9/29/2010 (Wed) - Hanging out in Bakersfield

Don’t you just love the cat picture.....that was me in the truck while on the road yesterday.

Ruth had originally planned to be in Michigan this Thursday so she had pretty well emptied out her fridge of perishables. So this morning, Jim and Ruth walked to the grocery store to pick up things for breakfast while I stayed behind and showered.

After breakfast we walked to the clubhouse to use their wifi as we can not access the internet in Ruth’s home. And you know I have to post my blog as this has become an important part of my day.

Once back at Ruth’s we played Yahtzee and you guessed right - winner Ruth won again. How she does that is beyond me but she always wins. We are going to play Spinner Dominoes later tonight.

Spinner Domino Game

We went out to lunch at Subway and then went to Trader Joe's. I was not aware that in CA you can get Charles Shaw wine for $1.99 instead of the $2.99 we pay in MI. So naturally with a savings of $12.00 a case Jim purchased another case so now he has saved a total of $24.00 or the cost of another case.

Trader Joe's

Jim relaxing

Evening arrived, and sure enough we played dominoes and sure enough I lost. Not just a little lost but beyond anything you could imagine. Jim won most of the games tonight and Ruth won the rest. Tell me again why I brought this game here... I should just leave it with Ruth.

9/28/2010 (Tue) - On The Road Again

We woke up to 72 degree temps inside the 5th wheel this morning and that was wonderful.  Just maybe that insulation window stuff might work.

We had made arrangements to go to Bakersfield, CA so today at 7:45am we left. We drove on I-10 and let me tell you driving, or should I say riding, while Jim drove thru some of the busiest traffic I have ever been in, was unbelievable. Jim drove on 202 thru Phoenix and that connected with I-10. The traffic was three lanes west and three lanes east. It moved along nicely and really was not horrible.

From Phoenix to the California border was desert like in appearance, which surprised me as I did not even think about that section being desert. We stopped just before the California border to get yet more fuel and coffee. One thing about getting large amounts of fuel is that most of the pumps shut off after $75.00 and the pumps do not like to take the same card twice. So we have to have more than one card to get larger amounts of fuel. Sometimes stations will let you get what you need by opening the pump but not all. 

After fueling we hopped back on I-10 and drove into California and for a while it was not any worse than in Phoenix. But that only lasted for a while as the closer we got to Los Angeles the worse it got. Somehow the roads became six lanes west and six lanes east and how traffic can move that fast is beyond me. The right two lanes were truck lanes and there was no way anyone could get into those lanes as the trucks were what looked like six feet apart just roaring along clacking and rattling scaring me by how close they ran to the next lane. The traffic kept getting faster and faster and busier and busier. All I could hear is swish swish as traffic crept closer and closer to us. Before long we were four lanes of what looked like cars all hooked together roaring ahead at 75mph.

That’s when I saw that a bypass would take us up and away from I-10 away from Los Angeles. I said to Jim, “Jim why don’t we take bypass 210 around this area as it hooks up with I-5 which is the road we need?” Jim said, “MaryAnn, do you want to reroute Geraldine (our GPS) you know how she hates that?”  I said, “Jim this traffic is horrible yes I think we should. Jim said, “MaryAnn this is not so bad why not just stay on I-10 like Geraldine wants us to.” I said, “Okay!”

I waited and it got worse and worse so I repeated my request. Same answer. By then in my mind I was grabbing Geraldine with both my hands squeezing the screen, screaming into her face take 210, take 210 you @%$*&^#.” All I heard from her was, “In two miles stay on I-10" coming out of the GPS with that irritating voice of hers. I suggested one more time that we take 210. Same answer, “Let’s just do what Geraldine says.”

Finally Geraldine got smarter or maybe it’s because I was strangling her. She told us to turn north so we could hit bypass 210. I breathed a sign of relief, but before I could get comfortable she came back with new instructions to get off 210 to go onto highway 134. With my hands on my head I said, “Why - why?”

