On the way home

Tuesday, Mar 19

Weather has never affected where we go or what we do on this trip, but today after looking at the forecast for Colorado, I decided we would be better off if we were on the Eastern side of the Continental Divide rather than the Western side.  The forecast for tomorrow is for rain, and at the elevations that we have to go (over 11,000 feet) to get over the Continental Divide, I thought it would be better if we got over today.

We sure hated not to be able to go to Canyonlands National Park.

It was a long intense day of mountain driving over winding and steep interstate highway.  Thankfully, all the snow we saw was on the mountains and roadsides, not in the road.

The canyons which Interstate 70 winds through are so narrow that the lanes have to be stacked on top of each other

Vail, Colorado - ski country

This is the highest elevation we've experienced on this trip - and it is really cold outside.

And tonight we are in a Walmart parking lot.  That's a first for this trip.  But we got over the Divide so late in the afternoon, we decided that all we are going to do tonight is eat supper and go to bed - so Walmart works.

It's interesting to note that this Walmart, like many other chain stores we've seen in some communities out West does not look like a Walmart.  It is built to community standards, not Walmart (or other chain stores) standards.  That is real nice to see.  It's such a shame that beautiful communities across America (and Beaufort specifically) do not have standards that require these chain stores to look like they are part of the community.

We did do a little shopping after we parked and got a movie to watch.

There's not really much we want to see between here and home, so the rest of the trip is probably going to be dead heading.  Just trying to get miles behind us.

We do plan to stop and spend a couple of days with Tony and Jill in Wichita, Kansas, then it's straight to Spruce Pine.

Wednesday, Mar 20

A pleasant days drive heading East all day.  The morning started with some steep downhill grades as we came out of the Rocky Mountains, but from then on, flat, flat and flatter.

We stopped late afternoon near Colby, Kansas - and we're beginning to enjoy the convenience of Walmart's parking lots.  When we park at Walmart, we can get all the supplies, pick up a movie at Redbox, enjoy a relaxing evening, get up early, run the generator without restriction, and roll.  And that's about all that's left of this wonderful journey - rolling East.

Thursday, Mar 21

A windy drive to Wichita and we arrive at Tony and Jill's.  We've parked the RV in their driveway, topped off the water in the motorhome, and connected electricity.  We're set for a few days of visiting and enjoying old friends.

Friday, Mar 22

I'm back into swimming and Clara's back into shopping.  There's a great YMCA near here and I took advantage of it to help get the kinks out.  Clara and Jill shopped all day.  I just don't see how they do it.  Tony and I went by Best Buy to see if they can fix a hum in the motorhome radio when we're using the auxiliary input.  They think they can and we've scheduled an appointment for tomorrow.  It's either fix the hum, or a new radio.  The hum really affects listening to books that we stream from my cell phone.

Saturday, Mar 23

Back to swimming and shopping. It's starting to snow this morning, but no significant accumulation is expected - just cold and damp.  Kind of reminds me of Beaufort in January and February.

And, the radio is fixed.  It took the guy at Best Buy about two minutes to diagnose the problem and correct it.  No more buzzing when listening to books.

Sunday, Mar 24

We awoke to a surprise!  5 inches of snow overnight - and cold.

Tony gets the snow blower out to clear the drive

Later in the morning, the roads were passable, so I went to the Y to swim.  We spent the afternoon watching some of the NCAA tournament and tonight we had Hal and Susie Martin over for Pizza and Beer.  They were stationed at Blytheville AFB at the same time we were.  They now live near Wichita.

Monday, Mar 25

We have a very frigid departure from Tony and Jill's and head South to Oklahoma to catch I-40.  Our preferred route through St. Louis doesn't look to good because of the snow.

Our third night at a Walmart near Ft. Smith Arkansas.

Tuesday, Mar 26

After a pleasant night (and two movies that weren't so pleasant), we get a good start on I-40 East, only to be caught in construction traffic (a bridge being replaced near Little Rock) and sit on the interstate for nearly 3 hours.  That has slowed our progress and tonight we're in another Walmart parking lot between Little Rock and Memphis.

