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A fun weekend in November | Mohave
desert ~ Old Wheels
Oregon
| Fall 2001
2002 TOUR~Aug+September
Pictures
2002 will include travel to Virginia for graduation ceremonies at Roanoke College for Kelli's graduation, Fargo and Fort Ransom for Sodbuster days and more high country camping in the west.
| We're off to see the
USA! California to Maine
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After weeks of outfitting and equipping our new Ford truck and Callen camper we left home in San Dimas California mid-afternoon on May 10th. A stop in Victorville for a few supplies , then north on I 15 through small desert towns heading in the direction of Las Vegas. The last of the spectacular spring wildflower show gave a beckoning array of color to the spectacular Mohave desert scenery passing before us. When the Casinos of Primm Nevada (Stateline) appeared we thought dinner sounded good and we stopped at our favorite, Buffalo Bills! A superb dinner, margaritas at their Mexican restaurant and winning $3 on the video poker machines rounded out the evening. |
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Friday morning we motored to St George
Utah, then we were off for Zion National Park in SE Utah. I've visited here for 40 years and I'm still
thrilled enough to take more photos. a few taken late in the afternoon
from our campsite will be revealed if you follow the link. ZION NP Photos Bryce Canyon NP Photos Capitol Reef NP & Eastern Utah |
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 Soon we were approaching Capitol Reef NP and more red rock country. |
Cool cloudy
weather replaced the heat of Zion as we climbed toward Bryce Canyon National
Park Utah.
Glad to be traveling before the summer crowds and have our choice of the
best campsites. Up early we had the view points to ourselves,
snow still rested in the shaded crevices and canyons. Multi colored in
hues that shock the senses, the geometry and geography send the photographer
into a "just one more" quest for the ultimate image. Winding our
way through the park, traffic increased enough to give us an urge to move
on to the next unknown. We headed east into the desert and the small town
of Escalante Utah. As you descend into the desert you get a new view of Bryce from the lower elevations and more visual surprises. Passing into the area known as the "Escalante Staircase" opens new exciting vistas, vast expanses of rock, pinion pine and ancient juniper forest. Mud hills resembling the Dakota badlands emerge from the desert floor as if thrust upward by some explosive event. Actually they are the result of millions of years of erosion, actually melted down instead of pushed up by the forces of nature. |
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Capitol Reef NP Utah campground sits in a valley filled with
ancient cottonwood trees and sprawls over the land which was once a
pioneer ranch. A barn, horses and orchards retain the old ranch feeling
and was a nice place to camp. As we rested up for the next days adventure
deer, raven and chukar (a quail like bird) roamed the grassy campground. A
booming thunderstorm flashed through the area cooling the air and giving
us a grand sunset to accent a few pictures.
Tomorrow we tackle the Rockies with our big diesel truck and spend the night in Denver Colorado. |
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We spent a few days visiting Tyler & Lynne (Tyler is Deloris's brother) in Mobridge SD. Located on the Missouri river and known for its fishing and hunting, the pace is slow and friendly, a great place for Tyler to retire. After several relaxed days of cookouts and visiting we headed into another rainy day on the road, bound for Fargo North Dakota and Deloris's mom Edna's home. Edna has lived in the same house in Fargo for a long time and we will be here for about two weeks to do repairs on the family home and visit family on their farms. |
Denver gave us the feeling we were in an
overcrowded, overgrown, busy, busy big city. Dinner and a motel for the
night were all we needed and we headed north into Wyoming where the
cowboys on horses were well into the spring roundup, herding, roping and
tagging the new spring calves. Ranching is big business, in open rolling
grasslands where Pronghorn Antelope roam and graze right along with the
cattle. Soon the Black Hills of South Dakota appeared on the horizon and we found our camp at Sheridan Lake. We BBQ'd a tasty steak, enjoyed a vintage bottle of Napa Valley old vine Zinfandel and a roaring campfire. In the morning we awoke to rain pounding on our roof; after packing between showers we headed for Mt. Rushmore and the spectacular Presidential sculpture. You really have to see it in person to get the full impact of size and proportion. The picture below shows George Washington from a distance, his nose is twenty feet high!
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A week of cold windy weather, rain and temps. into the
mid-30's made poor working conditions here in Fargo. Deloris chauffeured
Mom and a couple of friends to the casinos in Minn. and ND on Monday. I
stayed at home and whittled away at my chore list, we all had fun but
only I came out ahead because a trip to the hardware store only cost me
10 bucks :)) All week we have dodged the rain and worked in the wind but the air is clean and I enjoyed the house repair work (honey doo's). Edna's home was rebuilt after a tornado destroyed the original Livingston home in 1959, so lots of things are worn-out and run down. Tomorrow (Saturday 5/26) we will drive to Lisbon and Fort Ransom to attend a farmers auction and visit with family. Deloris' uncles have farmed the area for many years and are retiring. This sale will include some of their accumulated antiques and farm equipment. Fort Ransom area history dates back to the Viking explorers, evidence of Viking ship moorings are documented on the family farms! Vast areas of North Dakota were flooded when the Vikings sailed and explored the area. A roofing project next week and more yard work will keep me busy and out of trouble, ah well except for maybe one trip to a casino and dinner out. Probably will head east after that, I can taste the Maine 'lobsta' now. |
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The Farm Auction in
Lisbon was a day full of fun! Lots of new faces for me to meet and
family visits for Deloris. Late in the day after everything was sold we
met in the park for a hot dinner provided by Peggy and Marlow Johnson
(Deloris' uncle). Lots more visiting, farm talk, RV comparisons, etc.
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The city of Enderlin
ND is seen from several miles away because grain elevators and a
large sunflower seed terminal rise from the flat prairie. |
In case you have not guessed by now, this locomotive is designed to plow snow off the tracks. Something this Californian has never seen! |
June 02, 2001, we have had another
rainy, windy week here in Fargo filled with fix-its, cleaning and yard
work. Last night we went to Hankinson ND, 65 miles south for dinner and casino action. Deloris and I both took some nickels home from the
same slot machine, so we had a dinner on the house and left with
gas money in our pockets. Monday we leave for Tracy's home in Manassas Virginia. On the road for three days or so, a distance of about 1350 miles. While in VA we will visit our nations capitol for more of those fabulous Smithsonian Museums. This will be my third visit to DC and I'm sure not my last. Tour page 2 ~ North Dakota to Maine Don't miss the Washington DC & Smithsonian Photo Page. |
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