August, 2005
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For more of our August adventures, please click on "forward" above.
We had arrived in Christiansburg, Virginia on July 31.  We checked into the Interstate Overnight RV Park...and it wasn't much more than its name suggests.  It was a place to park and it had electricity, water and sewer.  It was gravel and level and that's about all we can say about it!  But, it was only 15 minutes away from Blacksburg, Virginia and the home of Mary's cousin Janne Mathes and her husband Stan.  We stayed two nights and had a great visit with them.  On Sunday, Janne and Stan took us on a tour of Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech campus.  On Monday we all drove to Mountain Lake, hiked the trail around the lake, stopping for a picnic lunch, and visited the galleries and shops at the resort.  The resort is the place where the movie "Dirty Dancing" was filmed...a beautiful and peaceful place that looked like a great place for a family vacation.  On Monday evening we enjoyed a dinner at Janne and Stan's new townhome along with their daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Maury and their children, Lexi (2 1/2) and Jack ( 1 month.) We had visited Janne and Stan 2 years ago at their primary home in Schenectady, NY and were glad that they happened to be in Virginia as we passed through.
On Tuesday, August 2nd we drove to Beckley, West Virginia and checked into the Exhibition Coal Mine Campground.  The campground and the mine are owned and operated by the city of Beckley, along with a water park.  After getting settled into the campground, we went on a tour of the coal mine.  It had been closed in 1910 and forgotten until the city discovered it when looking for recreational park land.  They renovated a part of the mine and opened it and a museum of the industry so important to the area.  Our tour guide had been a miner for 17 years and took us on a little mine car into the mine and explained a lot of the process of coal mining to us.  It was quite interesting.  We also toured the buildings of a typical mining camp which had been moved here from various mines around the state.   Once again, we were glad that we didn't have to live or work in the mines and camps.
Stan and Janne Mathes in the forest of rhododendrons at Mountain Lake Resort near Blacksburg, VA.
Mountain Lake...one of two natural lakes in Virginia...the place where "Dirty Dancing" was filmed.

The miner's train that took us down into the coal mine in Beckley, WV.

We were back on the road again on Thursday morning, heading north on I-77 into Ohio once again.  We went across I-70 and then up Rt. 13 to Mount Vernon, OH for another stay at our friends' Ed and Sue Sims'.  Thursday evening we went to dinner with Ed and Sue at Katy's Amish Kitchen.  On Friday Sue cooked a fabulous noon meal before they left in their RV for a weekend at the races.  Our daughter,  Ann, arrived around 3:00 and we were put in charge of the three granddaughters while she and Matt worked at the "First Friday Fun Fair" in town.  The streets were closed and Pottsie's BBQ served sandwiches and wings while we listened to a great live band play 60s music.  They had dumped sand in a lot and had volleyball games going on along with a magician for the kids and an old car show and some other booths.  Close and Merrick spent the night with us while the others went back to Marysville.
On Saturday afternoon we drove the rig (and the granddaughters) into Columbus and parked at a place called "Magic Mountain."  We met Ann and Matt, Coffey and some of her friends and some of Matt's family there to celebrate Coffey's 8th birthday.  What a place!  We played miniature golf, rode bumper boats and go-karts, had a pizza dinner and played lots of arcade games.  Afterwards, we drove on to Marysville for the night.  On Sunday we went to the store and helped Coffey pick out some tropical fish for her new aquarium and then after dinner, headed north again.  On Monday we celebrated Tom's big birthday by visiting his Mom and running lots of errands.  Good friends Kathy and Dennie Dew had us for dinner before we continued our trip north, stopping at Cabela's in Dundee, MI for the night.  It was on into Jackson, MI on Tuesday morning to spend the rest of the day visiting with Mary's Mom and step-father whom we brought home from the hospital that afternoon.  After dinner, we were on the road again...this time to Charlotte, MI where we parked in the lot of Spartan Motors for the night.
Spartan Motors begins their work day at 7:00am...so we were ready and waiting our turn when they opened.  Our coach was ready a little after noon...just short of $600 for oil change, lube and a few other yearly maintenance checks and changes.  Then we moved on to Elkhart, IN and parked at Duncan Systems.  We had switched to Central Time here and they start their work day closer to 9:00 so we got to sleep in on Thursday!  Duncan repaired our dash air-conditioning which had not been working for several weeks (in all those 95* days!!!) and managed to open our battery slide compartment which had "frozen up."  We had been referred to Duncan by Newmar, and we were very pleased with their facility and staff.  It was too late to travel when we were finished at Duncan, so we took advantage of their hospitality another night.  On Friday morning we drove another 20 miles to Nappanee to return a part that had been shipped to us and didn't work out and then headed west to Gary, IN where we had an adventure at Flying J.  We didn't make the loop just right getting to the pumps, so we had to unhook the car and try again. With that taken care of we were really on the road again...across Illinois and into Iowa....headin' west!!!
