tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86037841242943079082024-03-13T19:02:26.165-07:00Travels With Rae and Robert ......This blog is about our life together and some of the cool places we visit.Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-21116813355869100612018-03-27T14:53:00.000-07:002018-03-27T15:14:15.767-07:00Finally! Road Trip!Finally! We are going on a road trip! <br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oO7yOOsCFs/WrqtBPbzOLI/AAAAAAAADCs/hqryLevstdsTv_l33ezGICgYsqi7oNEXQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-03-27%2Bat%2B1.28.33%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1155" data-original-width="1327" height="277" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5oO7yOOsCFs/WrqtBPbzOLI/AAAAAAAADCs/hqryLevstdsTv_l33ezGICgYsqi7oNEXQCLcBGAs/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-03-27%2Bat%2B1.28.33%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a>It's been almost three years since we last hit the open road and we've both have become very restless because of it. Since we got our trailer late last year, we've gone on a couple of really short, camp close to home weekend trips to test it out and to get everything dialed in to the way we want it. <br />
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Now, with the dog in tow, we are ready for something longer and more grand! Our trip is still months away and as of now, we have only one destination decided: Milbank, South Dakota for a family reunion. Other than that, it's three weeks traveling across America and seeing where the blacktop takes us!<br />
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I am already checking possible routes and looking for places to visit and things to do. Perhaps a few National Parks we haven't visited before will be on the itinerary and definitely a few Cabelas Stores, but for the most part, I think we'll just drive and be surprised at where we go and what we'll find. <br />
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At the suggestion of my husband - I actually think he has been harboring some guilt because he didn't stop during our <a href="http://travelswithraeandrobert.blogspot.com/2014/08/yellowstone-teddy-roosevelt-north.html" target="_blank">last trip</a> in 2014 - our first order of business will be to eat pie in <a href="https://www.newmexico.org/places-to-go/regions-cities/southwest/pie-town/" target="_blank">Pie Town</a>, New Mexico! So, I guess we do have another destination decided. Maybe then we'll head north to the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm" target="_blank">Great Sand Dunes National Park</a> as neither of us have been there before and make a stop at Cabelas in Lone Tree, Colorado. <br />
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Ahhh, the possibilities are endless, but where do you think we should go?<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-28845385451618349292017-01-25T19:32:00.001-08:002017-01-25T19:35:19.842-08:00More about the Dog<br />
I realize that since we got out dog, Delphine, in September 2015 from <a href="http://thebarkinglot.net/" target="_blank">The Barking Lot</a>, we have not had a vacation away from home. Leaving her behind while we hit the open road was not an option for me, yet we were hesitant to take her with us and subject her to long trips in the car. Until we can figure out a good mode of travel that suits both the dog and Robert, we have opted to stay home. Although I do dearly miss our travels, I thoroughly enjoy time spent at home with the dog, not to mention the money we have saved.<br />
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So until our next big vacation - whenever that will be - let me update you on our dog. 'Delphine' was her shelter name and it never quite fit and most everyone had difficulty pronouncing it, let alone remembering it, including Robert. Plus, she never answered to it, so one day I just happened to call her Boo Boo Bear and the name stuck! Out of that came nicknames like, Boobs and Boobies, which, surprisingly, she answers to!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves to sleep, especially when she can sleep on our clothes!</td></tr>
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Although Boo Boo may not be a world traveller by any means, she has had a few closer-to-home adventures since she came into our lives. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VPpLldQn_Zs/WIlcaIwjOvI/AAAAAAAAC_A/gecIMqblQBYYdXW48blioPGdwAaDdKFigCK4B/s1600/IMG_1893.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VPpLldQn_Zs/WIlcaIwjOvI/AAAAAAAAC_A/gecIMqblQBYYdXW48blioPGdwAaDdKFigCK4B/s320/IMG_1893.jpg" width="240" /></a>One of her first adventures with us included snow. In February 2016, San Diego County was hit with a pretty good storm system which brought snow down to the 3,000-foot level, so we only had to open our front door to play in it. Boo Boo seemed oblivious to the white stuff all over the ground and was only excited, because she sensed how excited I was. <br />
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She is really good at sensing our emotions, whether they be excitement, anger, or happiness. If we happen to raise our voices or make sudden loud noises, like laughing or cheering, she comes running and stands beside us with a very worried look on her face. I often wonder what happened in her past life to make her that way, but we will never know.<br />
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Anyway, she didn't make any snow angels, run, dig, or even pay much attention to the snow, except when I threw a snowball at her and then she started running and playing with me. <br />
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In May of 2016, Boo Boo joined me in A Walk for Animals, a charity walk through the San Diego Humane Society. I didn't realize just how well-behaved she was until we got into this large crowd of people and crazy dogs. Dogs barking, growling, running amok, yet Boo Boo stayed right by Robert's side not once ever pulling on the leash. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xuajnQSrhjE/WIlgBugVP2I/AAAAAAAAC_g/rjwM2srPN1sFnlhUfuEESrqG35Jmxh_UgCK4B/s1600/IMG_2194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xuajnQSrhjE/WIlgBugVP2I/AAAAAAAAC_g/rjwM2srPN1sFnlhUfuEESrqG35Jmxh_UgCK4B/s200/IMG_2194.jpg" width="200" /></a>She barked a few times when I would disappear from sight and then she'd see me coming back to her, but not at other dogs, well, once, when one got too close to Robert. <br />
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She is very very protective of Robert. If anyone touches Robert, such as a handshake or a hug, she barks and runs over to put herself between Robert and whomever is touching him. <br />
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Sometimes she barks at me when I hug him, but it's never in an aggressive way. It's as if she wants hugs too, which of course she gets and kisses too!<br />
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Since the drive to where the walk was held was over an hour from our house and then the walk lasted several hours, it was an incredibly long day for her. She did better than we thought she would in those circumstances, however, she does need her naps! <br />
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She is a sleeping maniac and gets grumpy when she cannot take her nap during the day! She has three beds in the house, four if you count ours, and she uses every single one of them. <br />
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In the evenings, usually on Friday and Saturday when we stay up later than normal, she will make a <i>chuffing</i> sound at us when she thinks it's time for bed. When she realizes that we are not going to bed, she will eventually wander off to our bedroom without us, but it is really cute how she tries to get us to go to bed when she thinks it's bedtime. Oh, and she <i>snores</i>!<br />
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Last summer, we took her to <a href="https://oceanbeachsandiego.com/attractions/beaches/dog-beach" target="_blank">Dog Beach </a>in Ocean Beach, but she didn't quite enjoy it as much as we did. There were dogs everywhere, obviously, and she didn't know quite what to do.<br />
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Her herding instincts kicked in and she'd start chasing a small dog and then get confused, because it would get lost in the mass of dogs running amok. She wouldn't know which way to go so she was constantly running in circles. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-UC-_rl4NI/WIlcttBejgI/AAAAAAAAC_I/RZCrWYochco6B3HkBQfq4CLivts_xfJAQCK4B/s1600/IMG_2264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0-UC-_rl4NI/WIlcttBejgI/AAAAAAAAC_I/RZCrWYochco6B3HkBQfq4CLivts_xfJAQCK4B/s320/IMG_2264.jpg" width="320" /></a>And she didn't like the water. There were no crashing waves, but she was very hesitant and would only go in up to her belly and that was because she was following Robert. He would try and coax her further to see if she would swim, but she'd have none of it and come back to shore and stand with me.<br />
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Boo Boo absolutely l<i>oves </i>car rides! Sometimes, Robert will take a drive around the block just because she <i>loves</i> car rides! She gets buckled into the backseat with her doggie seat belt and is just content to sit there and look out the window. We take her just about everywhere with us, even if it's just to the corner store for ice cream!<br />
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She also loves a hearty game of fetch! Regardless of whether its outside in the rain or in the living room, she loves chasing after her toys. <br />
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We play soccer with her in the yard and she absolutely destroyed her soccer ball and then attempted to eat the leather casing! Now, she has a Chuckit! ball that she can't pop or eat. She also likes playing frisbee, tug-o-war with her big ropes and gnawing on her rawhide chews (she especially likes pig snouts in case you want to get her a gift for Christmas)!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8CEgVVqjpKg/WIllFVniB1I/AAAAAAAADA0/wfNo-A3qFMcnYWTPag4Q4Wfkt_bcBlXFQCK4B/s1600/IMG_1807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8CEgVVqjpKg/WIllFVniB1I/AAAAAAAADA0/wfNo-A3qFMcnYWTPag4Q4Wfkt_bcBlXFQCK4B/s320/IMG_1807.jpg" width="320" /></a>Some of her other adventures included going to a dog park, although when we went, there was only one other dog there. She stayed right by Robert's side, but because of where we live, there really is no need to take her to a park to play. <br />
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We live on 5-acres surrounded by open land so she can pretty much play wherever she likes! Robert also takes her hiking just about everyday, so she gets plenty of exercise. <br />
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I've also taken her to a neighborhood park a couple of times, just so she can experience different smells and places (and she loves car rides)! But really, she is content to be wherever Robert and I are, whether it's at home in her bed between our recliners while we watch TV, laying in the middle of the kitchen floor while I make dinner, or laying in the sun on the back porch watching Robert working in the yard on his tractor. She loves interacting with us and seeks comfort from knowing her pack is together.<br />
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Boo Boo has been such a wonderful blessing in our lives and we couldn't have asked for a better dog.<br />
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We love her and I think she loves us too! You can also read <a href="http://raecosta.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-letter-to-my-dog.html" target="_blank">A Letter To My Dog</a> on my other blog.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her favorite toy to play soccer with!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loved this frisbee, but left it in the yard and it disappeared. <br />We think the neighbor's dog stole it, but she has another one now.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting' ready for a car ride!</td></tr>
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-6458822372986487622015-11-23T10:01:00.002-08:002015-11-23T10:02:46.330-08:00The DogThe Husband had been wanting a dog for the last couple of years. My answer was always "no" because we had a cat and I knew she would NOT enjoy having a dog in the house. When Cierra passed away in January 2015, I was absolutely devastated. I did not want another cat, dog, guinea pig, bird, hamster, or whatever in the house that I would become attached to and then lose. My heart couldn't take it, but as the months passed, I realized how empty the house had become without the sound of little paws running up and down the hallway. I missed having a fur-baby.<br />
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I started warming up to the idea of getting a dog and kept looking online (<a href="http://adoptapet.com/">adoptapet.com</a>) to see what was available. Robert wanted an Australian Cattle Dog. I wanted something cute that I could snuggle with, but not one of those little yappy ankle biters. I quickly found Delphine - an Australian Cattle Dog/Bordie Collie mix - and fell in love with her little face in her profile picture, but we were soon going on a three week vacation and Robert didn't want to look at any dogs until we returned. <br />
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Everyday while we were on vacation I checked the website to see if Delphine was still available and a day or two after our return home, I showed him her picture and said, "I like this dog." We had our 'play date' with her and took her home that night! We've had her a bit over two months and she really is the 'perfect' dog - knows commands, walks well without a leash, doesn't pee in the house, and only barks when necessary, plus she likes to snuggle even though she is 50-pounds! <br />
