Hi,
It's come to our attention that commenting to the blog has
been a problem. We have made some changes that will hopefully solve that
problem. We still see problems when trying to comment from a phone
browser. If you try the "View web version" link from your phone's
browser you may have more luck.
When clicking on the
"Post a comment" link a new browser page or tab should open up. After
entering your comment be sure to select an "Identity". If you have a
Google account you can use that or you can choose the "Name/URL" option.
That will ask you to enter a name with the URL part being optional (you
need not enter a URL if you do not have one).
Then you
will need to enter the two words to prove you are not a robot, some of
those are hard to read but it keeps automated systems from causing
trouble with the blogs.
Then click on "Publish Your
Comment". You can choose preview but when you want to "send" it for real
you will need to use Publish and that will require re-entering the two
words.
Hopefully this will work better. Send an email or call if you still have trouble.
Thanks,
The WeBeGone'ers
Monday, April 28, 2014
Day 36 - April 28 San Diego, Chula Vista RV park day 3, Old Town
A tour day.
Today we took the Old Town Trolley tour around San Diego. This gave us a fair over view and history of the city. There were 11 stops where we could get off and and explore.
We choose Coronado Hotel as one of the stops where we got off and spent about an hour on the wonderful beach and at the hotel. Seems we just could not keep a 4 year old from getting wet at the beach. But then again I wonder if any parent can pull off that trick. Maybe Houdini could have...
The old place is still looking as grand as ever. We may attempt to get back there but it seems the parking can be a bit tough. But then that's what we are hearing about most places here.
Back to Old Town in time dinner while we wait out the 5:00 rush hour. We did see some of that headed our way out when on the trolley tour and did not want to get stuck in it.
Link to Old Town San Diego
Back home in time for sunset.
Today we took the Old Town Trolley tour around San Diego. This gave us a fair over view and history of the city. There were 11 stops where we could get off and and explore.
We choose Coronado Hotel as one of the stops where we got off and spent about an hour on the wonderful beach and at the hotel. Seems we just could not keep a 4 year old from getting wet at the beach. But then again I wonder if any parent can pull off that trick. Maybe Houdini could have...
The old place is still looking as grand as ever. We may attempt to get back there but it seems the parking can be a bit tough. But then that's what we are hearing about most places here.
Back to Old Town in time dinner while we wait out the 5:00 rush hour. We did see some of that headed our way out when on the trolley tour and did not want to get stuck in it.
Link to Old Town San Diego
Back home in time for sunset.
Day 35 - April 27 San Diego, Chula Vista RV park day 2, Earth Day
Seems today is Earth Day...
So we choose to spend it with 60,000 of our closest friends at what was billed the largest Earth Day celebration at San Diego's Balboa park. Being foreigners in a strange land we choose not to drive but rather we took the public transport. The train up to down town San Diego, then transfer to a city bus, then a 3/4 mile walk to the park.
Lots of folks, lots of booths set up from acupuncture to air drone usage protest, to anti war protesting, and I think even a few earth friendly type booths, plant more trees, recyle, compost, etc...
An exciting but/train ride back home completed the day. We survived a day in the big city... Ya....
Back home to a wonderful pork slow cooked meal.
So we choose to spend it with 60,000 of our closest friends at what was billed the largest Earth Day celebration at San Diego's Balboa park. Being foreigners in a strange land we choose not to drive but rather we took the public transport. The train up to down town San Diego, then transfer to a city bus, then a 3/4 mile walk to the park.
Lots of folks, lots of booths set up from acupuncture to air drone usage protest, to anti war protesting, and I think even a few earth friendly type booths, plant more trees, recyle, compost, etc...
An exciting but/train ride back home completed the day. We survived a day in the big city... Ya....
Back home to a wonderful pork slow cooked meal.
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| Ponies are part of Earth Day are then not?? |
Day 34 - April 26 San Diego, Chula Vista RV park day 1
Today was a fairly short travel day. A couple of hours from Temecula to Chula Vista just south of San Diego proper.
We pull up to our designated spot only to find it overrun by a family reunion. But, they were very nice folks. Fortunately we did not give them too much of a show when backing the trailer in.
It turns out there was a four year old among the group dressed up in her "Brave" dress. So, imagine the delete of little Rosalie when she saw her. Turns out they were about the same age and the little girls name was Olivia. Of course the two played together, sang together for the next four hours. It was a sad time when it came time for them to go.
The Chula Vista park is on the southern San Diego bay. We have no beach, just rocky shore but there is a small city park and a marina to walk around. A nice spot if it would just warm up. Clouds and wind were the order of the day.
We pull up to our designated spot only to find it overrun by a family reunion. But, they were very nice folks. Fortunately we did not give them too much of a show when backing the trailer in.
It turns out there was a four year old among the group dressed up in her "Brave" dress. So, imagine the delete of little Rosalie when she saw her. Turns out they were about the same age and the little girls name was Olivia. Of course the two played together, sang together for the next four hours. It was a sad time when it came time for them to go.
The Chula Vista park is on the southern San Diego bay. We have no beach, just rocky shore but there is a small city park and a marina to walk around. A nice spot if it would just warm up. Clouds and wind were the order of the day.
Day 33 - April 25 Temecula Day 3, Old Town Temecula
This was a no tour day. We really cannot say a do nothing day as we seldom do "nothing".
Finally got the truck washed after the New Mexico/Arizona dust storms. Need to get the trailer sometime as well I guess. Some house cleaning and laundry as well. We have not been here to take advantage of the pool, been too cold most of the time.