I mentioned to Jim that we should just stay on 210. He said, "Geraldine is doing fine I’ll follow her." More swishing, honking, tooting roaring traffic. Believe it or not Geraldine finally routed us to I-5 north, thru horrible traffic, that now was almost all huge giant trucks all moving incredibly slow because now we were going thru the mountains and of course they once again had the right two lanes so we could not get off even if we had it. And I needed to.....after all I had had three cups of coffee. So finally I did the only possible thing I could do.....I was exhausted - I took a nap!

Traffic was so busy I would be hard pressed to tell you what the scenery was like as I was watching the road all the time.....well that is except when out of desperation I had to take that nap.

Finally and I say finally, after seven incredible hours we arrived at Ruth’s house. Almost before I said hello I took care of ‘pressing’ business. She looks great and her new place is just perfect in every way.
We arrived around four in the afternoon. The only bad thing is that we did not have lunch because the traffic was so busy and so fast we could not get off the highway. I should say thanks to the truckers that is, because all exits go off to the right remember and the trucks were six inches apart remember.

We had a very early dinner. Ruth knew of this really good Mexican restaurant so we went there and had take out. She was right it was excellent.

I had brought the game Spinner dominoes as I knew that Ruth liked to play that game. I really think the reason she likes it so much is that she always wins...so once again she was happy. She won.

The closer we got to the west coast the hazier the weather seemed. It’s like a fog was setting in.  So these are the pics I took on Tues.

Bear Mountain - Do you see the Bears?

Ooops it's Teddy Bear Cactus not real bears.

Got ya.

Desert between AZ and CA

Palm Trees don't do well here

Mountains

Along I-5 driving thru the mountains.

Closer to Bakersfield

I will write more tomorrow or rather today as it's today already.  Hope you are having a fine day, we are.

9/27/2010 (Mon) - Hotter than Hot

We have made a decision to head out tomorrow for Bakersfield, CA to visit Jim's sister.  The heat here is just out of control.  We are leaving the 5th wheel here and just taking the truck so we can make it there in one day.   We plan to stay maybe four days then head to Lake Havasu City for a day as I want to see the London Bridge. 

I tell you it's a good thing one of my life skills is being flexible as I certainly have to be.   We had originally planned to stop to see Jim's sister on our way down from the west coast so this is sort of in our plans anyway.  Now it's just a 500 mile detour.  I have us mostly packed to go because how much effort is it to pack shorts and tops.  None.  It's to hot to get creative.  Will be nice to spend time with Ruth.

We did go to Home Depot and purchased some insulation material to put up in the windows.  It's that silvery stuff that is reflective and gosh the windows are almost normal.  Before you could hardly touch the inside framing.  I think it will help but the only thing is, no light can come thru the windows now.  But at least it's not as hot.  When it cools down to 90 we can just remove it.

With the '3 month plus package' we booked when we got here, we have our choice of four events that are included in that price.  The only one I know I want to go to is the Oktoberfest but beyond that I just don't know.

We finally have decent wifi as we ordered it and they came to take care of it tonight.  Good price too, first month free, every month after that $33.00 stop anytime.  Certainly will work for us.  This is so much better as the park wifi is beyond slow.  

I'm beat tonight not because I've done anything but the heat just zaps it out of a person.  No pics today just to hot to go out.  Will be taking pics tomorrow for sure.

9/26/2010 (Sun)

Early this morning with the temp 81 already, Jim decided that he did not like the 5th wheel sitting the way it was as he did not think it was level enough.  Me I had no problem with it at all.  So he hooked up the truck to the 5th wheel and with all the slides open and everything hooked up except the sewer he move it forward and put boards under one side of the tires and then brought it back.  Didn't take all that long but it was getting really hot that early.   Today's temp topped out at 106 degrees.

Later in the day we went shopping for groceries again and when we came back we noticed that the guy across the street had his four way flasher blinking on his truck. Jim walked across the street to tell the guy and we ended up going there for a happy hour. In talking to them we learned that they are workampers and they are in the activity area. They decorate for events.

They told us they loved to dance and asked us if we wanted to go to this place called 'Superstition Ski' as they dance there. So we said yes and we went. What it is is a local bar that has entertainment and tonight it was jam session night.  We ate there and had the best hamburgers ever.  They tried and I say tried to teach us to dance one dance step. We are pittiful to say the least. Their names are Don and Sarah and they have been together almost a year and actually met at a dance studio as they both took lessons. Well can they dance!   They told us if we can walk we can dance. Will see if they believe that in another month or so.