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The shelter estimated her age at about 5 years old and I know there will be a time when we will have to make that difficult decision as we have done with our last two cats. I will again be devastated, but now is not the time to think like that. Now is the time to enjoy Delphine and give her the best life possible, because she makes my heart happy and I think we make her happy too.<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-59762980228520226052015-09-26T19:12:00.001-07:002015-11-23T10:05:27.796-08:00A Motorcycle, Two Trains and Over a Thousand Miles of Fun!<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">
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It was a great day for a motorcycle ride, September 03 through September 13, 2015. </div>
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Our ride lasted 11 days and we rode for 1,944 miles through 5 states, well 6 if you count the small portion of New Mexico at Four Corners. We rode in temperatures in the low 40s, which we enjoyed, and in temperatures as high as 112-degrees which sucked. It all made for an adventure that we’ll remember as being one of our best vacations ever, at least until we take our next one. </div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Open Road and Getting DRUNK in Arizona!</span></i></b></div>
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Oh good times, good times, but maybe not so much the next morning. </div>
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At the time, we didn’t realize the 101-degree heat was preparing us for our return ride home, we just thought, “Damn, it’s hot!” and sat in the shade chugging down some waters. </div>
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The sand dunes were beautiful glimmering in the hot sun against a brilliant blue sky, but the smells of El Centro and the porta-pottie we had to use , not so much. </div>
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We stopped for lunch at Denny’s in Blythe and noted the temperature was now 104-degrees. The ride was rather bleak and hot until we crossed into Arizona and began climbing higher into the mountains towards our first nights destination. By the time we reached Prescott (elevation 5,368’), the temperature had cooled to a comfortable 85-degrees and we were surrounded by junipers and pinyon pines.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kbfrxOCBoGM/Vgbq03oqV4I/AAAAAAAAClU/m5kfz1Qutko/s1600/IMG_1505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kbfrxOCBoGM/Vgbq03oqV4I/AAAAAAAAClU/m5kfz1Qutko/s320/IMG_1505.jpg" width="238" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LF-dOETwHFw/VgbrZqyvuFI/AAAAAAAACl0/zCJT7yBvWlY/s1600/IMG_1504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LF-dOETwHFw/VgbrZqyvuFI/AAAAAAAACl0/zCJT7yBvWlY/s320/IMG_1504.jpg" width="238" /></a>The St. Michael Hotel in Prescott, Arizona was built in the early 1900s and is conveniently located right next to Whiskey Row, so no worries of drinking and driving! I suppose we did what most tourists do who come to Prescott, we visited every bar on Whiskey Row. </div>
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According to Prescott's <a href="http://www.prescott.com/whiskey-row" target="_blank">website</a>, there are only four bars on Whiskey Row, but I think they're wrong. It seemed like we drank at at least 7 or 8 bars, but maybe that was the number of drinks I had, plus we visited the Whiskey Row Pub twice because we liked it better than the others. We lost count after a while and really didn't care at that point, because we were having fun!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yavapai County Courthouse, Prescott, Arizona</td></tr>
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While planning our vacation, I came across a photo of me standing in the courthouse plaza in 1996. I was on the cutting edge of fashion back then and rocking that fanny pack!</div>
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And now, here I am again almost 20 years later standing in the exact spot. I suppose I will have to buy another fanny pack and return in another 20 years to take an updated photo.</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Wallaby poop, choo choo, and the Grand Canyon!</span></i></b></div>
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We didn’t have a long travel day, so we slept in and spent more time wandering through the historic district in Prescott, before heading to the nearby zoo. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnsYGieqZZg/VgbyP0p4m9I/AAAAAAAACmg/TFY4Wohlp5s/s1600/IMG_2601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CnsYGieqZZg/VgbyP0p4m9I/AAAAAAAACmg/TFY4Wohlp5s/s400/IMG_2601.jpg" width="400" /></a>The <a href="http://www.heritageparkzoo.org/" target="_blank">Heritage Park Zoo & Sanctuary</a> is a non-profit organization on ten acres just north of Prescott. They don’t have a wide variety of animals, but the animals they do have, have all been rescued. I thought it was definitely worth a visit, but be aware of the Wallaby Walkabout! </div>
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The walkabout is nothing more than an open area with a few Wallabys and visitors must stay in a small roped off area to give the animals space. </div>
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However, as we stood there (Robert watching and me taking pictures) a wallaby ran up to us and sat right at our feet. It sniffed our shoes for a minute, took a big poop, and then hopped back to rejoin its friends lounging in the shade! I laugh just thinking about it. Of all the places to poop in that open area, he poops within a foot of our shoes!</div>
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Cassie, the tiger, arrived to HPZS in 2009 after the facility in Nebraska where she was born and raised closed down. Robert is a wee bit hungover in the above picture, but I'm feeling okay.</div>
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Shash, the black bear, arrived in 1994 at only 3 months old. His mother had been shot by a hunter. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWqECmD4xhk/Vgb2YtF-0vI/AAAAAAAACm0/CZOV6QlPoE0/s1600/IMG_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NWqECmD4xhk/Vgb2YtF-0vI/AAAAAAAACm0/CZOV6QlPoE0/s320/IMG_0034.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Our second nights destination was Williams, Arizona, so our ride for the day was only about 1-1/2 hours.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We checked into Motel 6 (temperature: 70-degrees), although the inside of the room wasn’t the usual ugly dinginess that we've come to associate with Motel 6s. It had modern furnishings and wood floors.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">It was a nice surprise. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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Williams is on Route 66, so just about every gift shop had Route 66 memorabilia, but we weren’t there for shopping. We were there to ride the Grand Canyon Railway! </div>
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We arrived at the <a href="http://www.thetrain.com/" target="_blank">Train Depot</a> the following morning and after watching a western shootout show, we boarded the train for our 10am departure! I could barely contain my excitement as I bounced around in my seat taking pictures of <i>everything</i>! </div>
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We rode coach and were fortunate that our car wasn’t full and there were no children! It made for a relaxing ride. Big windows allowed great views during the 2-hour ride to the Grand Canyon. </div>
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We spent several hours at the South Rim and ate lunch at El Tovar. It rained a bit while we were there, but it didn't dampen our enthusiasm. In fact, the clouds made for some great photography.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hopi House at the Grand Canyon</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_southrim_hopihouse.html" target="_blank">Hopi House</a> was built in 1905 and modeled after Hopi pueblo dwellings at Old Oraibi that used natural materials in their construction, such as sandstone and juniper.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite photos of Robert.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We saw elk on the return trip and as I turned to point them out to Robert, I found everyone on the car had migrated to our side so they could see them out the windows!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Everyone was very excited as it was the only wildlife we’d seen from the train, but unfortunately my photos came out blurry.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We passed by the elk so fast I barely had time to aim and shoot. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another favorite picture of The Hubby in front of the Grand Canyon train.</td></tr>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Four Corners, archeological ruins, and another choo choo!</span></i></b></div>
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Goodbye Williams and hello to a long travel day!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_LVTVa2gXqo/VgcD7jc1NaI/AAAAAAAACpI/Qf1UyyAVkqg/s1600/IMG_0134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_LVTVa2gXqo/VgcD7jc1NaI/AAAAAAAACpI/Qf1UyyAVkqg/s320/IMG_0134.jpg" width="320" /></a>The main reason for this vacation was to ride the train in Durango and adding the train ride to the Grand Canyon was just a bonus, so we had a couple nights between hotel check-ins that needed to be filled. We spent those nights in Cortez, Colorado, a town we have visited before and a town we both like, but before we got there we stopped at Four Corners Monument. </div>
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Four Corners marks the spot in the Southwestern United States, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. </div>
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We’ve been to Four Corners before and weren’t too impressed, but decided to visit it again since I wanted some Indian Fry Bread. Irritated! The fry bread booth was closed! This will most likely be our last time visiting the monument as it’s really nothing more than a tourist trap. </div>
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There was a line to stand in to take your picture where the four states meet that we didn’t want to wait in (it was really hot!), so we browsed the booths selling Native American wares. We bought a few souvenirs, including a ghost bead necklace for me. Our guide on the Grand Canyon train ride told us ghost beads are dried juniper berries and it’s believed that wearing these beads keep away evil spirits and negative energy, as well as protecting the wearer from nightmares. </div>
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We then got involved in a conversation with a biker (Hells Angel, I believe), because he saw Robert’s bike and liked it. He was very nice and took our picture. We also met another guy from Julian (he owns an apple orchard there) who liked Robert’s bike. It seems we can’t go anywhere without someone asking Robert about his bike. While in Prescott, some guy wanted to take pictures of it because it looked like a “space ship.” It’s a good conversation starter, I suppose.</div>
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We checked into the Travel Lodge in Cortez and spent our first night doing laundry. The following day found us on the bike cruising through Mesa Verde National Park. In the name of safety, we wore our helmets...</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">…but soon ditched them in the name of freedom and feeling the wind in our hair.</span></div>
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The weather was perfect and we saw a coyote, deer, a couple of wild horses, and lots of birds and squirrels. We have been to Mesa Verde before and find the archeological sites fascinating. There are over 5,000 known archeological sites in the park, including 600 cliff dwellings. They are simply amazing!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">A rough night as I awoke about 1am with a migraine. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">I guess the long travel days, dehydration, and crappy diet over the past several days finally caught up with me.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpfSNhTRVKY/VgcdCUh8miI/AAAAAAAACqo/dVAs_FVJf4Q/s1600/IMG_0178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpfSNhTRVKY/VgcdCUh8miI/AAAAAAAACqo/dVAs_FVJf4Q/s320/IMG_0178.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Fortunately, the ride to Durango was a short one (an hour at most) and after a handful of aspirin and copious amounts of water, I was feeling better.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We checked into our room at the Best Western and spent the evening walking around downtown Durango making sure we stayed hydrated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We realized in Durango that early September is the best time to travel. Very few kids and the majority of the other tourists were older, like retirement age, and we liked that. However, we didn't care too much for Durango. The area is absolutely beautiful, but the town itself was too upscale and touristy for our tastes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Our train ride wasn’t until Thursday, so we decided to ride the bike, again sans helmets, to Silverton. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Gold and silver were first discovered in Silverton in the 1860s, but it wasn’t until 1882 that the first train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad rolled in to Silverton from Durango. The Railroad has been featured in a number of movies since then, including Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969), How the West Was Won (1963), Night Passage (1967) and The Prestige (2006). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">A great ride + beautiful weather + a day wandering through Silverton = FUN! Dinner back in Durango at the Palace, which was the most expensive and worst meal of our trip and then an evening of relaxation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">All aboard! The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train pulled out of Durango at 8am. Riding this train was </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">the </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">reason for this entire vacation and we couldn't have been more excited!</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">We rode in the Cinco Animas Car ( 21+ so again, no children!) and it was the last car on the train.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">The car was divided into two sections.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Our section had six small tables for a total of twelve people, plus it had an observation deck off the back where I was able to get some great pictures.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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The orange color on the rocks is from the 2015 Gold King Mine spill. EPA personnel and workers for Environmental Restoration caused the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Gold_King_Mine_waste_water_spill"><span style="color: #551a8b;">environmental disaster </span></a>by releasing toxic wastewater into the Animas River while attempting to add a tap to the tailing pond for the mine. </div>
