Our Fantastic Three Week Vacation 2004 - Page Three

Today is Saturday, June 26. We got up at 6:30 AM and it was already 78 degrees outside. We left camp at 9:30 for Hoover Dam. Deanna’s camcorder had broken, so we stopped at Best Buy to buy another one that would take her tapes and play those she had already made. That took a while so we didn’t get to Lake Mead until 11:15 AM. Temperature was 109 at noon. We drove up to an overlook and took a lot of pictures, then drove down to the dam, parked, and took a guided tour of the inside of the dam. We took lots of photos both inside and outside of the dam, then left at 2:30 PM.

Dave wanted to try some nickel slots, so we stopped at the Hacienda Casino. Deanna broke even on her machine, I lost $2.15 on mine, and Dave won $20.00 on a big dollar machine, plus 23 nickels. Lucky!! We left at 3:15 PM. Temperature was up to 112 degrees again. Hot!!! We stopped at an RV store in Henderson, Nevada on the way back to camp and got there at 4:15 PM. We ate some ice cream, rested for a while, then went back to town at 7:15 PM. We ate supper at Stardust, rode in a gondola at Venice, the gondolier even sang a song to us in Italian. We took more pictures and got home at midnight.

Sunday morning, the 27^th of June. I slept in ti17:00 AM as I was really tired from the last two late nights of walking and taking pictures. We went to the Hilton Hotel to view the Star Trek decorations. I took some pictures and got grouched at by a security guard. He said I couldn’t take pictures aimed at the casino. I hadn’t realized the casino was in that direction, so had to apologize to him. I didn’t take any more pictures in there. I told Deanna and Dave about it and they knew you couldn’t take pictures in the casinos, but we were barely in the entrance. I noticed the guard watching us all the time we were in there. I think he could have used some lessons in manners. We left there and went to the Luxor, the Excalibur, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and we won $13.05 between the three of us on the nickel slots. We saw a water show at Bellagio, took pictures of New York and the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, and an Elvis impersonator. Dave and Deanna rode a roller coaster at New York, but not me!! We then visited the M&M shop and the Coca Cola Shop, then headed back to camp. We ate supper and I had a shower and washed my hair. Dave and Deanna went to get gas and to photograph some night scenes with their new camera. They left about 10:00 PM and I stayed in the RV. I watched a sermon by Charles Stanley on TV from 11:00 PM-12:00 AM. Dave and Deanna returned at 1:45 AM.

I got up this morning, Monday, the 28^th at 6:45 AM. It was already 82 degrees by 7:00 AM. We ate breakfast and prepared to leave. Left camp at 9:40 AM and headed toward Hoover Dam. We took a wrong turn at Henderson and had to make a big loop through the city to get back on the right road. At 10:45 we went through a security check before we could take the RV over the dam, then were allowed to cross. As we came across the dam, we entered Arizona. The dam divides Arizona and Nevada, but they share the same time zone, as Arizona doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time. There were lots of rocks and mountains, very few trees, lots of cactus and other scrubby bushes. It was 95 degrees by 11:00 AM. We saw many big dust devils and lots of flat lands and sand. We stopped in Kingman, Arizona for gas at 12:30 PM and began seeing a few more trees, short and scrubby looking. Some looked like small cedars. We stopped at 2:00 PM in Seligman, for lunch.

We had A&W root beer, sandwiches, and fries, then headed east. We started seeing pine trees about 3:15 PM, also some smoke on the mountains. Also, had a sprinkle of rain, the first in many days. We arrived at Circle Pines Campground at 3:40 PM at Williams, Arizona. We took a nap after setting up, had supper, walked around the campgrounds, then went to bed early.

Tuesday, June 29^th.1t was 54 degrees this morning at 6:00 AM. We planned our trip to Grand Canyon National Park and left camp at 8:55 AM. We drove to a parking area, then walked to the shuttle pick-up area and arrived there at 10:00 AM. We took the shuttle bus to go to the canyon rim and got off twice to take pictures at different spots. It started drizzling as we reached the second stop and was really too cloudy for good pictures. We continued on up to the top by shuttle and by the time we reached the top, it was pouring down rain and sleet. We used the rest rooms and decided to go back down as lightning was severe. It rained, sleeted, hailed, and snowed on us all the way down. The shuttle was so crowded, we had to stand and hold to a rail. Our driver asked everyone to open their windows about two inches as the windshield kept fogging up. She brought us down the mountain by guiding the shuttle with one hand and wiping fog off the windshield with a towel with the other hand. She was a very good driver and got us down safely. . I had to complement our driver, as she did such a good job of driving and coping with the situation. I was a little scared, but thanked God that we were all OK. It continued to rain some, but cleared off after lunch.

After we ate lunch, we drove the Yavapai Trail in the truck. We stopped at Mather Point and took lots of pictures of the canyon, the river, and mesas. We then drove on to a turnout called Yaki Point and took pictures of a mountain that looked like a pyramid. We also stopped at Grandview Point and Upon Point where we saw a coyote in the highway and a Kaibab squirrel. They are quite different from the squirrels we have in Kansas. We could see the painted desert in the distance and took pictures of that. There were many Indian shops and poor-looking homes along the highway. We were in a part of the Navajo Indian Reservation. We drove on toward Flagstaff and visited the Sunset Crater Area. We took more pictures and I collected some rocks and lava pieces. We went on into Flagstaff to get gas and more film for me, then went back to our camp. After supper, we did our laundry and I got to bed at midnight.