Don and Sarah

This young man was absolutely excellent

So our day was not all that exciting and the good news is that tomorrow is only forecast to be 105.

9/25/2010 (Sat) - Williams, AZ to Mesa, AZ (200 miles)

We were up and at it early today but did not leave until 9:00am.  The trip took us down I-40 to Flagstaff and then onto I-17 until we reached Mesa.  Very uneventful trip. 

I did not see any cactus until about 50 miles north of Mesa.   Then I saw prickly pear, teddy bear, and saguaro Cactus.  The saguaro cactus are the huge ones with the arms sticking out.  It takes that cactus almost 80-100 years of growing before it starts to have the arms grow out.  They were just everywhere alongside I-17 while we were driving.  Someone told me they are a protected plant.  If one is in the way of a new building project it needs to be moved and replanted somewhere else.  Teddy bear cactus are sort of cute as they have white furry stuff on them and they grow quite close to the ground.

Saguaro Catcus

Main Street at Sun Life RV Resort

Looks like Barrel Cactus to me

Could be Prickley Pear Cactus

Jim pulling into our spot

Chef Jim

We're havin bacon, lettuce and tomato Sandwiches

To hot to cook inside

We arrived at our site around noon and when I got out of the truck I about passed out.  It was blazing hot!!  105 degrees and did you notice our site does not have any shade.  I don't think I have ever been in that hot of heat.  Within minutes I was soaked.  We did most everything we could outside and then came inside to cool off.  The only problem was the air conditioner kept shutting off from overheating.  So it got around 94 inside before the sun went down enought so it wasn't blasting on top of the air unit, then the air was fine.  It is pretty good in here now. 

We walked to the club house to use the internet as we could not find anyone who knew the code to access the wifi.  Finally we did get the code and it's working now.

So we will be here until Jan. 2nd or at least that's the plan today.  If it stays this hot I might volunteer for a job in an air conditioned place

9/24/2010 (Fri) - Visiting The Grand Canyon

Today was Grand Canyon day. We had a ‘really really’ early start to the day because only half of the clocks in here were changed to Arizona time. The coffee pot was set correctly but not the clock in the bedroom. It was set for Mountain time which is an hour later than Arizona time. So we were up at five instead of six as normal. So yes we got an early start. Well actually we just sat around for an extra hour so we really didn’t do much with our extra time. 

We spent the entire day at the Grand Canyon well not the whole day but a good piece of it.  They have a rather neat set up there.  There is a blue bus line and a red bus line and the two never mix.  The blue bus line is one where you can ride the bus, drive by vehicle, or you can walk.  We walked it and it was not all that far maybe two to two and a half miles.  They had many scenic spots to stop and view the canyon.  Once we got to the end of the blue line we boarded the red bus line, because no cars can go there, and it took us to another bunch of viewing spots and ended at the end of the park which is Hermits Rest.  The red line was eight miles so it's a good thing we did not walk it.  We road the red bus back and caught the blue bus and ended up at the visitors center where we started out.  I am pretty sure one of the attraction is at sunset time as many cars where arriving when we were leaving.  Was a good day tho.

We are loving the Golden Age Pass as it does not cost us anything to enjoy these wonderful parks. It was very difficult taking pics that showed anything about the canyon because it is just so large. It's 277 miles long and I forget how wide. 

The Grand Canyon

Who is the Oldest

The stone is 800 Million years old and let's see Jim is how old hummm.

Bright Angel Trail

If you look top center you can see a line and that line from the green grass to the top end is over a mile.

We talked to a ranger and she is hiking from the north rim (E8,000 ') to the south rim connecting with Bright Angel trail (E7,000'). She said it will take her three days as it's around 14 miles. They have camp sites down in the canyon. Who would have thought. In fact I saw three house down there and how they got the stuff to build those is beyond me. Maybe the mules.  They said if you want to ride the mules down to the bottom of the canyon you have to make reservations a year in advance.

Lookout Studio

And I should say also gift shop.  You can walk all the way to the very end and get a pretty good view of the canyon.