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At a top speed of 18mph, the 45-mile ride to Silverton took approximately 3-1/2 hours. We had a two hour layover in Silverton, which we spent walking through town (although we had just visited it the day before) and had our best meal of the trip at Romero’s Cantina. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Now we can cross off riding on the </span><a href="http://www.durangotrain.com/" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #551a8b;">Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> from Robert's bucket list! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Burning to death in Las Vegas and HOME! </span></i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">When I originally made reservations in Durango I added an extra day to our itinerary for sightseeing, but after our train ride to Silverton, we realized there was nothing more to see and do, so we checked out early.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"> </span><br />
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The ride home was long and hot. We wanted to take a different route home, so we headed back through Cortez and into beautiful Utah and headed north to Moab. We thought briefly of riding through Arches National Park, but it was 95-degrees and there is no shade in Arches and we were feeling pretty miserable at that point. </div>
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We tried to stay covered, so we wouldn't get sunburned as we cruised through Utah, but our heavy leather jackets just made it hotter. All of our saddle bags were packed so there was no where to stow our jackets.</div>
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During Day 1 of our trip and somewhere in the California desert, we hit a bunch of bugs and they stayed with us the entire trip as Robert didn't wash the bike. She was filthy by the time we got home, but she ran good with no problems.</div>
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We stopped at another Denny’s for lunch and continued north until we hit Interstate 70. We turned west towards Richfield and that's where we spent the night. After spending 6 hours on the road, we opted to order pizza to our hotel room and called it an early night.</div>
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Good morning and another long and extremely hot travel day!</div>
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Temperatures reached 112-degrees in Las Vegas and it felt as if our skin was burning beneath our clothes. I kept my eyes closed because my eyeballs were melting. I’ve never experienced such intense heat. We stopped at Bass Pro Shop to escape the burning sun and ate lunch at Johnny Rockets at the food court. </div>
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We definitely like Cabelas better, but there were none along our route. Bass Pro Shops is the next best thing, but since our bags were jammed packed with clothes and souvenirs from our train rides, we didn't buy anything.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sfvDTn_ghV8/Vgc9bJkK4hI/AAAAAAAACuQ/ZpQwaAu8O38/s1600/IMG_1577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sfvDTn_ghV8/Vgc9bJkK4hI/AAAAAAAACuQ/ZpQwaAu8O38/s320/IMG_1577.jpg" width="320" /></a> <span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">After hydrating and cooling down, we reluctantly got back on the bike and continued our journey. At this point the gauge on the motorcycle registered the temperature at 121-degrees! Ugh. We could do nothing, but grin and bear it. </span><br />
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“Just adding to the adventure,” I told Robert, trying to be optimistic, but not really succeeding. </div>
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We made it another 45 minutes down the freeway before stopping for the night at the Primm Valley Resort in Primm, Nevada.</div>
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Within 15 minutes of arriving at the hotel, the rain came! We had just beat the storm. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">Neither of us are gamblers, but I dropped $5 into a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. At one point, I had my winnings up to $15 and was ready to cash out, but Robert said to keep playing. I came away a winner with 17-cents jangling in my pocket!</span></div>
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We wandered through the outlet mall, paid a visit to Cold Stone Creamery, and tiring of all the cigarette smoke, returned to our non-smoking room which smelled of stale cigarettes to watch TV and enjoy the air conditioning. </div>
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Up the next morning at 6am to beat the heat on the ride home, but too late. It was already 81-degrees. A few quick breaks, lunch at Jack in the Box in Yermo, and a gas stop along the way got us into San Diego and home in good time. </div>
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At 1235 hours we pulled into our driveway (temp: 86-degrees) and already started planning our next motorcycle trip.</div>
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-82481671333517694202015-07-03T12:54:00.001-07:002015-07-03T12:54:20.283-07:00Planning Our Route to Durango!<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.mapquest.com/embed?hk=1RWuawn" style="height: 270px; width: 450px;"></iframe><br />
<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-39552441277195133252015-05-09T11:37:00.001-07:002015-05-09T11:38:08.959-07:00Our BabyI just wanted to share a few pictures of our baby, Cierra. She passed away on January 31st at 11 years old and I still think about her everyday. We miss you, baby kitten.<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-24241199300747559402015-04-12T11:48:00.002-07:002015-04-12T11:48:33.495-07:00Our tickets have been booked!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-20040067876048618512015-02-21T14:35:00.000-08:002015-02-21T14:35:01.568-08:00And this is where we are heading next...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-9561681839009772772014-12-06T19:18:00.000-08:002014-12-06T19:19:36.958-08:00Fort Rosecrans Goes to War!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Saturday, we joined a few of our friends from my photography group, San Diego dslr, at Cabrillo National Monument for our December group shoot. <br />
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Since tomorrow is Remember Pearl Harbor Day (December 7th), Cabrillo NM held their annual living history event Fort Rosecrans Goes to War. There were WWII re-enactors, along with an air-raid re-enactment, a military encampment, history displays, a car show and of course, beautiful San Diego weather. <br />
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Good times.<br />
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Our friend, Frank, took this picture. <br />
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He also took this photo in 2012 when we attend the event. We still look the same. Even Robert's hat!</div>
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Lots of re-enactors in period gear, which made for some good black & white photography.<br />
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Robert enjoyed all the classic cars. As usual, he found a way to photo bomb me!<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-54593875099443622012014-11-08T19:43:00.002-08:002014-11-08T19:43:59.388-08:00Our CatSince we have no upcoming vacation plans, at least nothing until September of next year when we are riding the motorcycle to Silverton, Colorado to ride the steam train, I thought I would post some cat pictures. She is so cute!<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-85970194753408118802014-08-17T13:08:00.001-07:002014-08-20T08:47:46.488-07:00Yellowstone, Teddy Roosevelt, North Dakota, and a few other places<br />
It's summer and that means a road trip to the Johnson-Holsten Feeding Frenzy in South Dakota!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieGh7bd28lE/U_DmUAzrLHI/AAAAAAAACT0/c4FiqNeS8wQ/s1600/IMG_1011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ieGh7bd28lE/U_DmUAzrLHI/AAAAAAAACT0/c4FiqNeS8wQ/s1600/IMG_1011.jpg" height="200" width="149" /></a>As in the past, we combined our trip to LaBolt Dam with a few other 'must-see' stops along the way, but for some reason it seemed that this trip we (by 'we' I mean Robert) did more driving than anything else. <br />
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We were on the road for about 12 days, but I won't bore you with all the details, like being sick with a bad sinus infection (for most of the trip), or being stuck in traffic at Tejon Pass for 2 hours (like 'we're not moving at all' traffic), or driving across lovely Nebraska (Look kids! Corn!), or driving through Yuma at 1am and it still being 95-degrees!<br />
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Although those little things make the trip memorable for us, it might mean you stop reading after only a few sentences and go back to liking cute kitten videos on Facebook. So, for the sake of your enjoyment and ease of reading, I'll stick to just the highlights.<br />
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #1 - Yellowstone National Park</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my favorite photos from our trip.</td></tr>
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It was a long travel day of about 740-miles driving through a bit of Nevada and a lot of Utah, but we pulled into Site 44 at the KOA Kampground in West Yellowstone early Sunday evening. The following morning we entered Yellowstone, but unlike our past visit (<a href="http://travelswithraeandrobert.blogspot.com/2011/06/yellowstone-here-we-come-days-1-and-2.html" target="_blank">June 2011</a>), we were not in a car, but riding a motorcycle.<br />
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Something I was very wary about because, while I find riding on the back of a motorcycle unbelievably fun, there is absolutely no protection between me and, let's say, a 2,000 pound bison! Again, unlike our last trip where we saw about a million of them, we saw only one this time. <br />
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We took our time cruising through the park visiting Old Faithful, West Thumb and Yellowstone Lake, Norris Geyser Basin, and Canyon Village. On a side note, about 10 minutes in from the park's west entrance, we saw our Bald Eagle friend from our last trip perched in the same row of trees along the Madison River. We took that as a good sign.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had my camera at the ready when this dork pulled in to block everyone's view. <br />
Figures - he's from California</td></tr>
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By the time we finished lunch at Canyon Village, it was after 4pm and we had only toured the southern loop of the park. A few minutes later, the rain came…downpour! Did I mention we were on a motorcycle? Getting soaked should have been upsetting, but it wasn't. It was fun! I think I was more concerned with the flashes of lightening we were driving towards than the rain.<br />
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For those hanging onto the edges of their seats wondering, "Did they make it back alive?" Yes. We made it back just fine. Wet, but fine.<br />
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #2 - Cabelas and Theodore Roosevelt National Park</b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1cGVmF9a5Y/U_DrHHsqviI/AAAAAAAACVI/xFAclPCBp2M/s1600/IMG_0942%2BCabellas%2BBillings%2BMT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h1cGVmF9a5Y/U_DrHHsqviI/AAAAAAAACVI/xFAclPCBp2M/s1600/IMG_0942%2BCabellas%2BBillings%2BMT.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>Tuesday morning found us heading across Montana towards North Dakota, but first we had to make a stop at Cabelas in Billings, Montana. We plan our routes based on Cabelas locations. We love that store!<br />
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Once we got past Billings, it was all new road. An RV towing a trailer with a motorcycle in it didn't lend to great gas mileage (on a good day we averaged about 9 mpg!), so we stayed on the main interstate (I-94) and reached North Dakota in good time.<br />
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Teddy Roosevelt National Park was MUST for me, but alas, I was very disappointed. TRNP is in two separate units - the south and the north. Our plan was to camp for two nights in the south unit and then tour both units on the motorcycle.<br />