Wednesday, Mar 27

Tonight we decided we wouldn't stay at a Walmart, and there are several state campgrounds near I-40.  We picked one - Edgar Evans State Park on Cedar Hill Lake near Cookeville, Tenn.  The Campsite apps showed that it could handle Big Rigs.  The first time we drove through the park, we really questioned that.  The campsites are wooden platforms set on steep mountainsides beside the lake.  We kept looking for the motorhome sites.  After a phone call, we found that the wooden platforms were the campsites, so here we are. This is a first for us.

Parking on a ramp (or maybe a better term is dock).  This is the only park we've ever seen that went to the trouble to create a park on steep hillsides.  It's really unique and makes for a nice experience.

We are on a beautiful lake enjoying a nice sunset.

It's interesting to consider the variety and types of sites at which we have camped on during this journey.  I think the extremes are Why, Arizona where we were in the middle of a desert that may not see an inch of rain a year, to here in Tennessee, where rain is plentiful and we sit on a lake that contains more water than probably falls on Arizona in a year.

Tomorrow we should make it to Spruce Pine.  I checked with our caretaker and he says the roads to the house are clear (they had 7 inches of snow over the past 3 days) and we should have no trouble getting up there.  So, tomorrow will probably be the official end to the journey.  This nice campground is a great way to end the journey.

Thursday, Mar 28

We arrived back at Spruce Pine today after a rather long drive from the campground in Tennessee. It was good to see our smooth rounded mountains with trees again after the rugged, treeless mountains of the West.

It seems that snow has been the theme of this journey.  We were there for the "once in ten years" snow in Tucson, snow has been in all the passes, snow at Sequoia, snow at Yosemite, snow on the Continental Divide (the Colorado one), snow in Wichita, and snow here at Spruce Pine when we arrived.  There are advantages (you don't need reservations in the best places to stay) and disadvantages (it is sometimes cooler than we would like) to travel at this time of year.

We have driven the motorhome over 5,500 miles since picking it up in Albuquerque, and the car over 1,500 miles driving it out West and touring once we parked the motorhome. This has been an epic journey. We've seen places and experienced events of which we could have only dreamed.

Getting back here to the familiar causes me to be reflective on how fortunate we are to be able to see the places we have. And to be thankful that we have the health and resources to accomplish these dreams.

On this journey we have met and seen a lot of interesting people from all walks of life. Every time  we meet someone new, I remind myself that everyone has a story, from the guy that worked diligently to get the tires balanced correctly on the motorhome, to the camp host at Edwards AFB who retired from the Air Force, is the camp host and has a business of his own. I wish I had the time to listen and learn each of their stories. They must be fascinating.

I keep my blog and try to post to it each day. I've found that if I don't write in the present tense daily on the blog, I quickly forget the little interesting events of the day. By keeping the blog (really a journal), I can refer to the writings and pictures and remember vividly the places and emotions of each day. I wish that I had had the forethought to have kept a journal of some type for the many events of my life. It would really mean something to me today. As it is, I am left to try and remember, but I can never capture the excitement and disappointments of the daily, mundane life.

As we settled in this evening in a “big house” with all of its amenities (we don't have to "dump" the holding tanks, ensure that we have enough water on board, or worry about electricity), I already remember fondly the “little house” which is parked out on the driveway.  In the "little house" it is only a few steps from the bedroom to the kitchen, and no steps from the kitchen to living room, and a couple of steps to starting the engine and moving the “little house” to another exciting location.  We hope to move back aboard the "little house" again in May for a trip to Ohio.

Two months on the road is about enough though. I need to settle down for a few weeks, catch up on the mail, do my taxes, ensure that the houses (Beaufort and Spruce Pine) are in good repair, and complete a thorough cleaning of the motorhome. There is also the sailboat which desperately needs new bottom paint.  Then we'll be ready to cast off again and start a new journey.