This is the BBQ cooker that is used at Pottsie's to cook ribs, wings, pork and chicken.  The bottom has bins for charcoal and the meat is in racks that rotate the length of the cooker.  It can be towed to any location.  The restaurant has two of them.
Coffey, the birthday girl.
August, 2005
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For more of our August adventures, please click on "forward" or "back" above.

Yes, we really were on the road again....lots of traffic and we had to work to decide where our rest and fuel stops would be.  But, at least our A/C was working!  Friday night found us at the Wal-Mart in Iowa City, but our first major stop was on Saturday, August 13 in Des Moines, Iowa where we camped at the "Cutty's Des Moines Camping Club."  It is a Coast to Coast Resort, but we were able to use our Passport America membership there.  We were lucky enough to get a spot right next to our Arizona/Iowa friends, Art and June Nelson and enjoyed a great visit and dinner out at the "Okoboji Grill."  We also took advantage of the free WiFi connections at some of the Iowa rest areas on the interstate.

Heading west once again on I-80 we stopped at the Super Wal-Mart in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sunday night. Iowa had been a beautiful, rolling green hills drive.  Nebraska changed to flat and more brown. On Monday we made a stop at the Great Platte River Road National Monument.  It is a museum in a huge arch built right over moving traffic on I-80 near Kearney, NE.  The museum is dedicated to the freedom of travel in the US and has displays depicting the pioneers trudging across the country on foot and covered wagon all the way to current interstate travel.  It was a very interesting stop, and we're grateful for the Dutch Star vs. a covered wagon!  That night we stayed at the North Platte Wal-Mart, and on Tuesday we went only as far as Sterling, Colorado - again at a Wal-Mart.
The Great Platte River Road National Monument spanning I-80 near Kearney, NE.
On Wednesday, August 17 we drove from Sterling, CO, through Denver and up I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel to Breckenridge.  We had heard news reports of I-70 being closed because of rock slides, but considering the alternate routes, we decided to go ahead on I-70.  By the time we got to the rock slide area traffic was routed in both directions on the eastbound side, and we sailed right on through.  We got settled in at the Tiger Run RV Resort and enjoyed a five night stay.  We have stayed here several times previously, but this was the first time "in-season" and the beautiful park is really refreshing with all the landscaping in summer splendor.
During our stay in Breckenridge we were able to go on a white-water-rafting trip with our son, Reid, as our guide.  Reid has spent the summer as a guide for the KODI Rafting Company working trips on the Colorado, Blue and Arkansas Rivers.  He took us on a trip on the upper Colorado River out of Kremmling, CO.   The water flow on the rivers in Colorado has slowed substantially at this time of year, so our trip was extremely pleasant on some Class 2 water.  It was fun to listen to Reid's tour spiel and also to the comments from the other passengers who enjoyed the trip as well. (We never told anyone we were the parents of the guide!)     One day we drove up into the mountains and then hiked into the Gore Canyon where we found a rock to perch on to watch for Reid and some of his friends to pass by us as they completed a 6-mile race over some Class 5 rapids.  Again, we had a great day among the many people and dogs enjoying the great outdoors. However, we found out that we were not in the best shape for hiking at 10,000 ft. elevation!  We also had the opportunity to play some tennis and card games and just "hang out" at the RV park with Reid and his friends Julie and Marty.  The best part of  our stay in Summit County, though, was just having a good visit with Reid.  When we left Summit County, Reid did as well - heading to Tennessee to raft for several weeks on the Ocoee River east of Cleveland, TN. 
The KODI Rafting team in Gore Canyon on the Colorado River. (Reid is on the far right.)
Reid getting some quick energy at the end of the race.