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However, those in charge decided it would be a good time for road repair. I don't know if the roads are normally paved, but when we drove through it was all gravel and in horrible condition. It was tough enough to drive the RV, let alone take a ride on the motorcycle.<br />
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It took forever (so it seemed) to reach the campground, although we did see a scrawny bison along the way. <br />
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We stayed only one night at Cottonwood Campground. The campground was next to the Little Missouri and was nice enough, although it didn't have hookups, but most National Parks don't offer that amenity. <br />
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Disappointed, we left early the next morning. The bison was gone, but we did stop at the visitor's center and took a guided tour of Teddy Roosevelt's hunting cabin. That (somewhat) made up for not being able to tour either unit, but I'm still a bit peeved that the one day we decide to drive some 1600 miles they tear up the roads!<br />
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #3 - Fargo, Milbank, and The Frenzy!</b><br />
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After having watched Fargo, the television show starring Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman, I wanted to visit Fargo. Robert warned me that there was nothing in Fargo, but I was adamant. I wanted to visit Fargo! <br />
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As much as I hate to admit it, Robert was right. There is nothing in Fargo, not even a campground. Okay, there is one campground, but it was full so we spent the night in a Wal Mart parking lot, which we do quite often on our long road trips. Nevertheless, I had wanted to see Fargo and I did. Now I know that there is no reason to ever go back.<br />
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Milbank. We arrived Thrusday and set up base camp at Lake Farley, just a few blocks from Robert's grandmother's house. Site #10 would be our home for the next four days. The Frenzy is held at LaBolt Dam, just a 15 minute ride away. Much to the chagrin of our family members, we took advantage of the no motorcycle helmet required rule in South Dakota. Liberating!<br />
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We met up with Robert's parents at the Pizza Ranch for dinner in Milbank and then again the following morning at Alice's Restaurant in Stockholm. Robert's sister and her kids and his brother rendezvoused with us at Alice's as well. It was nice having the family there.<br />
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Every year The Frenzy has a different theme. This year it was television shows. Robert wore a cowboy hat and said he was Walt from Longmire (one of our favorite shows) and I wore all black and a bandana and said I was a character on Sons of Anarchy (one of my favorite shows). We were on a motorcycle so I thought it was fitting. Anyway, Robert's grandma is 90 years old and wore her Minnie Pearl hat. She is absolutely adorable!<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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It a great weekend visiting with family and making new friends.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert and his cute nephews Owen and Caleb.</td></tr>
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #4 - Spirit Lake (not really), Cabelas (again!), and a wheat thief</b></div>
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One of Robert's 'must-sees' this trip was a visit to Spirit Lake, Iowa, home of the Victory Motorcycle. Our plan was to take a tour of the factory, but unfortunately they don't offer tours until the new models come off the assembly line, which isn't until mid August. We were early by just a couple of weeks, but we thought we could at least visit the gift shop. They don't have a gift shop, but we found this out after we made reservations at the KOA in Omaha, Nebraska and cancellations must be done at least 48-hours in advance.<br />
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Is it illegal to pick wheat from someone's farm? Apparently becoming a wheat thief was also on Robert's 'must-do' list. Somewhere a farm along West 12 is missing a handful of wheat.<br />
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Ugh. Nebraska here we come! Welcome. <br />
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Hey! There's a Cabelas in Omaha! Our second one of the trip. Maybe Nebraska isn't that bad after all.</div>
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The KOA in Omaha is rather nice and they deliver pizza right to your campsite! Liking Nebraska more and more.<br />
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #5 - Kansas</b><br />
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Kansas wasn't really a highlight, but it was new road so it was exciting in that regard. Plus, they have a town called Kanarado, which is right on the Kansas/Colorado border. The name makes me laugh. <br />
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We also discovered a town called Norton. The streets were brick and the town had some nice historic buildings, which appealed to the photographer in me.<br />
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<b>HIGHLIGHT #6 - Las Vegas and HOME!</b><br />
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We've been through Las Vegas, New Mexico on a past road trip, but that was before Longmire. Longmire is a television crime drama based on the "Walt Longmire Mysteries" series of books. It's about a Wyoming sheriff who returns to work after his wife's death and investigates crimes with the help of his friends and daughter. Walt is played by Robert Taylor and his friend Henry is played by Lou Diamond Phillips. <br />
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It's a great show, so after watching a few episodes and recognizing the Historic Plaza Hotel (where we had previously stayed), we decided to find the Absaroka County Sheriff's Deparment. We found it! but no Walt, Vic, Branch, Ferg, or Henry as filming had long been over for the season. <br />
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The Sheriff's Office is located on the second floor. <br />
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Through the windows you can see the Historic Plaza Hotel and the park where Walt found the dead, rich guy under the bench in Season 3, Episode 6. <br />
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We took a short walk through town and ate a lunch of mediocre, if not undersized burritos, before loading ourselves back into the RV for the long, long drive home. <br />
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Desert temperatures were reaching triple digits and Robert wanted to drive all night to avoid overheating. Through Albuquerque, Socorro, and Magdelena we drove. At Pie Town (yes, that's the name of the town), I wanted to stop for pie, but there was a miscommunication and Robert drove straight through. No pie for Rae in Pie Town. Instead, we stopped at On the Rim in Show Low, Arizona for dinner. My club sandwich was no substitution for pie in Pie Town and I reminded Robert of that the rest of the way home, or at least until I fell asleep.<br />
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From Show Low, we drove through Globe, Apache Junction, Phoenix, Yuma and through the check point entering California where we were stopped by agents with guns (Yes! We're citizens!). <br />
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At exactly 3:30am and after driving a total of over 4000 miles, we finally reached home where my little baby was waiting. <br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-83948334132176814172014-06-24T15:59:00.000-07:002014-06-24T16:00:40.976-07:00SeaWorld San Diego!Thank you SeaWorld for the free first responder tickets. We haven't been to SeaWorld in so long that we can't even remember when, so it was nice to spend the day wandering around the park. I gave instructions to Robert before we left the house that I did not want to get wet. Well, that didn't happen. We went on Journey to Atlantis and Shipwreck Rapids and we both got drenched! Fun times!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjb7yYWsKxI/U6n-r3yZBfI/AAAAAAAACRw/SJRSE9fc9Vg/s1600/IMG_1906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qjb7yYWsKxI/U6n-r3yZBfI/AAAAAAAACRw/SJRSE9fc9Vg/s1600/IMG_1906.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before we got wet...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YvOe3QbVFIM/U6n-wnKcocI/AAAAAAAACR4/dVhjTKFgD_s/s1600/IMG_1927.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YvOe3QbVFIM/U6n-wnKcocI/AAAAAAAACR4/dVhjTKFgD_s/s1600/IMG_1927.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shamu Show! The show isn't as good since the trainers no longer get into the water with the whales. <br />
It's more about conservation rather than interacting with the whales.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-arLTtIDhZBA/U6n-1XdoRbI/AAAAAAAACSE/vP2hDnOX3m0/s1600/IMG_1891.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-arLTtIDhZBA/U6n-1XdoRbI/AAAAAAAACSE/vP2hDnOX3m0/s1600/IMG_1891.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the dolphins!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XqhbD50VreA/U6n-3RyanfI/AAAAAAAACSQ/Cxmauzu0PDQ/s1600/IMG_2062.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XqhbD50VreA/U6n-3RyanfI/AAAAAAAACSQ/Cxmauzu0PDQ/s1600/IMG_2062.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the Sky tram. Robert kept telling me not to long down, so of course I did. <br />
Ugh. Don't like heights.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64zAGFWQq5c/U6n_G57cF8I/AAAAAAAACSg/BggEtINBeEE/s1600/IMG_1994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-64zAGFWQq5c/U6n_G57cF8I/AAAAAAAACSg/BggEtINBeEE/s1600/IMG_1994.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sea turtles are really fascinating.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEv_u5vv4R8/U6n_K69esDI/AAAAAAAACSo/3c6GKEULyD4/s1600/IMG_2028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEv_u5vv4R8/U6n_K69esDI/AAAAAAAACSo/3c6GKEULyD4/s1600/IMG_2028.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shark exhibit was pretty neat. Brought back memories of my prom. My school<br />
had it at the old shark exhibit. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCBgr7uXkrk/U6n_K4Ofa2I/AAAAAAAACSs/Bxv_B8X463c/s1600/IMG_2069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iCBgr7uXkrk/U6n_K4Ofa2I/AAAAAAAACSs/Bxv_B8X463c/s1600/IMG_2069.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert attempted to take our picture.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rvQZu7BofhU/U6n_EhQYi7I/AAAAAAAACSY/xR0MuLBJHsk/s1600/IMG_1968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rvQZu7BofhU/U6n_EhQYi7I/AAAAAAAACSY/xR0MuLBJHsk/s1600/IMG_1968.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Journey to Atlantis…one of the rides that got us wet!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhVGZYhQ0sg/U6n-0pZAOyI/AAAAAAAACSM/MFA4EQcz21c/s1600/IMG_1970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhVGZYhQ0sg/U6n-0pZAOyI/AAAAAAAACSM/MFA4EQcz21c/s1600/IMG_1970.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All wet!</td></tr>
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-68303996089826562452013-12-14T14:45:00.000-08:002013-12-14T14:45:46.771-08:00Happy Thanksgiving from Sin City!Over the Thanksgiving holidays, Robert and I decided to take advantage of the extended weekend and head to Las Vegas for some rest and relaxation. <br />
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We hit our first road block before we even left the house. We (okay, "I") over packed. "How?" you ask. Easy. We were taking the motorcycle, yet I packed as if we were taking the car. My bad. After pretty much leaving everything behind and repacking what little fit into the saddle bags, we were ready!<br />
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This was our first long trip on the motorcycle, so we took our time. We took our first break after about 2 hours, which seemed to be the longest I could go without my butt becoming numb. Overall, it took us 7 hours to get to Las Vegas. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kopW2jr5Y4/UqzXuOHRCgI/AAAAAAAACOA/Ad6yMkK9JyE/s1600/IMG_0271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kopW2jr5Y4/UqzXuOHRCgI/AAAAAAAACOA/Ad6yMkK9JyE/s640/IMG_0271.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take a break. One of many....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g6jqb1Pmoc0/UqzXuzhAh2I/AAAAAAAACOI/VDeSfNswOD4/s1600/IMG_1788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g6jqb1Pmoc0/UqzXuzhAh2I/AAAAAAAACOI/VDeSfNswOD4/s640/IMG_1788.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it!</td></tr>
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After checking into the Golden Nugget, we wandered the Fremont Street Express and picked up a few small souvenirs. We really had to be careful what we bought, because space on the bike was very limited. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ggqQI6tglSk/UqzX3cp2ooI/AAAAAAAACOg/ozZF7LqFMcs/s1600/IMG_1857.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ggqQI6tglSk/UqzX3cp2ooI/AAAAAAAACOg/ozZF7LqFMcs/s640/IMG_1857.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z199gwU-YbE/UqzYgxGBn8I/AAAAAAAACPI/m9UKlMrNqhY/s1600/IMG_1810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z199gwU-YbE/UqzYgxGBn8I/AAAAAAAACPI/m9UKlMrNqhY/s640/IMG_1810.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I expected those weird girls from the Shining to appear....Red Rum Red Rum</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20jhNDWkcZc/UqzZYEQL3hI/AAAAAAAACPo/1MQHtXz_GOA/s1600/IMG_1789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20jhNDWkcZc/UqzZYEQL3hI/AAAAAAAACPo/1MQHtXz_GOA/s640/IMG_1789.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Fremont Street Experience had lots of shops, casinos, and restaurants.</td></tr>