This evening we went to see a bit of old town Temecula. Seems everyone has an old town. Makes sense I guess. A couple of burgers and back to the trailer...
Local Pics: Temecula, Ca
Finally got the truck washed after the New Mexico/Arizona dust storms. Need to get the trailer sometime as well I guess. Some house cleaning and laundry as well. We have not been here to take advantage of the pool, been too cold most of the time.
This evening we went to see a bit of old town Temecula. Seems everyone has an old town. Makes sense I guess. A couple of burgers and back to the trailer...
Local Pics: Temecula, Ca
Day 32 - April 24 Temecula Day two, Mt Palomar Observatory
Today's trek was to attempt a climb up Mt Palomar.
Part way up the mountain we decided to check the fuel level... oops.. back down we go to get some fuel. But, we finally did get up to the top. At the top is the Cal Tech Mt Palomar observatory.
After a bite of lunch we headed out to check the observatory.
This is home of the Hale 200" reflecting telescope, at one time the largest in the world from 1948 until 1976. The mirror blank was made by Corning, from the then new material Pyrex in 1934, took a full year to cool, they do it slow it seems. It took 13 years and the removal of 10,000 lbs of Pyrex before the polishing and concave shaping was complete. The mirror was coated (and still is re-coated every 18–24 months) with a reflective aluminum surface using the same aluminum vacuum-deposition process invented in 1930 by Caltech physicist and astronomer John Strong.
Cal Tech's Mt Palomar web site
The ride down was a bit quicker than the ride up...
Part way up the mountain we decided to check the fuel level... oops.. back down we go to get some fuel. But, we finally did get up to the top. At the top is the Cal Tech Mt Palomar observatory.
After a bite of lunch we headed out to check the observatory.
This is home of the Hale 200" reflecting telescope, at one time the largest in the world from 1948 until 1976. The mirror blank was made by Corning, from the then new material Pyrex in 1934, took a full year to cool, they do it slow it seems. It took 13 years and the removal of 10,000 lbs of Pyrex before the polishing and concave shaping was complete. The mirror was coated (and still is re-coated every 18–24 months) with a reflective aluminum surface using the same aluminum vacuum-deposition process invented in 1930 by Caltech physicist and astronomer John Strong.
Cal Tech's Mt Palomar web site
The ride down was a bit quicker than the ride up...
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Day 31 - April 23 Pechanga RV Resort and Casino, Temecula Ca
On the way to San Diego.
We are stopping off at Temecula for 3 nights. Tomorrow will be a day trip up Mt. Palomar to see the Hale telescope, a 200" reflecting telescope. Perhaps more about that tomorrow.
Rosalie has developed a fascination with the movie Frozen. So, today we finally went to see the movie. The adults on the team had not seen the movie yet. Due to a couple of mishaps we got there a bit late but still managed to get most of the movie.
Seems the little girl sitting in front of Rosalie had seen it already as well so they were chatting about what was coming next. Talk about spoilers. They danced among themselves all through the credits and then some. A good time was had....
We are stopping off at Temecula for 3 nights. Tomorrow will be a day trip up Mt. Palomar to see the Hale telescope, a 200" reflecting telescope. Perhaps more about that tomorrow.
Rosalie has developed a fascination with the movie Frozen. So, today we finally went to see the movie. The adults on the team had not seen the movie yet. Due to a couple of mishaps we got there a bit late but still managed to get most of the movie.
Seems the little girl sitting in front of Rosalie had seen it already as well so they were chatting about what was coming next. Talk about spoilers. They danced among themselves all through the credits and then some. A good time was had....
Day 30 - April 22 Desert Hot Springs Day 4
Nothing interesting today. Laundry, $20, dollars worth in the end. (Not going there).
One last soak in the pool and tubs before we head off toward San Diego.
Local Pics: Desert Hot Springs, Ca
One last soak in the pool and tubs before we head off toward San Diego.
Local Pics: Desert Hot Springs, Ca
Day 29 - April 21 Joshua Tree Part 2, Salton Sea and Imperial Valley
Today we made the trek back to the park, the south entrance this time, about 20-30 miles. We needed to get the Jr Ranger another badge. We spent some time at the visitors center, enjoyed the ceremony, then headed back out the park. On the way out the door a snake was calling to Rosalie, so now we have
added a rattle snake to the collection (stuffed and furry thank
goodness)
One of the Jr Ranger tasks was to see what animals you could spot. We had missed the big horn sheep yesterday, but today one graciously offered us a glimpse of it self so we could mark it in the book. It was on the way out so we were not able to report it to the rangers.
On the way back to Desert Hot Springs we took a back road detour. 25 miles through the most desolate country side and just two cars. Me thinks the co-pilot might have been getting concerned about the destination after the first 15 or so.
But, when we popped out we came to the Imperial Valley, Salton Sea, and crops galore. Quite a change from the desert we had just left. We had to slow down/stop to look over and talk about the lemon trees, orange trees, bell pepper plants, green beans, sweet corn, palm tree groves, and grape vines (green table grapes we think). It was interesting to see the crops in the fields. You hear so much about California's bread basket, it was interesting to see it. No, we did not stop to sample the wares. In South Dakota perhaps, but not here. Too many witnesses.
