MON MAY 14, 2001

Pick up RV, Pack RV and head to the Smokies.

TUE MAY 15, 2001

Drive to Graceland.

WED MAY 16, 2001

See Elvis, Drive to New Orleans, Drink on Bourbon Street.

THU MAY 17, 2001

Drive the coast to Corpus Christi.

FRI MAY 18, 2001

Spend the day at the Beach, Drive to San Antonio late.

SAT MAY 19, 2001

See the Alamo, Drive to Carlsbad, NM.

SUN MAY 20, 2001

See Carlsbad Caverns, Drive to Roswell, See UFO's, See Geoff and Teresa.

MON MAY 21, 2001

Drive to Painted Desert/Petrified Forest, Continue on to Grand Canyon.

TUE MAY 22, 2001

Ride the Burros down into the Canyon, Drive late to Utah.

WED MAY 23, 2001

Breakfast in Bryce Canyon, Lunch at Mt. Zion, Head to Las Vegas.

THU MAY 24, 2001

See Sin City and Viva Las Vegas.

FRI MAY 25, 2001

Drive to Death Valley.

SAT MAY 26, 2001

Drive to San Fran, see Tim and Kim and whomever else Tim brings.

SUN MAY 27, 2001

Taste wine (no spitting).

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DAY TWENTY - SATURDAY JUNE 2, 2001

Task number one on the day was to get the RV looked at. The brakes had held out this far, but risking it in the Rockies wasn't on our adventure todo list. We said bye to Jeremy, hello to Craig, got directions to see Shad at work, and sped off to the Cruise America dealer.

Our faith in Cruise America is dwindling. We have a list a page long of little oddities about the vehicle but the brakes issue is a bit serious. This list includes a hot water heater that you have to go outside to open the water heater door before firing up the pilot light from inside; vents that randomly switch between the vent, the floor and the defrost; draws and cabinets that don't stay closed; and such.

However, Cruise America mechanics can't really find the problem let alone fix it. They assure us they tested the brakes and all is working properly. They have about 30 RV's just like ours in the parking lot but can't trade with us while they find out what the problem is. Their solution: "We can turn off the light for you." This of course is extremely helpful. We decide to keep the light on in favor of showing our salesman one of the many problems we've had. As we leave the mechanic makes one last ditch effort to help us out. "You sure you don't want me to slap a peice of electrical tape over those warning lights?" No thanks sir, you've helped enough already. We'll just send you the bill when we crash down the side of the Rockies.

Onward south on Interstate 25 to Colorado Springs. We arrive in the late afternoon at the house of Barbara and Michael Elkins, Rick's aunt and uncle. We rest for a bit before heading out on a tour of Colorado Springs. We see the Air Force Academy and the Garden of the Gods. The day is capped off when we are taken out for dinner at a place where mobsters were killed. Two great meals in two days! The road is great! Why can't we have more relatives that live out West?

We had a great time with both our families and seeing homes away from home that we hadn't seen for 10-20 years.

Phrase of the day: "


The Air Force Academy.


NORAD, they wouldn't let us go to DEFCOM 2.


A plane, Geoff did you fly one of these?


How about this one?


Laura, the sign says "No visitors beyond this point." If you go down, you are enlisted. You rebel.


A plane statue.


Another bronzed plane.


The chapel.


The Bomb droper. The Enola Gay.


Pike's Peak. Remember this one, dad?


A castle that some woman didn't want. We said we'd live here free.


We'd even live in the little hut.


More red rocks.


Entering Garden of the Gods. A spiritual place.


Are we back in Utah?


More balancing rocks. Rick tried to push this one over to no avail.


We like big red rocks, can you tell?

MON MAY 28, 2001

Drive to Yosemite.

TUE MAY 29, 2001

Hike around Yosemite.

WED MAY 30, 2001

Drive to Lake Tahoe.

THU MAY 31, 2001

Drive to a big Salty Lake. (We didn't quite stop in Salt Lake City, instead kept driving on to Moab, Utah)

FRI JUNE 1, 2001

Drive to Denver, see the Knoxville Boys. (Saw the Arches National Park, Drove to Vail had dinner, then drove on to Denver)

SAT JUNE 2, 2001

Drive to Colorado Springs, see the Elkins.

SUN JUNE 3, 2001

Drive up to South Dakota. (We skipped Mt. Rushmore in favor of getting ahead, stopped just past Kansas City)

MON JUNE 4, 2001

See Mt. Rushmore and some of the Bandlands, Drive to Kansas City. (Drove to Ft. Leonard Wood to see Missy)

TUE JUNE 5, 2001

See Missy, drive to French Lick to shoot hoops with Larry Bird. (High tail it across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and into Ohio)

WED JUNE 6, 2001

Drive to Lake Erie. (High tail it across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and on into Massachusetts)

THU JUNE 7, 2001

Drive to and See Niagara Falls. (See Rick's family and his new nephew)

FRI JUNE 8, 2001

Drive to Norton. (Stayed in Norton)

SAT JUNE 9, 2001

visit with family, hopefully see new neice/nephew. (Stayed in Norton another day)

SUN JUNE 10, 2001

Drive to see Sue, maybe see PJ on the way. (Drove home, stopping in Baltimore to see Sue)

MON JUNE 11, 2001

Drive Home, Unpack, Return RV.

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