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For dinner, we ate at the Grotto, a restaurant in our hotel. I had mahi and shrimp, while Robert had lasagna. Dessert was delicious! Robert ate tiramisu and I had Strawberry Cassatta (basically a really yummy cake soaked in rum)!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nkiabUj_q9Q/UqzYgKUmaBI/AAAAAAAACPE/XrL1Hr8XqD4/s1600/IMG_1807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nkiabUj_q9Q/UqzYgKUmaBI/AAAAAAAACPE/XrL1Hr8XqD4/s640/IMG_1807.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So good. I wish I had the recipe.</td></tr>
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Being the big-time gamblers that we are, we dropped about $15 into the slots our first night and then called it an early evening. Overall, we lost maybe $50.<br />
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Our 2nd day found us grazing at the hotel's breakfast buffet and then it was a short walk to tour the Mob Museum (aka the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement). We spent about three house wandering the museum. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DLZHhy6_Y34/UqzYj7Cff-I/AAAAAAAACPU/9KivDrPH--A/s1600/IMG_1854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DLZHhy6_Y34/UqzYj7Cff-I/AAAAAAAACPU/9KivDrPH--A/s640/IMG_1854.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert sits outside the Mob Museum</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5rXBJQzlm9Y/UqzXzb6oA7I/AAAAAAAACOU/k_aAbuVhg1U/s1600/IMG_1852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5rXBJQzlm9Y/UqzXzb6oA7I/AAAAAAAACOU/k_aAbuVhg1U/s640/IMG_1852.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie at the Mob Museum</td></tr>
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After the museum we attempted a ride down the strip to do some sight-seeing, but traffic was horrible, so we jumped on the freeway and headed over to the A-Team, a Victory Vision outlet to pick up some Victory motorcycle souvenirs. Since it was Black Friday, they had some sales going on, so we bought two custom fit soft saddle bags for the bike. <br />
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A nice ride back to the hotel and then it was off to the Heart Attack Grill for dinner, where people over 350-pounds eat free. We had to pay (of course!), but when Robert got on the scale inside the restaurant, he manipulated it and made the flashing lights and bells go off. He made the scale spike to 390-pounds! Everyone started clapping and cheering. Too funny.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W_sSyePv-Dw/UqzX22q-U0I/AAAAAAAACOc/0S1VTZz_fJQ/s1600/IMG_1865.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W_sSyePv-Dw/UqzX22q-U0I/AAAAAAAACOc/0S1VTZz_fJQ/s640/IMG_1865.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a great vibe at the Heart Attack Grill</td></tr>
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Robert had a triple bypass burger and I had a huge chili dog smothered in bacon. Our 'nurse' explained that if we do not finish our food we get a spanking. I could only eat half of my chili dog (girls are able to opt out of spankings), but Robert purposefully left a small portion of his burger. He wanted the spanking! <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0zPhi1ieaM/UqzYdtRdPfI/AAAAAAAACO8/AHqOUw9S4XU/s1600/IMG_1873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G0zPhi1ieaM/UqzYdtRdPfI/AAAAAAAACO8/AHqOUw9S4XU/s640/IMG_1873.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c83IyZd8cjI/UqzX6m3_cYI/AAAAAAAACOs/HZrAJKMyGLc/s1600/IMG_1869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c83IyZd8cjI/UqzX6m3_cYI/AAAAAAAACOs/HZrAJKMyGLc/s640/IMG_1869.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You go Girl!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J65ShTX7-Tk/UqzX6kNcq3I/AAAAAAAACOw/SMNhVlcvjkU/s1600/IMG_1877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J65ShTX7-Tk/UqzX6kNcq3I/AAAAAAAACOw/SMNhVlcvjkU/s640/IMG_1877.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our waitress was very cool! She spanked Robert so hard with that paddle that his little bottom was red!</td></tr>
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The next morning, we packed all our gear and souvenirs into the new saddle bags and we had room to spare! Seven hours later, we were home and were greeted by a little cat that missed her mommy.<br />
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Good times....<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-26550670602399821852013-10-14T14:11:00.001-07:002014-09-13T09:40:45.286-07:00America's National Parks<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Robert and I love to visit National Parks and it is our goal to visit every National Park in the United States. We have visited quite a few over the years and we hope to visit many more as we grow old together.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ALASKA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Denali National Park and Preserve</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Gates of the Arctic National Park</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Glacier Bay National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Katmai National Park and Preserve</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kenai Fjords National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kobuk Valley National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lake Clark National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">AMERICAN SAMOA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">National Park of American Somoa</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ARIZONA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Grand Canyon National Park</b></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v18Bv8r8Cfk/UlxS93GgeXI/AAAAAAAACK8/jUjcr4-g8CU/s1600/IMG_4728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v18Bv8r8Cfk/UlxS93GgeXI/AAAAAAAACK8/jUjcr4-g8CU/s400/IMG_4728.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Petrified Forest National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Saguaro National Park</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-spjgnmKYij0/UlxYlJPVCII/AAAAAAAACMM/J76IP5yQ4yE/s1600/Arizona+170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-spjgnmKYij0/UlxYlJPVCII/AAAAAAAACMM/J76IP5yQ4yE/s400/Arizona+170.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ARKANSAS</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hot Springs National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">CALIFORNIA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Channel Islands National Par<b>k</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Death Valley National Park</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWQfWlqsa0w/UlxYtJ0jYUI/AAAAAAAACMU/1qKYt6oC7cQ/s1600/Bishop+Trip+May+2006+258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWQfWlqsa0w/UlxYtJ0jYUI/AAAAAAAACMU/1qKYt6oC7cQ/s400/Bishop+Trip+May+2006+258.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Joshua Tree National Park</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VSBQpMATBL0/Ulxb-Nly6mI/AAAAAAAACNI/Y7hpd9GZw4I/s1600/Brrr+cold+mornings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VSBQpMATBL0/Ulxb-Nly6mI/AAAAAAAACNI/Y7hpd9GZw4I/s400/Brrr+cold+mornings.JPG" height="316" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Kings Canyon National Park</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Lassen Volcanic National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Redwood National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;">Sequoia National Park</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KiDucOXMDWg/Ulxb9Yx5wvI/AAAAAAAACNA/8z5MW3WS3ZM/s1600/Day+2+-+Beginning+the+Hike+-+happyRS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KiDucOXMDWg/Ulxb9Yx5wvI/AAAAAAAACNA/8z5MW3WS3ZM/s400/Day+2+-+Beginning+the+Hike+-+happyRS.jpg" height="346" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Yosemite National Park</b></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DO1B_9HJlQ/UlxZO0fGaAI/AAAAAAAACMo/p2HEfZFzc9U/s1600/Us+at+Mariposa+Battalion+lookout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DO1B_9HJlQ/UlxZO0fGaAI/AAAAAAAACMo/p2HEfZFzc9U/s400/Us+at+Mariposa+Battalion+lookout.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">COLORADO</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyUyXgUe0GA/UlxTIhVpoOI/AAAAAAAACLQ/qnchc3eBQXo/s1600/IMG_0477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qyUyXgUe0GA/UlxTIhVpoOI/AAAAAAAACLQ/qnchc3eBQXo/s400/IMG_0477.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Great San Dunes National Park and Preserve</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Mesa Verde National Park</b></span><br />
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MfprNbvMOuM/UxfioDXJVKI/AAAAAAAACQM/Lv6Gb6kn83A/s1600/Mesa+Verde+NP+136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MfprNbvMOuM/UxfioDXJVKI/AAAAAAAACQM/Lv6Gb6kn83A/s1600/Mesa+Verde+NP+136.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: orange;">Rocky Mountain National Park</span></b></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-93ytzz7eXec/UlxS_eUXOWI/AAAAAAAACLE/BtP5c1Amr5Y/s1600/IMG_0063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-93ytzz7eXec/UlxS_eUXOWI/AAAAAAAACLE/BtP5c1Amr5Y/s400/IMG_0063.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">FLORIDA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Biscayne National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dry Tortugas National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Everglades National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">HAWAII</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Hawaii Volcanoes National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Haleakaia National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">KENTUCKY</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mammoth Cave National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">MAINE</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Acadia National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">MICHIGAN</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Isle Royale National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">MINNESOTA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Voyageurs National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">MONTANA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Glacier National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">NEVADA</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Great Basin National Park</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zg5RPGDxvIs/UlxZTGeTHGI/AAAAAAAACM0/rzWFl_-Zcck/s1600/Feb-Mar+trip+2009+185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zg5RPGDxvIs/UlxZTGeTHGI/AAAAAAAACM0/rzWFl_-Zcck/s400/Feb-Mar+trip+2009+185.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">NEW MEXICO</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Carlsbad Caverns National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">NORTH CAROLINA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: orange; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Great Smoky Mountains National Park</b></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EOWzjcbBNFA/UlxdLtKZPaI/AAAAAAAACNY/pFmsWrAFujc/s1600/IMG_1316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EOWzjcbBNFA/UlxdLtKZPaI/AAAAAAAACNY/pFmsWrAFujc/s400/IMG_1316.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">NORTH DAKOTA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Theodore Roosevelt National Park</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6bhqqWlodoc/VBRzIXchpzI/AAAAAAAACdc/iJYfPyXIaVI/s1600/IMG_0945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6bhqqWlodoc/VBRzIXchpzI/AAAAAAAACdc/iJYfPyXIaVI/s1600/IMG_0945.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">OHIO</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Cuyahoga Valley National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">OREGON</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Crater Lake National park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">SOUTH CAROLINA</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Congaree National Park</span></div>
</div>
<div style="min-height: 14px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">SOUTH DAKOTA</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">WYOMING</span></div>