We then headed off to the Salton Sea State park for a picnic. This is a small park on the east side of the sea. We got to the visitors center just a they were closing but did manage to get to see the video that gave a history of the sea area. Seems this had been connected to Gulf of California in the more ancient times, but of late had been cut off. There was some canal building in the 20's or so that went awry. Seems the canal cuts were flooded out by a large spring runoff, the river changed course and ran directly into the Salton Sea for 16 months or so before they could reroute it to it's original course. The Salton has no outlet so so much for lake front property... 227 feet below sea level....
Since they got the river back on course the lake/sea has been gradually shrinking, getting more saline every year, about twice the level of salt as the oceans at this time.
All in all an interesting side trip that was pretty much spur of the moment.
One of the Jr Ranger tasks was to see what animals you could spot. We had missed the big horn sheep yesterday, but today one graciously offered us a glimpse of it self so we could mark it in the book. It was on the way out so we were not able to report it to the rangers.
On the way back to Desert Hot Springs we took a back road detour. 25 miles through the most desolate country side and just two cars. Me thinks the co-pilot might have been getting concerned about the destination after the first 15 or so.
But, when we popped out we came to the Imperial Valley, Salton Sea, and crops galore. Quite a change from the desert we had just left. We had to slow down/stop to look over and talk about the lemon trees, orange trees, bell pepper plants, green beans, sweet corn, palm tree groves, and grape vines (green table grapes we think). It was interesting to see the crops in the fields. You hear so much about California's bread basket, it was interesting to see it. No, we did not stop to sample the wares. In South Dakota perhaps, but not here. Too many witnesses.
We then headed off to the Salton Sea State park for a picnic. This is a small park on the east side of the sea. We got to the visitors center just a they were closing but did manage to get to see the video that gave a history of the sea area. Seems this had been connected to Gulf of California in the more ancient times, but of late had been cut off. There was some canal building in the 20's or so that went awry. Seems the canal cuts were flooded out by a large spring runoff, the river changed course and ran directly into the Salton Sea for 16 months or so before they could reroute it to it's original course. The Salton has no outlet so so much for lake front property... 227 feet below sea level....
Since they got the river back on course the lake/sea has been gradually shrinking, getting more saline every year, about twice the level of salt as the oceans at this time.
All in all an interesting side trip that was pretty much spur of the moment.
Day 28 - April 20 Joshua Tree National Park
A day in the park, Joshua Tree National Park, The park web site
We stopped in at the nearest entrance, there are three, to get the orientation, pick up the Junior Ranger packet, and plan our attack.
We ended up on a couple of 1 mile trails. The first was to a small hidden valley, apparently where cattle and horse wrestlers of old would drive the stock after stealing then, re-brand them, then head them off to market. Apparently it was a pretty successful operation for awhile, seeing as how isolated it was.
The second hike was to a dam that one of the settlers had enlarged in order to store adequate water for their crops and livestock. Seems the rain fall in this area is now about 1/2 of what it was in the 1800's.
We saw a number of blooming cactus, not an explosion, but a few. Lots of the strange looking Joshua trees, lots of boulders, a couple of lizards and a fair number of fellow tourists.
We did not plan our time well and made it back to the ranger station after they had closed. The newest Jr Ranger will have to wait a day for the swearing in.
We stopped in at the nearest entrance, there are three, to get the orientation, pick up the Junior Ranger packet, and plan our attack.
We ended up on a couple of 1 mile trails. The first was to a small hidden valley, apparently where cattle and horse wrestlers of old would drive the stock after stealing then, re-brand them, then head them off to market. Apparently it was a pretty successful operation for awhile, seeing as how isolated it was.
The second hike was to a dam that one of the settlers had enlarged in order to store adequate water for their crops and livestock. Seems the rain fall in this area is now about 1/2 of what it was in the 1800's.
We saw a number of blooming cactus, not an explosion, but a few. Lots of the strange looking Joshua trees, lots of boulders, a couple of lizards and a fair number of fellow tourists.
We did not plan our time well and made it back to the ranger station after they had closed. The newest Jr Ranger will have to wait a day for the swearing in.
Day 27 - April 19 On to Desert Hot Springs, Ca
Arrived at Sky Valley RV resort in Desert Hot Springs. Link to Sky Valley.
We had looked around a bit here. It was hard, but not too hard to find someplace that was not a 55+ park, somewhere that would take a 4 year old. One fella offered to sneak us in as long as we did not use the pool. Fat chance of that happening. This is a Passport America park, so the 1/2 price fee was of course welcome. There were a couple of parks a bit closer to Joshua Tree, but I think we made a good decision for us.
Sky Valley was nice, except for the laundry payment setup. They have two separate swimming sections, adult only and family. Large size pool in both, three hot tubs in the adult section, two in the family. Seems the pools and tubs are fed from under ground hot water wells. They were nice.......
The resort is mostly park models with a few RV spaces which really may be unsold park model lots. We've been told there is a large Canadian contingent, but most had flown back north by now..
We had looked around a bit here. It was hard, but not too hard to find someplace that was not a 55+ park, somewhere that would take a 4 year old. One fella offered to sneak us in as long as we did not use the pool. Fat chance of that happening. This is a Passport America park, so the 1/2 price fee was of course welcome. There were a couple of parks a bit closer to Joshua Tree, but I think we made a good decision for us.
Sky Valley was nice, except for the laundry payment setup. They have two separate swimming sections, adult only and family. Large size pool in both, three hot tubs in the adult section, two in the family. Seems the pools and tubs are fed from under ground hot water wells. They were nice.......