We got up at 7:30 AM, ate breakfast, packed snacks and drinks in the backpack, and left camp at 9:30 AM to return to Grand Canyon. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we again rode the shuttle up the mountain, stopping to take pictures at all points, starting at Grand Village and ending at Hermit’s Rest. I bought some sand pictures in the gift shop. We saw deer, Kaibab squirrels, a California Condor, hummingbirds, ravens, swifts, swallows and turkey buzzards. The ranger told us about the different flying patterns of each species so we could identify them ourselves. We left Grand Canyon at 3:30 PM and I called Rosetta on my cell phone on the way back to camp. She had been sick, but was much better by then.

We got back to camp and ate an early supper. We planned to visit Lowell Observatory and had to be there at 7:30 PM. We left camp at 7:00 PM and saw exhibits and watched a presentation about planets, constellations, the Milky Way, etc., then were allowed to look through a large telescope in the observatory. I could see many stars through the scope and found it all very interesting and informative.

Thursday, July 1,2004--1 got up at 6:30 AM as I wanted to catch up on my Bible reading. Dave and Deanna got up about 8:00 AM. After breakfast, we broke camp and left about 9:30 AM, headed for Flagstaff and the Petrified Forest. We saw a meteor crater, a domed building and lots of desert and mesas. We stopped for gas outside of Winslow, AZ. At Holbrook, we saw the Wigwam Motel with many wigwams surrounding it. Also, a large dinosaur advertisement. We saw some horses in a field, but never saw cattle, even though most places were called ranches.

We got to the Petrified Forest at 12:10 PM and stopped in the museum and gift shop. The museum had replicas of different species of dinosaurs and large pieces of petrified wood. I bought a small box of petrified wood so I could give some to Chris when I got home. We photographed the Flattops, the Crystal Forest, the Blue Mesa, The Teepees, and Newspaper Rock. We looked through the telescopes and binoculars and spotted several petroglyphs. We also stopped at Pintado Point and Pilot Rock for pictures of the painted desert up close.

We left the Petrified Forest at 2:45 PM and continued on toward Albuquerque, New Mexico. We stopped for lunch at Indian City Reservation off highway I 40 at 3:15 PM and got to New Mexico at 4:00 PM. We stopped at the Visitor’s Center for maps and brochures of New Mexico. I got lots of pictures of rock formations and mountains at Red Rock State Park. We crossed the Continental Divide about 5:45 PM and stopped for gas and rest room break at 6:25 PM. I took some pictures of the San Matao Mountains and a church with crosses on it . East of Laguna, NM, we began to see some green fields again, instead of just desert and sand. We got to Albuquerque about 7:45 PM and stopped at an RV Park called Hidden Valley at 8:15 PM. We had supper after setting up camp, about 9:00 PM.

Friday, July 2, 2004--Wow! I can’t believe it is July already! We visited the Old Town Albuquerque after our breakfast. We visited many shops, art galleries, and pottery shops. I took pictures of a church, gazebo, a bell tower, and the open air market. We left Albuquerque about 12:55 PM and stopped for gas and lunch at Moriarity, NM; then left for Amarillo, Texas. As we came down a ramp leaving Albuquerque, the camper began to buck and jerk. Dave thought we had a flat tire so pulled over to inspect it, but we found nothing wrong. Deanna wanted to drive, so we stopped at a rest area and switched drivers. About 20 minutes later, the camper started bucking again as Deanna changed lanes. We stopped at another rest area to check out the RV and again found nothing wrong. Dave contacted the RV dealer by phone and he said the brake control box was possible malfunctioning. We drove on with Dave at the wheel and got into Texas at 5:45 PM (New Mexico time). 6:45 central time. I had to set my watch ahead. We stopped near Adrian, Texas at Stuckey’s for a break and we took pictures of mesas, buttes, Texas flat land, and some cattle. We got to Amarillo about 7:55 PM, set up camp and had supper about 9:00 PM, then went to WalMart to shop for groceries. We got to bed about 11:30 PM.

I got up about 6:45 AM and helped Deanna fix breakfast. Dave and Deanna decided to go in to town to check on RV repair shops. We are sure the brake control box has gone out on the RV and Dave wanted to find a place where he could either get it fixed or buy a new one. I stayed in camp and did up the dishes and worked on my hair. It needs a perm again. Dave and Deanna couldn’t find a shop open as this is Saturday and also the 3^rd of July, so he called the dealer again and he said Dave could undo the control box and come on home without brakes on the RV. We decided to do that and left camp at 10:35 AM, headed for Oklahoma. This would cut our trip a little short, but we decided it was necessary.

We saw a "Cadillac Ranch" and "Slug Bug Ranch". Cadillac's and VW Beetles stuck front first into the ground in front of ranch houses. We saw a huge metal cross along the highway 140 while still in Texas. We crossed into Oklahoma at 12:40 PM and stopped in Clinton at a Subway Shop for lunch. I had a turkey, bacon wrap. Boy!! Was it good!!! We stopped for gas at EI Reno, and three toll booths on I 44 between Oklahoma City and Tulsa. We got into Bartlesville at 7:15 PM. Deanna and Dave brought me home about 8:30 and helped me get my water meter and air conditioner turned on. I showered about 10:30 PM and fell into bed about 11:00 PM. We covered 4818 miles and 9 states in the three weeks we were gone. I learned a lot about setting up and taking down the RV and really have to admire how Deanna helps Dave. You would think she had been doing it all her life. We had a fantastic trip, but there is really no place like home.