always made reservations, but now I don't. I usually have a plan A and a plan B, because we never know just exactly where we will get to. It has always worked out without reservations, so I don't worry about that anymore. We just need to be more careful if it's a weekend or a holiday. So anyways, we continued down the road to Brush!, Colorado. No, my finger didn't slip... all the city signs seem to have exclamation points. There is a free municipal campground next to a city park that has electric and water. Aside from the teenagers who hung out nearby with their thumping music for about an hour, this was a good overnight spot. The spaces are parallel along the side of the pavement with the electrical and water hook-ups. Can't complain for free! There is a playground at the adjoining park as well as their city pool. We were on the road early this morning... 8:30! Usually we are on the road by 9:30 or 10, so you can see we really downed our java quick this morning. I can also recommend this KOA. I know KOA's vary widely in quality and cost. This one is reasonable and has a nice Pinon Pine wooded feel.

Tomorrow we will drive the blue roads. Yep, back to the interstates. It will be a nice change from the red roads and we're almost home. We love to be on the road, but when we know our final "fun" stop is over and we're on the way home, we just try to get there. We drove about 380 miles today and will do the same tomorrow to venture into our home state of Arizona. We probably have one more night on the road ... maybe we'll be "standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona".

Bison, Pronghorn, Deer and Donkeys- Oh my! (Custer)

We found the Buffalo! What an awesome sight seeing these huge animals ... up close! I made sure my window was up, not that that would help too much. We have enjoyed our stay here at Custer State Park. Chris celebrated his birthday yesterday with a bumbleberry pie from a wonderful local pie and ice cream shop. That was after he and Caleb went on a 6 mile bike ride through the park and on the Mickelson Trail.
We made sure that our hike today was far from any buffalo. We hiked part of the way up the Devil's Tower Trail.
While hiking we saw beautiful wildflowers and butterflies!
We climbed up the fire lookout tower this afternoon for a panoramic view of the area before proceeding through the wildlife loop.... where we saw Pronghorn- not Antelope. We also saw more burros, some young bucks and does, and a lone Bull Bison.
Tomorrow we have to say good-bye to Custer State Park and start making our way towards Arizona. This was our last multi-day stop for the trip with several travel days ahead of us. Every year since we've traveled with the 5th wheel, we've made a stop in the Black Hills. This is a majestic area full of beauty and great history! I'm sure we'll be back again! :-)

Wildlife where? (Custer State Park)

This beautiful spot is our location for the next couple days in Custer State Park at the Stockade South campground. Why is it that a 35' rig doesn't look so big until you pull into a spot like this? Our excellent driver got us positioned beautifully as I guided with the walkie-talkies.
The CCC built the Stockade Lake and this is the stream past the dam for the lake.
Stockade lake has a variety of fish and we saw several boats on the water. But we did neither of those activities today... we were on the hunt for Bison!
Here is another view of Stockade Lake... the bikes are out and Caleb has been riding up and down the hills of the campground.
Off to the Wildlife Loop Road we went in search of Bison. But, they happened to be hiding from El Tourista at this time of day. So at the recommendation of a park employee we took the dirt road just past the airport. Although there seemed to be little wildlife on that road as well, it was a beautiful drive with not another car in sight. We did see this little buck who seemed surprised to see us!

Watch Out for the Giant Deer! (Enchanted Highway)

Yesterday's drive along I-94 enticed us with a piece of the Enchanted Highway. Geese In Flight (above) sits on the highway to beckon you to the "little road". Now the geese didn't thrill me because anyone who knows me well knows that I DON'T like birds.
So we were off to the Enchanted Highway... The highway has an interesting history. Gary Greff, who lives in the small town of Regent and worked in the school system, didn't want his town to disappear off the map. So in an effort to bring more people to the town, he started making sculptures to put along the highway.
Watch Out! Giant deer are leaping towards the road! We watched farmers along the roadway baling hay. The rolling hills were covered with green and yellow and purple from the crops.
Now I asked the driver to stop at one of the sculptures for some "more than drive-by" pictures. The dogs were thinking they definitely needed to sniff one of those structures. So where did the gang choose to stop? Yes! At the pheasants! OK so the sculptures are great... but with my disdain for birds why not stop at the deer, or the fish?! With Caleb standing under the beak of a baby pheasant, that will give you an idea just how big this roadside art is.
Theodore Roosevelt rides again! Of course, I didn't include all the pictures so that you can drive this little stretch of roadway yourselves. But Theodore Roosevelt was so instrumental in the creation of our national park system that he needed a pictorial.

We had a long driving day with 7 hours in the truck. In my RV-Park Reviews browsing I remembered the names of a few well rated parks when the first one I called was full. So we went down the road a few more miles to the Sturgis area and stayed at No Name City RV Park. Water and electric for $16 a night with a nice pool for Caleb to swim in. Granted it is by the highway so there is the constant drone of traffic, but we wanted an easy access to the freeway stop. Because today we have a short drive to Custer State Park! We will be staying there for 3 nights, so the grill and the lounge chairs will come out of storage!