The resort is mostly park models with a few RV spaces which really may be unsold park model lots. We've been told there is a large Canadian contingent, but most had flown back north by now..
Day 26 - April 18 Blythe, Ca
When planning this trip early on we decided to stop off at Quartzite, Az, just because. Just Because it's one of the worlds largest gathering of RV'rs, snow birds hanging out in the desert during the coldest parts of Jan/Feb.
This being April, things pretty much have died down. So, we made a last minute change to stop just down the road in Blythe, Ca. in an RV park on the Colorado river. A much better choice as we snagged a spot overlooking the river. It did get a bit noisy with the late night river revelers but things quieted after one of the partyers fell in. Seems they did manager to pull him out though.
Next morning on to Joshua Tree National Park and Desert Hot Springs.
This being April, things pretty much have died down. So, we made a last minute change to stop just down the road in Blythe, Ca. in an RV park on the Colorado river. A much better choice as we snagged a spot overlooking the river. It did get a bit noisy with the late night river revelers but things quieted after one of the partyers fell in. Seems they did manager to pull him out though.
Next morning on to Joshua Tree National Park and Desert Hot Springs.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Day 25 - April 17 A stop off in Pheonix to tour Frank Lloyd Wrights western studio/school
Today was a "me" (Susan) day! We headed to Phoenix so that I could go on the tour of Talesin West, which is Frank Lloyd Wright's studio, "snowbird" home and unique training ground for a very select number of young architects (22 this year) working toward a Masters in Architecture. Because my home was built on a lot of the concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright, I've always had a strong interest in his design techniques and his creative endeavors. Plus, he was a fascinating character, definitely a flawed and flamboyant man (and not even a nice one at times), but he was unique and broke the staid, conservative architectural trends of the 1800's and until his death in 1957 at the age of 91.
So, Leroy volunteered to do Rosalie duty while I took the 90 minute tour, took her to a park and even out for ice cream while I got my FLW fix. And then off to a Mexican restaurant for a margarita and fajitas.....a perfect day!
Link to Talesin website
So, Leroy volunteered to do Rosalie duty while I took the 90 minute tour, took her to a park and even out for ice cream while I got my FLW fix. And then off to a Mexican restaurant for a margarita and fajitas.....a perfect day!
Link to Talesin website
Day 24 - April 16 Last day in Tucson, best kick back
Basically a slow do little day.
I don't think that we have yet had a true "do nothing" day, so we'll just call it a "do little day", ride the bikes, read a bit, go swimming, clean out the waste water tanks loose a couple keys.
Oh, we were invited by one of the Roadschooling family, to an outdoor movie on the side of a trailer. The feature was Robin Williams starring in "RV". Many there could identify with several scenes in the movie....
Tucson pics: Picasa Tucson
I don't think that we have yet had a true "do nothing" day, so we'll just call it a "do little day", ride the bikes, read a bit, go swimming, clean out the waste water tanks loose a couple keys.
Oh, we were invited by one of the Roadschooling family, to an outdoor movie on the side of a trailer. The feature was Robin Williams starring in "RV". Many there could identify with several scenes in the movie....
Tucson pics: Picasa Tucson
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Day 23 - April 15 Biosphere 2
It turns out that Biosphere 2 is just outside of Tucson, about an hours drive from the camp ground, so we decided to go see what we could see on our last sight seeing day in Tucson.
Biosphere 2 was built in the late 80's and saw two expeditions that sealed researchers inside the facility. It was built to mimic earths environment, hence the name, and allow for controlled studies of the effects of changes within an environment.
The first expedition lasted the planned 2 years, the second just 6 months into a 10 month commitments. Seems the second ended due to a dispute between the owners and the management running the place as well as the expedition team members.
It cost in the neighborhood of 200 million to build, but is no longer serving it's original purpose of being a sealed environment. The University of Arizona has taken it over and does conduct their environmental experiments there, just not in a fully sealed environ.
Biosphere 2 was built in the late 80's and saw two expeditions that sealed researchers inside the facility. It was built to mimic earths environment, hence the name, and allow for controlled studies of the effects of changes within an environment.
The first expedition lasted the planned 2 years, the second just 6 months into a 10 month commitments. Seems the second ended due to a dispute between the owners and the management running the place as well as the expedition team members.
It cost in the neighborhood of 200 million to build, but is no longer serving it's original purpose of being a sealed environment. The University of Arizona has taken it over and does conduct their environmental experiments there, just not in a fully sealed environ.
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| Biosphere 2 tour entrance |
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| Future researcher checking it out |
Day 22 - April 14 A day at the house on wheels
I wish we could have called this a day of rest, but it was not.
Susan and Rosalie cleaned, put stuff away, and generally spruced up the inside of the house with wheels.
Leroy R and R'd a waste water valve that had been giving us trouble during this entire trip, refilled a propane tank, returned some things to camping world.
We have been having ant visitors for the past week or 2. Not a large infestation, just two or three at a time. We stumbled across their nest and quickly tried, sentenced, and executed the little suckers. A little old west justice for squatters, hopefully their relatives will not come calling soon.
Susan and Rosalie cleaned, put stuff away, and generally spruced up the inside of the house with wheels.
Leroy R and R'd a waste water valve that had been giving us trouble during this entire trip, refilled a propane tank, returned some things to camping world.