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-18064190438423193512013-09-21T10:23:00.001-07:002013-09-21T10:23:12.528-07:00The "Grand Tour" Road Trip - The End<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 9, Tuesday (June 18th) - </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was time to say goodbye to Virginia, but we had one last sight to see before starting our long drive home. We were up and on the road by 7:15am as we were headed to our 2nd National Park of the trip - Shenandoah National Park! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At 8:55am we handed over our $15 entrance fee and entered the park. The Park Ranger said we'd have a bit of rain by the afternoon, but it wasn't going to be just "a bit." It was ALOT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were excited to be in yet another National Park and paused to to check out some pretty flowers just past the entrance. Beautiful flowers, but the swarming mosquitos? Not so much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then the "bit" of rain came.....downpour! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were again on high bear alert, but saw only turkey, deer and mosquitos (which thankfully vanished when the rains came).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">These two fawns were going crazy in the rain. Jumping and running, it was hard to get a clear picture. We watched them playing in the rain for quite awhile and then their mothers led them across the road and into the forest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another must-do for us on this trip was to walk the Appalachian Trail. We saw several backpackers hiking through and it made me want to keep on walking. However, my tennis shoes were soaked from the rain, Robert was hungry and we had no food. Maybe another time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The rain came in spurts. A hard downpour one minute and then just enough of a light mist to spot my glasses, but it made for some really good photography.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We almost didn't see these backpackers crossing the road. That would have been a major disaster.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VwmHwELsG4w/UjYTexGprVI/AAAAAAAACDM/CFPe8h1r8M8/s1600/IMG_6821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VwmHwELsG4w/UjYTexGprVI/AAAAAAAACDM/CFPe8h1r8M8/s640/IMG_6821.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is one of my favorite pictures taken during our trip. We pulled into Sawmill Run Overlook (elevation 2195') to look for some moss covered trees, but it was raining so hard that I didn't want to get out of the car. I glanced out my window and saw this instead.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tr6xcoSUTPo/UjYT9qJStbI/AAAAAAAACDU/XV9b0tQX3k4/s1600/IMG_6828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tr6xcoSUTPo/UjYT9qJStbI/AAAAAAAACDU/XV9b0tQX3k4/s640/IMG_6828.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually found a tree covered in moss that I could take a picture of without leaving the comfort of the car.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-49VIrTLlRGs/UjYUVyN8D3I/AAAAAAAACDc/lfXJaNQc7I0/s1600/IMG_6835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-49VIrTLlRGs/UjYUVyN8D3I/AAAAAAAACDc/lfXJaNQc7I0/s640/IMG_6835.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On our way out of the park, we stopped and took a picture of the entrance sign as we had missed it on our way in. As you can see it is still raining. Time: 12:45pm.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qtMcyS51y38/UjYUuUv_3vI/AAAAAAAACDk/az7lPNpVh8Q/s1600/IMG_1604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qtMcyS51y38/UjYUuUv_3vI/AAAAAAAACDk/az7lPNpVh8Q/s640/IMG_1604.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We exited Shenandoah National Park to I-64 west and stopped for gas and McDonalds in Covington, which I firmly believe is the slowest McDonalds on the face of the Earth. I could have gone out and killed my own cow in less time it took to get our food, but patience is a virtue I suppose. We eventually got our burgers and extra large sodas and got back on the road.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was still raining pretty hard as we crossed into West Virginia (time: 3:15pm).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We cruised though Lewisburg, which apparently was voted "coolest smalltown" in 2011. Not really sure what criteria was used to determine that it was the coolest, but it's what the sign leading into town said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When we travel, we like to take the road less occupied to explore small towns and see sights that are normally missed when sticking to the freeways. Since we had such a long way to travel, we drove the Interstate the entire way to Virginia, but on our way home, we decided to take a detour. Why we decided to take that detour in West Virginia I'm not really sure, but I reckon at the time it seemed like a good idea. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We left the main freeway for SR 60, but quickly realized it was not the best of plans to have left civilization behind. I made the executive decision that we would remain in our vehicle at ALL times and stop for no one. However, I was still able to take pictures out the windshield.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of logging in West Virginia. This is near Crawley.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-PCc5Sc7mw/UjYYBvYo_YI/AAAAAAAACDw/wObOZUKKeUg/s1600/IMG_1605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W-PCc5Sc7mw/UjYYBvYo_YI/AAAAAAAACDw/wObOZUKKeUg/s640/IMG_1605.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Robert wanted to stop, but thankfully it was closed. I'm not even sure what it is or if we would have survived had we gone inside. It's probably a zombie factory.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RCAULmpoOak/UjYYVBBMzRI/AAAAAAAACD4/nSld3svXa-A/s1600/IMG_1612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RCAULmpoOak/UjYYVBBMzRI/AAAAAAAACD4/nSld3svXa-A/s640/IMG_1612.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We did stop at Kanawha Falls in Glenn Ferris, but there was no bathroom.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoWf_eRyj4c/UjYYh2mbEkI/AAAAAAAACEA/Wfl0oiANZRA/s1600/IMG_1617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoWf_eRyj4c/UjYYh2mbEkI/AAAAAAAACEA/Wfl0oiANZRA/s640/IMG_1617.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Boomer was a cute little town. I wonder if it had been in the running against Lewisburg for "coolest small-town?"</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fl9fylQzsY/UjYYyxDPh-I/AAAAAAAACEI/-efZ-BQyYX8/s1600/IMG_1619.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Fl9fylQzsY/UjYYyxDPh-I/AAAAAAAACEI/-efZ-BQyYX8/s640/IMG_1619.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of coal plants. This one is in Montgomery.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTIKmTtHuCs/UjYaum0ki0I/AAAAAAAACEU/dhWm4l2yooc/s1600/IMG_1621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TTIKmTtHuCs/UjYaum0ki0I/AAAAAAAACEU/dhWm4l2yooc/s640/IMG_1621.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Cruised through Charleston, the capital of West Virginia at about 5:55pm and it was back on I-64.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g5TN3fK2muI/UjYa02C-NiI/AAAAAAAACEs/CfQJnjn037A/s1600/IMG_1629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g5TN3fK2muI/UjYa02C-NiI/AAAAAAAACEs/CfQJnjn037A/s640/IMG_1629.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">West Virginia makes Robert sleepy.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Passed a train yard in South Charleston...</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xIUp2EV91iU/UjYazGKk7AI/AAAAAAAACEk/H0tWwQBsVWE/s1600/IMG_1632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xIUp2EV91iU/UjYazGKk7AI/AAAAAAAACEk/H0tWwQBsVWE/s640/IMG_1632.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and a nuclear power plant in St. Albans.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8VI3C_-0BM/UjYaztXE7CI/AAAAAAAACEo/fiTx0xUXe_A/s1600/IMG_1633.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-d8VI3C_-0BM/UjYaztXE7CI/AAAAAAAACEo/fiTx0xUXe_A/s640/IMG_1633.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9TGlHTANyU/UjYcFEa5OyI/AAAAAAAACE0/I0F6HX2JEQA/s1600/IMG_1641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E9TGlHTANyU/UjYcFEa5OyI/AAAAAAAACE0/I0F6HX2JEQA/s200/IMG_1641.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">At 6:50pm, we headed into Kentucky - the horse capital of the world - another state we'd never visited and both liked really well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Robert said when the little gas tank light comes on there is a gas station nearby. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">He was right! There was a gas staton in Lexington, but it was raining again and raining hard.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rain storms come and go very quickly and sunsets seem to last forever in Kentucky. It was 9:30pm and the sky was full of the purple and blue hues of sunset. It was absolutely beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves pulling into Louisville and finding a Super 8 Motel on the outskirts of town. It was a rather short travel day compared to others during our trip - only 610 miles - but that was 610 miles of all new roads, sights and sounds. A good day.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DAY 10, Wednesday (June 19th) -</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A late start as Cabelas in Louisville, Kentucky didn't open until 9am! HA! You didn't think we'd take a road trip without visiting Cabelas, did you?</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcQwcC73Loc/UjYcq-UVdAI/AAAAAAAACE8/qcFsg1qR1yw/s1600/IMG_1653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IcQwcC73Loc/UjYcq-UVdAI/AAAAAAAACE8/qcFsg1qR1yw/s640/IMG_1653.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent about 2 hours wandering through Cabelas and had lunch at the cafe inside. Of course I had my elk sandwich, while Robert had pulled pork. Delicious. With our purchases stowed away, we got back on West I-64 at abut 11:10am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Skies were clear and beautiful, which made for some good pictures out the windshield.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LnafrYKsNo/UjYdOuRcBwI/AAAAAAAACFE/aiHHFJIunh4/s1600/IMG_6845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LnafrYKsNo/UjYdOuRcBwI/AAAAAAAACFE/aiHHFJIunh4/s640/IMG_6845.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> And then it was Hello, Indiana! The <i>most boring state ever!</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVaxJpAYJlg/UjYdQRoJoAI/AAAAAAAACFU/7d72kHCNcIE/s1600/IMG_6850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVaxJpAYJlg/UjYdQRoJoAI/AAAAAAAACFU/7d72kHCNcIE/s640/IMG_6850.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, there was an Amish Buffet. I wonder how that tastes? We contemplated stopping for like two seconds, but kept on.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5Q0b9lmknQ/UjYdPG9ky1I/AAAAAAAACFI/Wi0-7XCoLkI/s1600/IMG_6852-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5Q0b9lmknQ/UjYdPG9ky1I/AAAAAAAACFI/Wi0-7XCoLkI/s640/IMG_6852-1.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We saw nothing but freeways and trees, with an occassional farmhouse thrown in. We got so bored we tried playing "guess the roadkill" as there was an incredibly large number of dead animals on the road. However, that lasted all of two minutes, because Robert kept guessing "trout."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A quick stop for gas and soda... </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRydZJrsBF0/UjYd5VbyvKI/AAAAAAAACFc/TjMUdLMOZow/s1600/IMG_1658.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dRydZJrsBF0/UjYd5VbyvKI/AAAAAAAACFc/TjMUdLMOZow/s640/IMG_1658.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and a white elephant?</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-liPYJQG3kPo/UjYeKEuuiZI/AAAAAAAACFk/6G8QEyMPdIY/s1600/IMG_6854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-liPYJQG3kPo/UjYeKEuuiZI/AAAAAAAACFk/6G8QEyMPdIY/s640/IMG_6854.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And welcome to Illinois. The 2nd most boring state ever.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sLfM_5y3oJw/UjYfM6EYdOI/AAAAAAAACFw/gXchcfpXKJQ/s1600/IMG_6856.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sLfM_5y3oJw/UjYfM6EYdOI/AAAAAAAACFw/gXchcfpXKJQ/s640/IMG_6856.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At 2:50pm we crossed over the Mississippi River and Hello St. Louis, Missouri! (87-degrees).</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qlo6zeog-S0/UjYfnwrl-MI/AAAAAAAACF4/9absOtzysKA/s1600/IMG_6868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qlo6zeog-S0/UjYfnwrl-MI/AAAAAAAACF4/9absOtzysKA/s640/IMG_6868.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-unQqJCJmkHw/UjYfqLLABAI/AAAAAAAACGA/drogEl5HI9Q/s1600/IMG_6873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-unQqJCJmkHw/UjYfqLLABAI/AAAAAAAACGA/drogEl5HI9Q/s640/IMG_6873.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">St. Louis was interesting in a photography sense as it was a complete ghetto. It actually went beyond ghetto. Lots of graffiti and abandoned and collapsing buildings, but had we stopped to take pictures, I would not have left the car. As a matter of fact, I would have kept the doors locked and the windows rolled up tight! And if I had to choose, I would have stopped in West Virginia before I ever stopped in St. Louis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Needless to say, we didn't stop, even though I had drank too much soda and needed to use the bathroom (like right now!). Another thing about St. Louis? It smells. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But there is a Six Flags!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-llsFswSRF4c/UjYhCSDcHBI/AAAAAAAACGM/BuLCsimMO10/s1600/IMG_6875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-llsFswSRF4c/UjYhCSDcHBI/AAAAAAAACGM/BuLCsimMO10/s640/IMG_6875.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Stopped for burgers (and to use the restroom) at Culvers Burgers (the owner waited on us!) and then back on the road. From St. Louis we headed west on I-44. We still had a long way to go to our night's final stop: Super 8 in Oklahoma City.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At about 8pm, we entered Oklahoma, the Sooner State. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--rB-SSNuGvc/UjYh8ceXGpI/AAAAAAAACGU/RLV5d6srKh8/s1600/IMG_6885.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--rB-SSNuGvc/UjYh8ceXGpI/AAAAAAAACGU/RLV5d6srKh8/s640/IMG_6885.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Sped along I-44 and watched the sun set over a farmer plowing his fields.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zbumxi34i8A/UjYh9qwqSII/AAAAAAAACGc/kFct6PxGE8k/s1600/IMG_6887+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zbumxi34i8A/UjYh9qwqSII/AAAAAAAACGc/kFct6PxGE8k/s640/IMG_6887+-+Version+2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sunsets seem to last forever in Oklahoma too.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Passed under the Biggest McDonald's in the World on the Will Rogers Turnpike. The McDonalds is 29,135 square feet, however it was closed for renovation. Boo.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNuKrj4ormI/UjYjHrtZE1I/AAAAAAAACGo/BWoWpxUOlP0/s1600/IMG_6892.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lNuKrj4ormI/UjYjHrtZE1I/AAAAAAAACGo/BWoWpxUOlP0/s640/IMG_6892.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Arrived at the Super 8 in Oklahoma City around 11pm. A long travel day: 779 miles.