My pic of the day

I think maybe if we had flown over the canyon then I could have gotten a better picture showing the canyons enormous size.   It is just blows your mind when you think of how huge it really is.  Most of the time there is a haze in the canyon which adds to the difficulty in getting decent pictures.

Think of this as a small part of the canyon as a scene this goes on and on.

So now that our 'canyons' sightseeing trip is ending we will be leaving tomorrow morning for our three month winter home which is Mesa, AZ.  We should arrive there around two tomorrow.  Sun Life RV Resort does not have the office open on Saturday, so we are pretty much on our own as far as getting set up.  We have our lot number and hopefully they have the electric turned on.

9/23/2010 (Thur) - From Zion to Williams, AZ (260 miles)

Our agreed departure time from Zion's Mt. Carmel Junction was 9:30am. We left at 8:30am and I have no idea why except it seems once we are up we just naturally start to pack up to leave. We had 260 miles to get to Williams, AZ and we made it by 1:30pm Arizona time. Our journey here was very uneventful in that we were on highway 89 most of the way and then on I-40 for about 30 miles.

Rocks and More Rocks

Typical Navajo Gift Shop

Navajo Round House

We did stop for coffee in Gap. AZ which was a gas station and a Navajo gift shop. The coffee was great and we had bear claws so our snack was excellent also.

This would be Arizona

The scenery certainly has changed. We now have a few mountain ranges but mostly it’s scrub bushes and bare ground. Yup we are in Arizona for sure.

Arizona's Rest Stop

The RV park we are in advertised that they had wifi and cable. Believe it or not it is not working right now. Now do I believe that it ever worked, I’m thinking not. We rarely watch television so that is not an issue but the wifi IS as we both use it a lot. This park was about a third full when we arrived and now it’s almost totally full. They just kept coming in all day but really I think because they accept Passport America that is the real draw. Half price rates.

I was talking to this lady in the grocery store, well actually she talked to me first, as she wanted to know if the coin she had was a dime. I asked her if she was from England as she had the accent and she said yes. Anyway the pound is down, she said their pound was $1.52 in American money. She said the euro was $1.14 American money. That is really low so I think she must have been wrong.  I just checked it and a pound is $1.56 American and a Euro is $1.33 American so she was wrong on both counts.

We went to the Safeway to pick up more groceries and bought a pizza for dinner tonight. We also picked up a lot of other things we needed so we are all set until we get to Mesa.

Tomorrow it’s the Grand Canyon but it is an hours drive from here. We have been packing our lunches but tomorrow we are not doing that. They must have food there someplace as we are tired of sandwiches.

9/22/2010 (Wed) - A vegging good day

Every now and again you just have to take a day to do nothing.  Today was that day.  We did not even have breakfast until ten in the morning.  Jim was on his computer and I was on mine.  The wifi here is not good at all, well if you think about it, neither is the cell service as we have no cell service.  The reason is because we are in a valley.  I had a lot of things I thought needed to be done but really had no energy to do them.  I had slept poorly last night, so yes I was tired.   Am still wondering if this isn't mostly from the high altitude we're in.  I'd hate to think it's AGE, nah can't be that.  Usually my energy level is pretty high but not today.
We did take a drive of 17 miles to Kahab, UT which is on the UT/AZ border because we needed to confirm our lodging for tomorrow night.  And you know the phone does not work here.  Highway 89 has proven to be the most scenic route I have ever been on.  Just when you think you've seen it all here comes more.

Highway 89 is the route to take as it's so beautiful

Welcome to Kahab

Quaint little town and they have cell service

Great scenery

My Pic of the Day

Home for one more night

I did start to read but was falling asleep so I walked across the street to pick up a few things for my little Taylor but that was it. I don't even have to pack up early tomorrow as we only have 260 miles to go to get to Williams, AZ where we will be for two days.  Going to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.  Then I think that is it for national parks for this season.

We went next door for dinner tonight.  The young man who waited on us told us he had been at work since ten in the morning and had to stay until closing at ten and then clean up.  They just had three bus loads of people in for dinner too.  Makes for a really long day.  He was very nice even after all those hours.