We have been having ant visitors for the past week or 2. Not a large infestation, just two or three at a time. We stumbled across their nest and quickly tried, sentenced, and executed the little suckers. A little old west justice for squatters, hopefully their relatives will not come calling soon.
Day 21 - April 13 A visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Today was another field trip day.
We headed off for a 9:15 am rendezvous with other conference attendees at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This museum is just outside of Tucson adjacent to the western part of the Saguaro National Park. It's a mostly outdoor museum dedicated to the plants and animals of the surrounding desert. It's a very well done facility. Their flying birds of prey exhibition was very exciting. We could just about feel their feet drag across out heads as the owls and hawks flew over our heads.
About 5 hours later we come dragging out the exit and still we made it only about 1/3 through the exhibit.
We headed off for a 9:15 am rendezvous with other conference attendees at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. This museum is just outside of Tucson adjacent to the western part of the Saguaro National Park. It's a mostly outdoor museum dedicated to the plants and animals of the surrounding desert. It's a very well done facility. Their flying birds of prey exhibition was very exciting. We could just about feel their feet drag across out heads as the owls and hawks flew over our heads.
About 5 hours later we come dragging out the exit and still we made it only about 1/3 through the exhibit.
Day 20 - April 12 Worlds Best Roadschooling Convention Day 3, Tucson
Today the road schooling convention wrapped up.
Another day of interesting presentations, especially with Mac the fire guy. Today was a bit more on fire safety with emphasis on escaping the burning RV. Mac had arranged for Lazy Daze to provide us a coach that we could use for a live demonstration of how to crawl out an escape window. Both Susan and Leroy jumped at the chance to give it a try. Feet first out a window that had a comforter thrown over the top of the metal edging. Fortunately we had catchers on the outside to help us down. It was a worth while experience, it's just too bad not more of the participants choose to run the exercise. Five of us out of maybe 20 or so....
The day ended with a pizza party and dinner murder mystery put on by the volunteer attendees. This was well worth our time attending, kind of sorry to see it end, but a day or two of rest sounds good.
Another day of interesting presentations, especially with Mac the fire guy. Today was a bit more on fire safety with emphasis on escaping the burning RV. Mac had arranged for Lazy Daze to provide us a coach that we could use for a live demonstration of how to crawl out an escape window. Both Susan and Leroy jumped at the chance to give it a try. Feet first out a window that had a comforter thrown over the top of the metal edging. Fortunately we had catchers on the outside to help us down. It was a worth while experience, it's just too bad not more of the participants choose to run the exercise. Five of us out of maybe 20 or so....
The day ended with a pizza party and dinner murder mystery put on by the volunteer attendees. This was well worth our time attending, kind of sorry to see it end, but a day or two of rest sounds good.
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| Getting his butt out of there |
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Day 19 - April 11 Worlds Best Roadschooling Convention Day 2, Tucson
Day 2 of the Roadschooling convention started off early, 10 am. That's early for use. But, we did manage to make it. More talks today, geocaching for the kids, lap books and RV fire safety for the adults.
The organizers were able to get Mac the Fire guy in. If you are in the RV circle you may had heard of him. His line is that "you have 20 seconds to get out". These coaches and trailers are marvelous adventures, but they are death traps in the event of a fire. When you sit and think about it a bit, it does make a lot of sense. Mac's talk was well worth the conference even if there were nothing else. Tomorrow he will lead us through getting out of those sorry excuse for fire escape windows.
We picked up some travel packets as our way of getting the toe wet so to speak. One of the organizers ( The Road School Teacher) sells information packets about some of the major areas they have been to. Local info, sites to see, history, etc. Seeing as we are planning to get to San Fran, we bought one for there, one for Tucson and another. A way to pay back for all the effort to put this convention on.
The day was wrapped up with a Chili cook off, Leroy came in third thank you very much. ( 3rd of 5 :o) ). It was "Not Your Texas Chili chili". Probably should have called it Oklahoma chili. The pot was too small to call it a Texas crock pot, the chili had hamburger and beans, both a no no for Texas chili. Probably was not hot enough either. Hopefully the Texas citizen league will not find out and put me back on probation for not being a good Texas representative......
We ended the day with a bit of dancing to a local square dance band. The kids did most of the dancing, but the adults of the WeBeGone team did manage to get a couple waltzes in.
The organizers were able to get Mac the Fire guy in. If you are in the RV circle you may had heard of him. His line is that "you have 20 seconds to get out". These coaches and trailers are marvelous adventures, but they are death traps in the event of a fire. When you sit and think about it a bit, it does make a lot of sense. Mac's talk was well worth the conference even if there were nothing else. Tomorrow he will lead us through getting out of those sorry excuse for fire escape windows.
We picked up some travel packets as our way of getting the toe wet so to speak. One of the organizers ( The Road School Teacher) sells information packets about some of the major areas they have been to. Local info, sites to see, history, etc. Seeing as we are planning to get to San Fran, we bought one for there, one for Tucson and another. A way to pay back for all the effort to put this convention on.
The day was wrapped up with a Chili cook off, Leroy came in third thank you very much. ( 3rd of 5 :o) ). It was "Not Your Texas Chili chili". Probably should have called it Oklahoma chili. The pot was too small to call it a Texas crock pot, the chili had hamburger and beans, both a no no for Texas chili. Probably was not hot enough either. Hopefully the Texas citizen league will not find out and put me back on probation for not being a good Texas representative......
We ended the day with a bit of dancing to a local square dance band. The kids did most of the dancing, but the adults of the WeBeGone team did manage to get a couple waltzes in.