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">DAY 11, Thursday (June 20th) -</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Time: 8:20am</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Temperature: 76-degrees, wth 82% humidity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ugh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Bye Bye Super 8 Motel...</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NT4gI-mYGlA/UjYj1xg3pzI/AAAAAAAACGw/QN6Ct9dPqrg/s1600/IMG_6896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NT4gI-mYGlA/UjYj1xg3pzI/AAAAAAAACGw/QN6Ct9dPqrg/s640/IMG_6896.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> ...and prepare for a long, HOT HOT HOT day of travel. We were 1,322 miles from home and hoped to make it all in one shot. We didn't of course, but that was our goal at the time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oklahoma is home to one of my favorite country singers: Garth Brooks. Athough I didn't get to see him, I did see a street named after him. I suppose that's the next best thing.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E28UXcsyAYc/UjYkhPIh52I/AAAAAAAACG4/Be5Er5vJ4xA/s1600/IMG_6897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E28UXcsyAYc/UjYkhPIh52I/AAAAAAAACG4/Be5Er5vJ4xA/s640/IMG_6897.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I 'heart' you Garth Brooks.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unlike the last couple of states we drove through (Illinois and Indiana come to mind), Oklahoma has a lot of interesting stuff to see.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXBLBd4E-AI/UjYmOTLk88I/AAAAAAAACHg/9-ytdSHy4gs/s1600/IMG_6902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXBLBd4E-AI/UjYmOTLk88I/AAAAAAAACHg/9-ytdSHy4gs/s640/IMG_6902.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agDUuMTWHjU/UjYmM3Bc90I/AAAAAAAACHY/vr9ODuXrFRo/s1600/IMG_6904.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-agDUuMTWHjU/UjYmM3Bc90I/AAAAAAAACHY/vr9ODuXrFRo/s640/IMG_6904.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MTnomw2HIv0/UjYmOo5hE0I/AAAAAAAACHk/EEp8hSXmi-Y/s1600/IMG_6910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MTnomw2HIv0/UjYmOo5hE0I/AAAAAAAACHk/EEp8hSXmi-Y/s640/IMG_6910.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv30Jc0jj6E/UjYnADmfkcI/AAAAAAAACHw/f1uhWVQUEe8/s1600/IMG_6912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bv30Jc0jj6E/UjYnADmfkcI/AAAAAAAACHw/f1uhWVQUEe8/s640/IMG_6912.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The earth is very red in Oklahoma</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oklahoma is definitely on our list of places where we would like to return to to do more exploring.</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9Gu8Q_vC8U/UjY2p4GyH5I/AAAAAAAACJo/4l1IHdoEqrA/s1600/IMG_1657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w9Gu8Q_vC8U/UjY2p4GyH5I/AAAAAAAACJo/4l1IHdoEqrA/s640/IMG_1657.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the road again in Elk City, Oklahoma!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enter Texas - 10:58 hours and 80-degress!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8q0sodXZQg/UjYoDIuxb2I/AAAAAAAACIA/1svKbDXQFlI/s1600/IMG_6914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8q0sodXZQg/UjYoDIuxb2I/AAAAAAAACIA/1svKbDXQFlI/s640/IMG_6914.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I-40 is also the Purple Heart Trail.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o23aiQLbdPU/UjYoD8dzCVI/AAAAAAAACII/sQ_YhhpKneY/s1600/IMG_6916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o23aiQLbdPU/UjYoD8dzCVI/AAAAAAAACII/sQ_YhhpKneY/s640/IMG_6916.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BkipLGnZx78/UjYrEr1zXSI/AAAAAAAACIU/EDaXLYvcR1o/s1600/IMG_6924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BkipLGnZx78/UjYrEr1zXSI/AAAAAAAACIU/EDaXLYvcR1o/s640/IMG_6924.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There were lots of rusted grain elevators along I-40 in Texas. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> In Groom, we passed by the leaning Brittan tower again...</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5B-fVMtJpJw/UjYrHjYHRKI/AAAAAAAACIc/3DcyUr5FilI/s1600/IMG_6929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5B-fVMtJpJw/UjYrHjYHRKI/AAAAAAAACIc/3DcyUr5FilI/s640/IMG_6929.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and the big, white cross...</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BGtXVXV_Ls/UjYrIbRqE3I/AAAAAAAACIo/AwAJ_dH3FSI/s1600/IMG_6932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BGtXVXV_Ls/UjYrIbRqE3I/AAAAAAAACIo/AwAJ_dH3FSI/s640/IMG_6932.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo...<span class="plainlinks nourlexpansion" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74caikxtGI0/UjYrIYl_CwI/AAAAAAAACIk/UE-ROGPdUIQ/s1600/IMG_6936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-74caikxtGI0/UjYrIYl_CwI/AAAAAAAACIk/UE-ROGPdUIQ/s640/IMG_6936.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and another cool grain elevator in Wildorado.</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoHGYrOaMTA/UjYvNORYoFI/AAAAAAAACI4/y5c9hfHTxGg/s1600/IMG_6939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoHGYrOaMTA/UjYvNORYoFI/AAAAAAAACI4/y5c9hfHTxGg/s640/IMG_6939.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah, New Mexico.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Time: 2:13 hours, Temperature: 87-degrees and windy.</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QfWPk1eHlA/UjYvgqdXl3I/AAAAAAAACJA/_oAFR_CoZtU/s1600/IMG_6948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1QfWPk1eHlA/UjYvgqdXl3I/AAAAAAAACJA/_oAFR_CoZtU/s640/IMG_6948.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saw lots of trains during our trip. This one is just west of Tucumcari.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcxwa8jjJm8/UjY0VVbySiI/AAAAAAAACJQ/M3wo8uMK_XY/s1600/IMG_6953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcxwa8jjJm8/UjY0VVbySiI/AAAAAAAACJQ/M3wo8uMK_XY/s640/IMG_6953.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In Moriarty, we stopped for gas and took matters into our own hands. The drive was so <i>BORING</i> that Robert bought an audio book - Lee Child's "The Affair" (a Jack Reacher novel) to help us pass the time. Even listening to the audio book, however, it seemed to take f<i>orever </i>to get across New Mexico. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">8pm, welcome to Arizona. Finally.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y8djzLpUAD8/UjY1UhPYsCI/AAAAAAAACJY/lOCYgQzuC2M/s1600/IMG_6974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y8djzLpUAD8/UjY1UhPYsCI/AAAAAAAACJY/lOCYgQzuC2M/s640/IMG_6974.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We watched the sun set over Petrified Forest National Park as we sped west on I-40. All the while listening to our audio book. </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--NUsHUPk4C4/UjY1lGaQUVI/AAAAAAAACJg/-vFOi3Retd4/s1600/IMG_6982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--NUsHUPk4C4/UjY1lGaQUVI/AAAAAAAACJg/-vFOi3Retd4/s640/IMG_6982.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We got as far as Winslow and decided to call it a night. It wasn't quite 9pm when we pulled into the Best Western, but we were tired and hot. We got the last room.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's total mileage: approximately 807 miles.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 12, Friday (June 21st) -</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ah, the Best Western. The nicest hotel we'd stayed in and the most expensive, but you can't really compare it to a Super 8. A nice complimentary breakfast in the lobby and on the road by 8:15am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy 1st day of summer! and it definitely felt like summer. Hot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Saw more trains as we left Winslow.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ajIBF_2SgPY/UjY330SQdqI/AAAAAAAACJw/bAjE031DxKU/s1600/IMG_6990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ajIBF_2SgPY/UjY330SQdqI/AAAAAAAACJw/bAjE031DxKU/s640/IMG_6990.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But soon after, we finished our audio book (a good book)! At Flagstaff we turned south on I-17 towards Phoenix and I fell asleep. I awoke somewhere around Phoenix - I wished I would have stayed asleep for the rest of the trip. The scenary was ugy and it was HOT.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqcR2yNJc_c/UjY4g16fK-I/AAAAAAAACJ4/3HnQzAjKEG4/s1600/IMG_7001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AqcR2yNJc_c/UjY4g16fK-I/AAAAAAAACJ4/3HnQzAjKEG4/s640/IMG_7001.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0jyp4GJkocU/UjY4i7ctVAI/AAAAAAAACKA/M4sDigE_17c/s1600/IMG_7002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0jyp4GJkocU/UjY4i7ctVAI/AAAAAAAACKA/M4sDigE_17c/s640/IMG_7002.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Took the 85-south to Gila Bend...</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zeInsnskOC0/UjY5CS50mwI/AAAAAAAACKQ/ozpK1srQ530/s1600/IMG_7008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zeInsnskOC0/UjY5CS50mwI/AAAAAAAACKQ/ozpK1srQ530/s640/IMG_7008.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...passed by Lewis Prison...</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m7e3C5b9luI/UjY4_lV8wvI/AAAAAAAACKI/n6ocVZOIBj0/s1600/IMG_7007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m7e3C5b9luI/UjY4_lV8wvI/AAAAAAAACKI/n6ocVZOIBj0/s640/IMG_7007.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...to 8-West and hello Yuma, where it was 100-degrees.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JQclyDxgXM/UjY5aF9AP9I/AAAAAAAACKY/gxD17tDBgVk/s1600/IMG_7012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JQclyDxgXM/UjY5aF9AP9I/AAAAAAAACKY/gxD17tDBgVk/s640/IMG_7012.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One last stop in Yuma for gas (3.68/gal) and lunch at Five Guys, where the clerk insisted on telling us about his days in the Navy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Around 2:40pm we crossed the California border, where we were questioned about our possession of fruits and plants. We denied having either, but in all our traveling, entering California is the only time we had to pass through a check point. All the other states greeted us with we a nice "Welcome to ..." sign, not agents carry guns and questioning our citizenship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Passing the checkpoint, however, meant we were just a couple of hours from home. At 4:40pm, we entered our RV to find our cute little cat waiting patiently.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgbdY9p7OMg/UjY8cSgcGaI/AAAAAAAACKk/IMRPWWT2RKM/s1600/Cierra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgbdY9p7OMg/UjY8cSgcGaI/AAAAAAAACKk/IMRPWWT2RKM/s640/Cierra.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We had a great time but it's always nice to come home, even if it is to an RV.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's total mileage: approximately 519 miles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>STATES VISITED:</b> </span>California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">TOTAL TRIP MILEAGE: </span></b>Approximately 5,492 miles.</span><br />
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-29688715817302628442013-09-15T12:25:00.002-07:002013-09-15T12:25:42.225-07:00The "Grand Tour" Road Trip Part 3/4<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 7, Sunday (June 16th) -</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Father's Day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Slept in again, but up and on the road by 8am. It was 68-degrees with 82% humidity! Seriously, I don't know how people live in weather like this! And the bugs here are HUGE! When we were at Gabriel's house for the BBQ, a ginormous cicada fell out of the sky and landed dead on the patio. However, Gabe's dog ate it before I could get a picture. <i>Crunch crunch</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We spent the day humid and sweaty touring civil war battlefields - Fredericksburg Battlefield and Chancellorsville Battlefield.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of the 15,300 buried in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery (est. 1865), the identities of fewer than 3,000 are actually known.</span></td></tr>
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All that walking made us hungry, so for lunch - surprise! - we ate more BBQ at Dixie Bones and it was there that I discovered I like sweet tea. Who knew? We ate so much BBQ during this trip that I swear I gained like twenty pounds (and not all of it was muscle)!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After lunch, we wandered around downtown Fredericksburg Historic District - still muggy!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DxTiWQ2c1U8/UiI9xATQM4I/AAAAAAAAB6I/IPXVgQY3gWY/s1600/IMG_6510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DxTiWQ2c1U8/UiI9xATQM4I/AAAAAAAAB6I/IPXVgQY3gWY/s640/IMG_6510.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Picked up some souvenirs at the 'Made in Virginia Store'.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Made a new friend.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1CgyM5_9Ec/UiI940mz9nI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/ur8XcazxJBs/s1600/IMG_6501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u1CgyM5_9Ec/UiI940mz9nI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/ur8XcazxJBs/s640/IMG_6501.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lisk-AMvbCM/UiI954jttmI/AAAAAAAAB6g/hc7VcVO8ptU/s1600/IMG_6503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lisk-AMvbCM/UiI954jttmI/AAAAAAAAB6g/hc7VcVO8ptU/s640/IMG_6503.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4MzHla175M/UiI973HEmVI/AAAAAAAAB6o/93SQARaK21E/s1600/IMG_6532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L4MzHla175M/UiI973HEmVI/AAAAAAAAB6o/93SQARaK21E/s400/IMG_6532.jpg" width="266" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I like the sign by Robert's feet that reads, "To the bar" with an arrow to point the way. Just in case you fall down drunk and get lost. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In San Diego we have dolphins. In Virginia they have crabs. This greatly amused me for no apparent reason.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We passed by the Episcopal Church (built in the 18th century, but rebuilt in 1815 and again in 1849)...</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OPHrkzAqEV8/UiJArp5DVzI/AAAAAAAAB7A/lDNbqbABpDU/s1600/IMG_6515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OPHrkzAqEV8/UiJArp5DVzI/AAAAAAAAB7A/lDNbqbABpDU/s640/IMG_6515.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and saw this this sign at the </span>cemetery adjacent to the church.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I bet it's haunted as it's from 1732!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uprft4FAlyw/UiJAuCPx44I/AAAAAAAAB7I/KAXj2ePqFX4/s1600/IMG_6512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Uprft4FAlyw/UiJAuCPx44I/AAAAAAAAB7I/KAXj2ePqFX4/s640/IMG_6512.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Passed by City Hall...</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CC_-sKA4Ot4/UiJBoO0IHjI/AAAAAAAAB7Q/VtVpdshUZ5w/s1600/IMG_6521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CC_-sKA4Ot4/UiJBoO0IHjI/AAAAAAAAB7Q/VtVpdshUZ5w/s640/IMG_6521.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and then discovered the beautiful Shiloh Baptist Church. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alfred Hitchcock?</td></tr>