9/21/2010 (Tue) - 'Breathless' in Bryce National Park

Today I learned that Bryce National Park was about 3,000 feet higher than Zion.  You think maybe that has something to do with why I am so tired and out of breath.  On of the many differences I noticed about Bryce is that we are on top of the mountain ranges where in Zion we were mostly at the bottom.  Being at the bottom walking around gave one the feeling of being in and a part of the splendor.  Walking around in Bryce, because we were on top, we felt more like spectators.  Bryce was fantastic to say the least but it is more spread out than Zion was.  It is believed that Bryce Canyon's formation began at the same time dinosaurs were becoming extinct.  Bryce was not widely known until 1920 when the Union Pacific Railroad build a lodge in Bryce and started to advertise.

When you enter the park they instruct you to park your vehicle at the North Campground/Overflow parking area and a shuttle will pick you up.  It picks you up and takes you to the Visitor Center across the street where you must get on another shuttle to head into the park.  I did not care for the busing as it was only provided for a small section of Bryce.  I would recommend that you drive to every scenic spot especially this time of the year.  We did take the shuttle but it wasted a lot of time so we ended up getting the truck and using that.  From one end of Bryce to the other is around 20 miles as Bryce is 35,835 acres in size.  The route thru Bryce is a paved road that goes thru a forest.  They have some suggested places to stop and those are really quite dynamic to view.  We stopped at all of them and they were marvelous.  We did hike a little but not like yesterday as we just did not have it in us.  By four o'clock most everyone we ran across had that exhausted look on them, and we did to.

The areas were so vast and so far down that taking pictures was difficult as they really do not do justice to the areas at all.  May I suggest that you click on the pictures to make them larger as they are much better larger.  I have listed the scenic points in the order that we came to them.

Sunset Point   E 8000'

My picture of the day

I was told that at sunset these formations change in color and are beyond anything one could imagine.  We were just to tired to stay until sunset.  Another day another time.

Sunset Point  E 8000'

From this location you will get a wonderful view of Bryce's Natural Amphitheater. 

Sunset Point

Different shading add so much to these 'hoodoos'.

Inspiration Point  E 8100'

Here again you will get an amazing view of Bryce's Natural Amphitheater and most importantyly a wonderful view of Jim and I.  This spot is but a short walk from Bryce Point or you can walk to it from another location.

The Grotto's

They appear all in a row in the same layer of pale sandstone.  If you come at different times of the day when the sun is at a different angle the windows stand right out.  The Grotto's can be seen from Bryce Canyon Point/Inspiration Point.

Bryce Point  E 8296'

This is the spot that is perhaps the most visited as you can see the amphitheater in all it's splendor.  It truly is quite amazing to see this formation. 

Swamp Canyon  E 7998'

Swamp Canyon appears relatively small and sheltered from the overlook because it is bound on both sides by fins and 'hoodoos'.

Piracy Point  E 8819'

Piracy Point is just a short half mile hike from Farview Point and offers another view of the area.

Piracy Point  E 8819'

A short path leads to Piracy Point, and the colors are just magnificent to view.

Farview Point  E 8819'

Offers views of mountains and on clear days a plateau of the Grand Canyon's North Rim

Natural Bridge  E 8627 '

I like this pic also

Was not formed by a stream like most natural bridges.  This is more like an arch in that it was carved by rain and frost erosion acting from the top of the rock.

Agua Canyon  E8800 '

Notice the contrasting colors of light and dark is this area.  You can see small trees on top of the 'hoodoos' and in the distance you can see the rims of the southern plateaus and canyons.

Ponderosa Canyon  E 8766

Once again you can see the multicolored 'hoodoos' framed by the pine-covered foothills.

Black Birch Canyon  E 8750'

Black Birch Canyon Overlook is a roadside pullout where you get a good view of the southern part of the park, including Rainbow Point.

Rainbow Point  E 9115'

From here you can see huge amounts of southern Utah.  Also from here you can see the colors of the eroded slopes and 'hoodoos'.  The road ends at Rainbow Point.

We have decided to take Wednesday, Sept. 22nd. off from sightseeing and just rest.  Sort of 'catch' our breath you might say.  We plan to leave this area Thursday morning and hopefully our next stop will be in Williams, AZ so we can see the south rim of the Grand Canyon.