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| Great sun set |
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| ready for the party |
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| No pain, no fun |
Day 18 - April 10 Worlds Best Road Schooling Convention, day 1
Today was the first day of the Worlds Best Roadschooling Convention.
Susan has been kicking around the idea of home schooling little Rose as a means of prolonging our adventures. While poking around the internet for info we ran across the Full Time Families web site. It turns out they had scheduled a get together or convention in Tucson just about the same time we had planned to pass through town. So, we altered our time table a bit and signed up to see what we could learn. Nothing like going directly to the experts.
We signed up for a couple of field trips and headed over to the gumbo fest as mentioned in previous posts. Today kicked off the three day event. They are holding some talks on various subjects for the educators as well as having something for the students (kids). Today was crafts and an egg drop for Rosalie, and book exchange, rig driving round table discussion and home tours for the adults.
The day was topped off with a dessert pot luck followed by a key note speaker. I think everyone in the crew thought it was a great and interesting day.
Susan has been kicking around the idea of home schooling little Rose as a means of prolonging our adventures. While poking around the internet for info we ran across the Full Time Families web site. It turns out they had scheduled a get together or convention in Tucson just about the same time we had planned to pass through town. So, we altered our time table a bit and signed up to see what we could learn. Nothing like going directly to the experts.
We signed up for a couple of field trips and headed over to the gumbo fest as mentioned in previous posts. Today kicked off the three day event. They are holding some talks on various subjects for the educators as well as having something for the students (kids). Today was crafts and an egg drop for Rosalie, and book exchange, rig driving round table discussion and home tours for the adults.
The day was topped off with a dessert pot luck followed by a key note speaker. I think everyone in the crew thought it was a great and interesting day.
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| Rose's egg drop, in a yogurt container about half way down. It survived. |
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| The farm scene |
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| Pin the tail on who?? |
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Day 17 - April 9 Pima Air and Space Musuem
Today was another field trip day. This time to the Tucson Pima Air and Space Museum.
They are just a few miles from the RV park just off of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base one the edge of Tucson. They bill themselves as "one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums."
With over 80 acres and 300 aircraft, who's to argue.
I suspect they have an advantage over most air museums as they are located across the road from the "309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG)", sometimes known as the "bone yard".
Due to the extremely low humidity this is where surplus aircraft are stored, out doors of course. Planes come here to wait until they are needed again, to be salvaged for parts, or to get shredded when no longer needed. Those aircraft represent a whole lot of our dollars sitting there wasting away. I guess they claim to earn a few million dollars in cost savings by recycling, but that of course does not count the initial cost of these planes. They even had a row of planes that went directly from the manufacturing floor to this facility. Talk about a waste.
The web site: Tucson Pima Air and Space Museum
They are just a few miles from the RV park just off of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base one the edge of Tucson. They bill themselves as "one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums."
With over 80 acres and 300 aircraft, who's to argue.
I suspect they have an advantage over most air museums as they are located across the road from the "309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG)", sometimes known as the "bone yard".
Due to the extremely low humidity this is where surplus aircraft are stored, out doors of course. Planes come here to wait until they are needed again, to be salvaged for parts, or to get shredded when no longer needed. Those aircraft represent a whole lot of our dollars sitting there wasting away. I guess they claim to earn a few million dollars in cost savings by recycling, but that of course does not count the initial cost of these planes. They even had a row of planes that went directly from the manufacturing floor to this facility. Talk about a waste.
The web site: Tucson Pima Air and Space Museum
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| Pilot giving last minute direction |
Day 16 - April 8 Miniature Time Machine
Today's event was heading off to the Tucson Miniature Time Machine Museum. This is a museum loaded with miniatures. Think doll houses to the extreme. Some pretty amazing intricate and fine work on a small scale. This field trip was arranged by the good folks associated with the Road Schooling convention. Fortunately we had met most of the folks last night at the gumbo fest.
We joined two other couples and their kids for a late lunch at Chili's, then headed out for our weekly Wal-mart grocery shopping fix.
The Miniature Time Machine museum
We joined two other couples and their kids for a late lunch at Chili's, then headed out for our weekly Wal-mart grocery shopping fix.
The Miniature Time Machine museum
Day 15 - April 7 Saguaro National Park
Today saw a quick trip to Camping world. We had three coupons burning a hole in our pocket. Besides we needed another sewer hose. Seems the Arizona campsite builders like to put the sewer connections at the back end of the site. Took the full 25 ft to make it. But, we did get our $45 worth of coupons disposed of.
Then it was off to Saguaro National Park, the US home of those funny looking tall cactus with arms. A bit of driving, hiking, and book work and Rosalie pocketed Jr Ranger badge # 9. We were feeling pretty good about that until we met on road school mother who happened to mention one of her sons had 22. It is a great way to get the younger kids involved in what they are seeing. The work booklets are very similar in structure, the animals, tracks, nature settings are geared toward the park in question.
The Park web site: Saguaro National Park
We ended the long arduous day by joining the Full Time Family's group for a gumbo get together at one of the members site where we mingled, talked, enjoyed some gumbo, lost a bowl, and generally had a great time.
Then it was off to Saguaro National Park, the US home of those funny looking tall cactus with arms. A bit of driving, hiking, and book work and Rosalie pocketed Jr Ranger badge # 9. We were feeling pretty good about that until we met on road school mother who happened to mention one of her sons had 22. It is a great way to get the younger kids involved in what they are seeing. The work booklets are very similar in structure, the animals, tracks, nature settings are geared toward the park in question.
