Summer 2008 Travel Log
For photos of our journey - click here
We began our adventure out West leaving Florida on May 31st. Our first stop over was at a weight station in Georgia located on I 95. From there we headed to meet up with Lindy, Kim and Ella for three days of camping. Our destination was Jellystone Campground located in Marion, NC.
Marion, NC
It was really great to be able to see LIndy, Kim and Ella again. We hadn't seen them in a long time so meeting up there for 3 days of camping fun was awesome. We fished, went out to dinner and just spent a lot of time talking and enjoying each other. Of course Ally just loved playing the Grandma. I am still amazed how well she connects to Ella. After three days of fun together, we left and headed to Bristol.
Bristol, TN
Our stop over in Bristol was hectic as always. We seem to have so much to do there in a short amount of time. Doctors visits, lab tests, house work, catching up with friends, etc. We planned on staying at the house but found on our arrival the heat pump took a dump and didn't work. With outside temps in the mid 90's, we elected to head to the local campground and stay in the coach. After taking care of all the things we needed to at home, we began our journey out West.
Go West Young Man
Our first night out of Bristol we stayed at a Wal Mart parking lot in Lebanon, TN. We call these stop over's " Camp WalMart ". Spending the night in their parking lot provides us with great security and is also convenient for stocking up on supplies before traveling on. Due to some mixed up directions from my navigator ( Ally ), we got lost and in the process of having to turn around I got the coach boxed in. So we had to disconnect the coach and drive solo to the WalMart parking lot. I didn't let Ally forget about her mess up for 48 hours. :) After a good nights sleep, we packed it in and headed off to West Memphis, Arkansas.
The Big Muddy
We stayed for two nights at a campground located right on the " Big Muddy " ( The Mississippi River ). It was really interesting watching the Tugs move barges all day and night up and down the river. The one thing we were NOT prepared for was the fast moving current. If you fell overboard from a boat in Memphis, you would be in New Orleans in about 10 minutes. :) The other thing I was surprised to see was that the clarity of the water was a solid murky, dark brown. We got some rest and as we planned on doing a day trip to where my grandparents used to live in Missouri, I just felt horrible on the second day and stayed back to rest. I wanted to get some rest and feel better before two days of long hauls to Oklahoma.
Checotaw, Oklahoma
I wanted to get some rest and feel better before two days of long hauls to Santa Fe so we stuck around Checotaw, OK while I rested. Actually, it was our 10th wedding anniversary during this time so we celebrated by going to the " 69 Diner ". Seriously, that is the name because its located on HWY 69. We enjoyed walking around the little town and we did hit an antique shop where I found an old medicine bottle to add to my collection. If the name of this town sounds familiar its because it is the home town of Carrie Underwood, the American Idol winner.
Amarillo, Texas
We left Checotaw and headed towards Amarillo and was met by a fierce storm. Actually, we just missed the worst of it but the torrential downpours did get us. Due to the rain some gravel washed onto the highway and sure as heck two stones found their way to my windshield. One hit came off a semi and another off a pickup truck less then a mile down the road. Both left chips and " stars " on the windshield that needed to get fixed. I arranged that to take place in Santa Fe. After checking in at the resort in Amarillo we were hit with amazingly high winds. The coach rocked all night long and it rained some more before the sun came out the next morning. It turned into a pleasant day actually and Ally got caught up on laundry. That night we got hit with yet another storm and this one was a doozey. It poured down rain, it hailed and the wind blew the coach back and forth like a small boat on the ocean. I was in bed when it all hit and laid there contently as I love a good storm. The wind rocked me asleep that night and thankfully there was no damage to the coach from the hail.
We hit the Santa Fe trail and arrived in the city late in the afternoon. The trip was filled with nice scenery and we had no problems getting there. Once parked in the campground we relaxed and got setup. The camp ground turned out to have a perfect location for sight seeing. It seemed to be centered and close to everything. I wont comment much more on Santa Fe as I created a web page with pictures of our 5 day stay here. We really enjoyed Santa Fe. Read and see more here - click here
Manitou Springs
The trip up to Manitou was uneventful. We crossed the border of Colorado / NM and had a heck of a climb over the mountain. That is where we seen our very first Elk. We passed by several antelopes along the way as well. It was a gorgeous once across the border and up through Colorado. Manitou Springs ended up our busiest stop yet on this trip as we had several scenic drives and places to visit. Our stay was at the Pikes Peak RV resort and the owners, Chris & Marge made our stay memorable. I harassed Marge quite a bit about providing me a pancake breakfast. Actually I was teasing her but on out last day there, she showed up at our coach with a full pancake breakfast for us both. The joke ended up on me and we had a great laugh over it. Marge and Chris are awesome campground owners and they made our stay so great that we hated to leave. Thanks Mage and Chris.
I have created a page for our Manitou visit and you can go through by - clicking here