History Comes Alive- Ft. Abraham Lincoln State Park (Mandan, ND)

If you've ever seen Night at the Museum, you know that history really does come alive! At Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park in Mandan, North Dakota, the year 1875 lives and breathes. The photo above is a recreation of General Custer's home while here at the fort. Tours of his home are conducted by interpreters in period dress, set back in time to 1875, retold in first person narrative. So don't answer that ringing in your pocket, because there was no such thing back then. Caleb and Chris explored the fort on their bikes and left me home to rest with the dogs. They visited the barracks and Caleb thinks that looks like a great place for a summer camp!

Also on the grounds is the On-A-Slant Indian Village. The Mandan Indians occupied this area at a much different time than General Custer, however.
A view across the grassy field reveals our site... for $20 a night with water and electric. Here is the entrance gate conversation on a Thursday afternoon...
Gate attendant: Do you have a reservation?
Chris: No.
Gate attendant: Well... I only have primitive sites.
Chris: That's fine.
Gate attendant: How long will you be staying?
Chris: 1 night
Gate attendant: OH! Well then I can put you in a reserved site for the night.

Magically sites appeared and we were able to get a site with water and electric. There are Pioneer activities at the park this weekend and many nearby residents are descending upon the park for the weekend fun.
This park sits on the confluence of the Heart and Missouri Rivers. They flooded earlier this Spring and flooded the park... but there is no evidence to be seen of the flood waters! The park looks great!

We are on our way to the Enchanted Highway today to make our way to South Dakota!

The Magical Number 9!

Happy 9th Birthday Caleb! 9 is a magical number! His birthday is on July 12th. He decorated his own Chocolate cake and lit his own candles! And ate 3 pieces of cake :-)
We've had a few windy days, but enough nice days for some dock jumping.
The Bald Eagles decided they would be only slightly camera shy...
and posed for a shot. This is an adult and juvenile eating fish guts.
What is that zooming by? You guessed it! Caleb was tubing again. (You can click on any picture for a larger image.)

We have enjoyed our stay in Canada this year and will start our journey back to the USA on Wednesday. Our plan is to stop once again in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. That makes for a good first day and shopping opportunities to refill our refrigerator and pantry. From there we will probably meander across North Dakota. I'm looking at Fort Lincoln State Park near Bismarck. Then we may take a gander at the Enchanted Highway on our way to South Dakota. We are scheduled to be in Custer State Park in the Black Hills of South Dakota on the 18th.

Until next time...safe travels!

Lake of the Woods Beauty

This is a glimpse from the dock of the island looking down the channel on a beautiful day! We've had sunshine and temps in the low 70's. The water has been warming up too, although I'm trusting Caleb and the thermometer for that information... I haven't been brave enough to try it out for myself.
This is looking to one's left off the dock on the same sunny day! A single loon has been hanging around this area, offering it's lonely call every once in a while. The guys went Walleye fishing and brought home dinner, so we also fed the guts to the Bald Eagles. There is one adult and one juvenile, but they were camera shy.
I cropped a little so you could see mama deer with her two fawns. They come to munch on the tall grass growing on the water's edge across the bay from the doc. So now, you've looked to the right, left, and straight across! I will utter the call of one of my blogging friends Sandra....here Moosey, Moosey...for we haven't seen a moose yet. And we may have to make a trip to the dump to see our black bears...I haven't heard the garbage dumpsters being shaken here at the campground in the middle of the night.
Oh wait! This guy came into my lens speeding through the channel behind Grampa's boat! He said, "A tubing a day keeps a kid happy all day!" Our German Shepherd, Russel, decided the other night that it looked like a lot of fun! So he ran around the boat house, out of my view, and set out to join Caleb. As the boat came around the corner, I looked up and saw the boat, Caleb tubing and a German Shepherd swimming furiously towards the action! The boat had to come to a rapid halt to get Russel to come to shore. He did sleep well that night! And I now have to be much more vigilant about our doggy spectators.

We've hiked on a friend's island, the guys have been fishing...Oh! Chris caught the elusive Muskie, (although mysteriously there is no picture), we've been having our fill of homemade dessert, playing Mexican Train Dominoes, and working on a few "projects". Until next time... stay safe!

The Lake is Chilly!- Sioux Narrows, Ontario, Canada

We arrived in Canada on July 2nd and Caleb helped catch this 21 inch Walleye the very next day! Duke the Golden Retriever is impressed and thinks he could help out with the fish cleaning. Caleb ventured out with Grandma and Grampa for a fishing & shore lunch outing. He got to have all the fun while Chris and I drove back to Baudette, MN. Our RV part, shipped USPS Priority mail, was not at the post office when it was supposed to be... so a day late and another day driving. But all was not lost, as we decided it was a wilderness drive. We saw deer contemplating crossing the road, momma marmot with her young-uns scurrying off the road, a red fox giving us the cold shoulder, and a bald eagle sitting atop its nest surveying the roadway. Chris got the new converter installed and it works great!
Duke decided if Caleb caught such a big fish then he could too. He circled for hours upon hours not tiring to catch the elusive bass. Even though he has mastered the dog snorkel technique (which is blowing air out his nose so he can stick his whole face underwater), he hasn't come up with a fish yet.
The shepherds think fetching a water toy is more fun than fishing for bass. Caleb tends to agree that jumping in is just more fun! It did take a bit to get used to the water, though... it is only 65 degrees on the surface! We got the two thumbs up from Caleb that the water was A-OK for swimming!