The Park web site: Saguaro National Park
We ended the long arduous day by joining the Full Time Family's group for a gumbo get together at one of the members site where we mingled, talked, enjoyed some gumbo, lost a bowl, and generally had a great time.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Day 14 - April 6 Tucson bound
Today we headed off and of course arrived in Tucson for the Worlds Best Roadschooling Convention.
Tucson was just a hop skip and a couple jumps from Tombstone. One of our shorter drive days, nice...
We stumbled across the convention when we were looking into the possibility of home schooling Rosalie at least through pre-school and perhaps kindergarten. Neither of the adults have much of a clue as to how this was done so we thought we would drop in on the experts and see what it's all about. So far we have three outings scheduled with the group in addition to the three days of the convention. We are looking forward to hopefully learning a few things.
Tomorrow we think we will head off to Camping world for some more sewer hose and a couple of other things (yippee) then off to Saguaro National park to see if we can see some cactus and earn another Jr Ranger badge....
Tucson was just a hop skip and a couple jumps from Tombstone. One of our shorter drive days, nice...
We stumbled across the convention when we were looking into the possibility of home schooling Rosalie at least through pre-school and perhaps kindergarten. Neither of the adults have much of a clue as to how this was done so we thought we would drop in on the experts and see what it's all about. So far we have three outings scheduled with the group in addition to the three days of the convention. We are looking forward to hopefully learning a few things.
Tomorrow we think we will head off to Camping world for some more sewer hose and a couple of other things (yippee) then off to Saguaro National park to see if we can see some cactus and earn another Jr Ranger badge....
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| Rose has arrived... |
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Day 13 - April 5 Tombstone, revisited
Our last day in Tombstone before we head out to Tucson.
Today we:
- Visited the Worlds Largest Rose Tree, really a tree more than a bush. It was planted in the spring of 1885.
- Rode the Trolley to Boot Hill where we took in the local sites, the graves marked with the notables as well as the unknowns.
- Took in a comedy gun fight where the bad guy almost won, but alas the good guy did right in the end.
- Had late lunch at the Longhorn Saloon. Late lunch's are starting to become a habit....
- Back to the trailer to play sword fights, dolls, and video games..
Some of the pictures of Tuscon: WebPicasa Tombstone Az. Pics
Today we:
- Visited the Worlds Largest Rose Tree, really a tree more than a bush. It was planted in the spring of 1885.
- Rode the Trolley to Boot Hill where we took in the local sites, the graves marked with the notables as well as the unknowns.
- Took in a comedy gun fight where the bad guy almost won, but alas the good guy did right in the end.
- Had late lunch at the Longhorn Saloon. Late lunch's are starting to become a habit....
- Back to the trailer to play sword fights, dolls, and video games..
Some of the pictures of Tuscon: WebPicasa Tombstone Az. Pics
Day 12 - April 4, Tombstone, gunfights, museums,
Today was a walk around historic Tombstone.
First stop was a gun fight at the OK Corral, or rather near by the Corral in an alley off of Fremont street. Seems the rumor that the fight took place in a corral was another of Hollywood's made up stories. Seemed to sound better than the gun fight off Fremont Street.
Then we boarded the local stage coach for a trip about the town. Took about 30 mins to see the major sites, buildings, houses that still remain. Tombstone has a pretty stories past, only a portion of which we see/hear about on the tours.
Another late lunch at Big Nose Kate's.
First stop was a gun fight at the OK Corral, or rather near by the Corral in an alley off of Fremont street. Seems the rumor that the fight took place in a corral was another of Hollywood's made up stories. Seemed to sound better than the gun fight off Fremont Street.
Then we boarded the local stage coach for a trip about the town. Took about 30 mins to see the major sites, buildings, houses that still remain. Tombstone has a pretty stories past, only a portion of which we see/hear about on the tours.
Another late lunch at Big Nose Kate's.
Day 11 - April 3 Arrive in Tombstone, Az
Today was a short drive day. Just 136 miles from Lordsburg to Tombstone, AZ. No wind or dust today, thank goodness.
After getting checked into the park we took a walk around the main tourist part of town, took in dinner at the Crystal Palace and back to the house for the night.
After getting checked into the park we took a walk around the main tourist part of town, took in dinner at the Crystal Palace and back to the house for the night.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Day 10 - April 2 Travel Day, time to gather up some dust
Today was a travel day. Heading from Alamogordo toward Tombstone, Az.
We spent most of the day fighting a very sandy head wind across southern New Mexico. There were a few spots with limited visibility but fortunately nothing dangerous. We will need to do some serious dusting of the truck, trailer, and each other if/when we get out of sand country....
Stopped for the day in Lordsburg, NM. We should make Tombstone in about 2-3 hours tomorrow.
Rosalie and Gigi topped off the day with a bit of technical experimentation by firing up and connecting with a Skype video chat.
We spent most of the day fighting a very sandy head wind across southern New Mexico. There were a few spots with limited visibility but fortunately nothing dangerous. We will need to do some serious dusting of the truck, trailer, and each other if/when we get out of sand country....
Stopped for the day in Lordsburg, NM. We should make Tombstone in about 2-3 hours tomorrow.
Rosalie and Gigi topped off the day with a bit of technical experimentation by firing up and connecting with a Skype video chat.