Leaving Summit County on Monday, August 22, we drove to Buena Vista, staying at the "Chalk Creek Campground," and said hi to the Simpsons, Harrisons and Nirenbergs, some of our winter Palm Creek friends who were spending the summer at the "Mt. Princeton Park" enjoying fishing, hiking and tennis in the mountains.  We enjoyed our stay and the friendly management at Chalk Creek.  From there, we went over Wolf Creek Pass and on to Pagosa Springs and checked into the "Happy Camper RV Park."  We took a day trip to the Chimney Rock Archaeological Site operated by the National Forest Service, and hiked up to see the pit houses and kivas built by the ancestral Puebloan people around the year 900.  They used the Chimney Rock formation to help them tell what day it was by the position of the sun and moon in relation to the rock spires.  We were allowed to climb a fire tower to get a bird's eye view of the San Juan Mountain area.
Also in Pagosa Springs we visited the Fred Harman Museum.  Mr. Harmon was one of the original collaborators of Walt Disney, leaving Disney when he decided that he was not interested in animation.  He returned to his home in Colorado and later created the comic strip "Red Ryder" which was famous in the 50s and 60s and was responsible for the popularity of the Daisy Air Rifle.  Mr. Harman became one of the more popular western artists before his death in the 80s.  And of course we stopped by the "hot springs" that have made Pagosa Springs a popular tourist spot.  A private company now operates the outdoor mineral springs along the San Juan River which are fed into 18 small pools with temperatures varying from 98* to 110*.  However, we skipped having a hot soak! 
Chimney Rock near Pagosa Springs, CO.
The pools at "The Springs" in Pagosa Springs, CO.
August, 2005
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For more of our August adventures, please click on "back" above.
Our next stop after Pagosa Springs was in Aztec, New Mexico.  We enjoyed a "back road" trip to get there through the town of Ignacio, CO.  In Aztec, at the Ruins RV Park, we found that they have cleaned up the park a little since our visit last year.  They have also done some grading and are adding some new sites.  But, it is still mostly long term visitors in the park.  At least they have good 50amp service and allowed us to wash the coach.  We didn't spend a lot of time working on it in 90* weather, but at least we got the top several layers of dust washed off.  Our main reason to visit Aztec was to see Tom's Aunt Dorothy and we were able to spend parts of three days with her.  We took her to lunch in the neighboring town of Farmington on Saturday at Chili's and on Sunday, joined by her niece, Beverly and her husband Oceo Noyes, at Red Lobster.  Aunt Dorothy is doing amazingly well at age 94. 
Tom with his Aunt Dorothy Williams in Aztec, NM
From Aztec we passed through the "four corners" area (not stopping at the Indian run monument, however, as we had been there several years ago), crossing several hundred miles of Indian reservation...sometimes wondering why someone would choose to live in such an isolated place and sometimes in awe of the breathtaking views.  We checked into the Lake Powell-Page Campground in Page, AZ. and took the car out to see Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell.  The dam took 6 years to build and the lake took 17 years to fill and has almost 2000 miles of shoreline...magnificent projects.  The hikes to get to the majestic views were short...thank goodness, as we were back to 95*, sunny weather.  Hard to believe that a week ago in Colorado we needed to have the heater working!
Horseshoe Bend, a 180* turn in the Colorado River near Page, AZ
The Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River at Page, AZ
We still had a couple of days left in August and we continued our adventures.  On Tuesday the 30th we drove from Page, AZ, through Kanab, Utah and seven miles back into Arizona to Fredonia.  We parked at the "Crazy Jug's RV Park."   This is a Passport America Park and is extremely clean and neat with good 50amp power...a pleasant surprise as we'd made our reservation for one of their five $9 sites using only the information in a campground directory.   In Kanab we made a quick tour of "Frontier Movie Town," a free exhibit of photos and old buildings once used in movie making. 
We'd been to the south rim of the Grand Canyon several times, but never to the north.  So, this year we decided to visit there. We made a "day trip" from Crazy Jug's - a 60 mile drive to the north rim.  The difference in the two sides of the national park is amazing.  The north rim has very little commercialism, not nearly as many tourists, and much more vegetation.  We drove all of the roads and checked out all the turnouts and overlooks in this section of the park.  We took a few of the short hikes, passing on the 24 mile hike down to Colorado River and up the other side.  The Lodge built in the 30's has a wall of glass, and while standing there it makes you feel as though you are hanging right out over the canyon.  The colors of the rock were amazing, and as they say, photos can't do it justice.  We'll keep trying as we get to a few more National Parks next month.
The Cape Royal overlook is the only place at the North Rim where the Colorado River is visible below. (just slightly above the center)
Scenes from the north rim of the Grand Canyon