There is something about the clear Canadian lake water that lures one in... even when it is a bit chilly.

Red River State Park- East Grand Forks, Minnesota

OK- so here's a few more pictures of the Wylie Park Campground...
We biked around the park searching for geocaches. We searched for 3 and found 3! The first one was fooling us with some GPS bounce, and then the mosquito armies tried to attack Caleb and I ... so we had to run back to the safety of the bike path. Chris fought off the swarms and found the first one for us! The next two caches were micros, which are always a bit tricky. The last one we found Caleb is holding between his fingers. That's how small this magnetic micro cache is!
Here is a picture of Wylie Lake... how nice of them to give us our own lake! We saw a few pike being pulled out of the water, but we didn't have time to get out our poles.
With this gigantic American flag in the center, each state's flag lines the sidewalk. What a great country we live in, and an early Happy 4th of July to all of our friends and family!
Tuesday and Wednesday night brought us to Red River State Park in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Cost per night: $24 +$5 daily vehicle fee. We can see North Dakota over the river from our campsite. This is a hidden gem of a park just a short 2 miles from I-29. According to the information, this campground is located where many of the 560 homes that were destroyed in East Grand Forks in the 1997 flood were once located. The property was redesigned as a state park and recreation area. They are currently adding more sites to the property. The Red River is very high and many of the trees are in the water. According to the weather station, we are still under a flood watch until the river crests. This is a great stop to take advantage of the many services in the greater Grand Forks area.... we got the oil changed in the truck along with the fuel filter and made a Super Target stop to reload our grocery supply. Caleb is having a great time at this park playing with some of the other children camped here.

Thursday we will head into Canada... stopping first in Baudette to pick up our new converter. Hopefully it will be at the post office waiting for us. Then we will cross the border and make our way into our campsite in Sioux Narrows. We will get be able to get out the loungers and relax... we plan on staying for two weeks!

Good News!- I paid for a day's worth of wi-fi at the Wylie Park Campground and was determined to get my new EnV3 phone tethered for internet. I searched and found a driver for my phone online. This may sound like an easy thing, but it is not "officially" known to be a driver that works... so even the technicians from Verizon weren't able to help me out. That's why the internet is so great! People who are tech wizards can tell the rest of us what to do! .... So I'm posting via my EnV3! However, I did find out in speaking with a Verizon representative, that I can't use this feature while in Canada even though I have the nationwide + Canada plan. Some of our friends do have the luxury of internet at their cabins, so I will try to make a blogpost.

We wish everyone a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Wylie Park- Aberdeen, South Dakota

Our journey on the red roads (color in the atlas) brought us to Aberdeen, South Dakota! The photo above is our site at Wylie Park Campground. With the spelling the same, I was sure the place was built just for us and we just didn't know it! But, they charged us just the same. $27 dollars a night basically gets you a theme park! They have paddleboats & canoes, Wizard's balloon ride, miniature train ride, Storybook Land, The Land of Oz, Lake and Beach, Carousel Rides, Miniature Golf, Bumper Boats, Zoo, Go Karts, and Bike Rentals. The facilities are excellent in the campground. This park is run by the city of Aberdeen... impressive.
Grammy- this picture is for you! Caleb is stalking the turkey and chicken that are wandering the cornfield behind him. They have lots of climbable structures at Storybook Land. There are paved bike paths that take you all around- even around the zoo. There are buffalo, elk, reindeer, prairie dogs, oh my! They also have a petting zoo. There are structures from lots of nursery rhymes all around the park.
This climbing wall was also there. The majority of the park is free entrance, but there are some activities that have an extra fee. Caleb was able to climb the wall twice for 2 bucks.
Monday was deemed water day! The Aberdeen Aquatic Center has an awesome pool equipped with water slides (raft slide, body flume slide, and enclosed body flume slide), leisure pool with kids play structure and splash zone, lazy river and large lap pool with 1 and 3 meter diving boards... $16.50 bought us a great day on the water!
The weather was ideal at 80 degrees. The water was refreshing. Caleb ventured to the high diving board. The first time, he got to the edge, looked down and backed down the ladder. But by the end of the afternoon, he was pleading to go "just one more time." I preferred the raft slide onto the lazy river myself.

5er news: Our WFCO converter is ready to give up the ghost. I'm pleased to pass along what a great company Best Converter RV Electrical Supplies is to work with! Randy was able to answer our questions and steer us the right direction. They will ship general delivery for us to pick up along our route. After checking with the local RV service companies, it was worth it to order.

Tomorrow we will head towards East Grand Forks, Minnesota. They were flooded earlier in the year, but are "open for business". So we will see how Red River State Park compares to the last time we were there. Then, on to Baudette to pick up our converter before crossing the border into Canada. We're sending good thoughts for warmer weather up on Lake of the Woods before we arrive! Caleb is in gear for swimming!