Day 9 - April 1 We were not fooled, and we like pistatios
Today's big adventure was a trip to the world famous Eagle Ranch Heart of the Desert Pistachio farm just down the road from the Edgeington RV park outside of Alamogordo.
We spent about 3 hours learning all about Pistachios, how they grow, are harvested and packaged. We sampled their Pistachio wine (didn't care for it) as well as the Pistachio gelato which Rosalie really, really liked.
Some Alamogordo pics: Picasa Alamogordo:
We spent about 3 hours learning all about Pistachios, how they grow, are harvested and packaged. We sampled their Pistachio wine (didn't care for it) as well as the Pistachio gelato which Rosalie really, really liked.
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| Rosalie and Peppy Pistachio |
Some Alamogordo pics: Picasa Alamogordo:
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Day 8 - Mar 31 White Sands National Monument, Junior ranger badge 8
Seemed like it was going to be a good day today to get out and explore the White Sands dunes, turned out it was.
We headed out to the park fairly early by our standards. Stopped off at the visitors center to pick up the Junior Ranger packet and the obligatory sand sled and headed for the dunes.
The dunes here are primarily made up of gypsum and are a sugary white. They would make any ocean beach blush with shame. The gypsum from the surrounding mountains dissolves in the rain runoff which makes its way to the two lakes that comprise the runoff basin. There is no outlet for the water so it collects in the two lakes. Then the summer comes along and evaporates the average of 10" they get a year. The resulting minerals that remain are what eventually make up the dunes of White sands. The relentless wind pulverizes the fragile mineral until it becomes the sugary sand dunes we slide down today.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that we did not have to walk the 3/4 mile of so to the dunes as we had at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. In this park they had plowed a road out through a section of the dunes where we found covered picnic tables set up about 50' from a usable dune. I suppose they will need to move the tables in a year or so, else they will get covered.
The dunes here are not near as high as those at the Great Sand Dunes, which I suppose is why it's called the "Great" sand dunes. But adequate for a four year old. Unfortunately the sleds are plastic and not really designed for adults. Both of us big people tried of course but we seemed to slide down slower than walking up, the plastic deformed and we just did not move much,
We had to call it a fairly early day as the wind started kicking up and none of us were interested in seeing the inner workings of a sand storm, no matter how tame it was.
Back to the park station to complete the Junior Ranger requirements. Rosalie was sworn in and received her 8th ranger badge.
A late dinner at a local Mexican restaurant rounded out another great day on the road.
We headed out to the park fairly early by our standards. Stopped off at the visitors center to pick up the Junior Ranger packet and the obligatory sand sled and headed for the dunes.
The dunes here are primarily made up of gypsum and are a sugary white. They would make any ocean beach blush with shame. The gypsum from the surrounding mountains dissolves in the rain runoff which makes its way to the two lakes that comprise the runoff basin. There is no outlet for the water so it collects in the two lakes. Then the summer comes along and evaporates the average of 10" they get a year. The resulting minerals that remain are what eventually make up the dunes of White sands. The relentless wind pulverizes the fragile mineral until it becomes the sugary sand dunes we slide down today.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that we did not have to walk the 3/4 mile of so to the dunes as we had at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. In this park they had plowed a road out through a section of the dunes where we found covered picnic tables set up about 50' from a usable dune. I suppose they will need to move the tables in a year or so, else they will get covered.
The dunes here are not near as high as those at the Great Sand Dunes, which I suppose is why it's called the "Great" sand dunes. But adequate for a four year old. Unfortunately the sleds are plastic and not really designed for adults. Both of us big people tried of course but we seemed to slide down slower than walking up, the plastic deformed and we just did not move much,
We had to call it a fairly early day as the wind started kicking up and none of us were interested in seeing the inner workings of a sand storm, no matter how tame it was.
Back to the park station to complete the Junior Ranger requirements. Rosalie was sworn in and received her 8th ranger badge.
A late dinner at a local Mexican restaurant rounded out another great day on the road.
Day 7 - Mar 30 New Mexico Space Museum and time around the house
It was a split up day.
Leroy went to the local space museum located on the mountain side overlooking Alamogordo. It is not the largest museum around but was interesting none the less. White Sands, just out side of Alamogordo, has a rich history connected with our rocket development history. The first A bomb of course was set off 70 miles to the north, rocket motors and systems were tested here, safety restraints developed for the astronauts that resulted in automobile seat belts were tested here. This part of the Chihuahua desert has been busy over they years. They still do testing out here, closing the park and a near by US highway a couple days a week for up to two hours.
The ladies of the house stayed at the park and played dolls, did the laundry (thanks girls..), explored the RV park, did a bit of schooling, and had a bit of one on one time together.
Dinner of hot dogs and mac and cheese rounded out the day....
Leroy went to the local space museum located on the mountain side overlooking Alamogordo. It is not the largest museum around but was interesting none the less. White Sands, just out side of Alamogordo, has a rich history connected with our rocket development history. The first A bomb of course was set off 70 miles to the north, rocket motors and systems were tested here, safety restraints developed for the astronauts that resulted in automobile seat belts were tested here. This part of the Chihuahua desert has been busy over they years. They still do testing out here, closing the park and a near by US highway a couple days a week for up to two hours.
The ladies of the house stayed at the park and played dolls, did the laundry (thanks girls..), explored the RV park, did a bit of schooling, and had a bit of one on one time together.
Dinner of hot dogs and mac and cheese rounded out the day....
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