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All that walking made us hungry again so it was off to meet Gabriel at<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the Steak and Shake for an early dinner.</span><br />
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After dinner, we spent more time visiting with Gabriel as it would be the last time we'd see him before heading home. Another good day.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 8, Monday (June 17th) - </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another must-do on our trip was to tour Washington D.C. Robert arranged for U.S Tours to pick us up at our motel so we would not have to drive as it had been recommend to us that we not take a car to Washington D.C. We were in a van with eight other people and six of us were from California. We all got a laugh out of that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The driver would drop all of us off at a certain location and let us wander around anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours depending on the sight. It was an incredible experience to tour Washington D.C., but it certainly can't be done all in one day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our first stop was Lincoln Memorial (dedicated in 1922).<i> Amazing. </i> I never realized how big it was. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About a month ago this was vandalized with green paint and closed to the public. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, the Washington Monument was under construction to repair damage from an earthquake last August, so it was covered with scaffolding, but still, it was awesome to see.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We also stood in the exact spot as Martin Luther King, Jr. when he gave his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Visited the Korean War Monument...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which was probably the most somber.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">So many names listed on that wall...heartbreaking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Our driver got us passes to tour the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, but no pictures were allowed inside. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have never seen so much $$$$.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just pallets of money sitting around waiting to finish the printing process.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We saw a sign that read, "How do you think I feel?</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I just printed my entire yearly salary in just ten minutes!" </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bureau of Engraving and Printing getting a face lift.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And then it was onto the Thomas Jefferson Monument...</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uu0FEXFcnpM/UiJOhx0Hp0I/AAAAAAAAB9w/35BkO7_Fx-k/s1600/IMG_1471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uu0FEXFcnpM/UiJOhx0Hp0I/AAAAAAAAB9w/35BkO7_Fx-k/s400/IMG_1471.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...drove past the Potomac River (you can see Arlington National Cemetery on the hill in the background)...</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U69ueYaNKhQ/UiJPKhpOM_I/AAAAAAAAB98/UKhXksh1BsM/s1600/IMG_6605.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U69ueYaNKhQ/UiJPKhpOM_I/AAAAAAAAB98/UKhXksh1BsM/s640/IMG_6605.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and rolled up on Layfayette Park where there was a large crowd having an anti-drug rally. Avoided the chanting and clapping people and made our way to the White House where we pressed our faces against the wrought-iron fence to get a peek at Obama's abode. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I have to say I wasn't impressed.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I guess I thought it would be bigger and more ornate, still, it was the White House and we were thankful to see it. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately we didn't see Obama, I think he was out of town, but Robert (almost) bought an Obama t-shirt (I say almost).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After the White House, we had lunch at Lincoln's Waffle Shop...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">...and then it was on to tour Ford's Theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Again our driver got us tickets in advance so we didn't have to wait in line.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert gives Lincoln a bit of style.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My twin brother, perhaps?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think our favorite tour of the day, however, was of the Capitol Building.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Impressive in every sense of the word. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Each state gets to put two statues in the Capitol building.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">California has Junipero Serra and Ronald Reagan.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roberts reads the Declaration of Independence</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From the Capitol Building we took a tunnel to the Library of Congress and wandered around a bit, but didn't spend much time there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We wanted to get back to the Capitol Building and take some more pictures of the outside.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, that was the last stop on our tour and we headed back to our hotel. We got dropped off about 6pm and then headed to Cracker Barrell for dinner. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another AWESOME day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Coming soon....part 4 (the end) of the Grand Tour Road Trip.</i></span><br />
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-45452637836777111752013-08-31T11:20:00.000-07:002013-08-31T14:28:53.464-07:00The "Grand Tour" Road Trip Part 2/4<br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 4, Thursday (June 13th) -</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On the road by 6:50am and it was already 75-degrees and oh, so <i>muggy</i>. But that was okay, because less than 45-minutes later we were entering Great Smoky Mountain National Park! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We were on high bear alert and I had my camera at the ready, but all we saw was a turkey and some deer. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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Cades Cove in the park was a great place to explore. The first settlers arrived in the Cove in the early 1820's and by 1850 the population had reached 685. There was an old church, cabins, and other historic buildings that we were able to wander through. It's a really beautiful valley.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The John Cable Mill at Cades Cove is still operational. A park ranger grinds corn and it is sold in the gift shop. The same grinding stone has been used for 145 years.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ul6acL2k2YI/UiIlYHN2sBI/AAAAAAAAB3s/hR8mvr3bQ7g/s1600/IMG_6336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ul6acL2k2YI/UiIlYHN2sBI/AAAAAAAAB3s/hR8mvr3bQ7g/s640/IMG_6336.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Becky Cable House built in 1879 with lumber from the Cable Mill. No indoor plumbing and heat came from a fireplace. </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We exited the park into Cherokee, North Carolina about 12:30pm just in time for lunch! Ate more BBQ at Butts on the Creek BBQ in Maggie Valley and then found our way to I-40 and continued east. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiqaV6F2KC0/UiInHcwpURI/AAAAAAAAB34/aF3i8yL8ppo/s1600/IMG_1330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UiqaV6F2KC0/UiInHcwpURI/AAAAAAAAB34/aF3i8yL8ppo/s640/IMG_1330.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butts on the Creek in North Carolina.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PjMZ3s2Ing/UiInJMIFquI/AAAAAAAAB4A/MTLCa441sZ0/s1600/IMG_1336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8PjMZ3s2Ing/UiInJMIFquI/AAAAAAAAB4A/MTLCa441sZ0/s640/IMG_1336.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert chows down on the some fried corn on the cob. Delicious!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With tummies full of brisket we continued on. Passed over the Eastern Continental Divide and around 4pm we hit some really bad weather just west of Mocksville, NC.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Leaves and debris were blowing across the freeway and several trees had fallen onto the freeway in the opposite lanes. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The man on the radio announced a tornado warning for east Tennessee and west North Carolina and suggested people take shelter. Hello! We're in west North Carolina! Driving on the freeway!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rain. Wind. Lightening. Rain. Wind. Lightening! I was quite scared, but couldn't do much but hunker down and pray. Exited I-40 at Durham and headed north on I-85. It was still raining, but not as hard so I was feeling a bit better about the weather. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">About 6:45pm we crossed into Virginia. Severe weather storm alert again! Robert was texting his daughter, who had already arrived for Gabriel's gradutation. Her and Robert's parents were taking shelter in the basement of their hotel, because of a tornado alert! I hunkered down (again) and hoped for the best. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4RcBxLY1vW4/UiIoRp7vxmI/AAAAAAAAB4I/I4yzs4ekXnw/s1600/IMG_1349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4RcBxLY1vW4/UiIoRp7vxmI/AAAAAAAAB4I/I4yzs4ekXnw/s640/IMG_1349.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NOT happy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NYzGmLuMqtE/UiIoVbHIwxI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/P8_qY-stBb4/s1600/IMG_1348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NYzGmLuMqtE/UiIoVbHIwxI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/P8_qY-stBb4/s640/IMG_1348.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy (because we had yet to be carried away by a tornado).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We survived the tornado warning and the weather had calmed, but now we were stuck in traffic near Richmond. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spent a few romantic minutes in traffic watching the sun set over the semi trucks in front of us. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OXZDja6HwLk/UiIpqXKeRlI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/7OxpyIic5z8/s1600/IMG_1361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OXZDja6HwLk/UiIpqXKeRlI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/7OxpyIic5z8/s640/IMG_1361.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Arrived in Fredericksburg a little after 9pm. The Super 8 would be our home for the next four days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Total day's mileage: approx. 440 miles</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 5, Friday (June 14th) -</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A sleep in day! Yeah! After some very long travel days, we were ready for a rest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually made it to the Cracker Barrel to meet Robert's family for brunch, but on the way we detoured to A. Smith Bowman Distillery to take a quick tour and do a bourbon tasting. I don't drink bourbon, but that morning I did and I liked it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-arBn5xtGR2o/UiIqhpQNp_I/AAAAAAAAB4g/Tu19MuU9bzk/s1600/IMG_1382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-arBn5xtGR2o/UiIqhpQNp_I/AAAAAAAAB4g/Tu19MuU9bzk/s640/IMG_1382.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The room smelled wonderful!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0rb99g4BrkA/UiIqjtqzAQI/AAAAAAAAB4o/0_nq-CHFvrk/s1600/IMG_1372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0rb99g4BrkA/UiIqjtqzAQI/AAAAAAAAB4o/0_nq-CHFvrk/s640/IMG_1372.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert stands in front of "Mary." Unfortunately she wasn't running when we were there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X32QEetk7WA/UiIqsSU6kEI/AAAAAAAAB4w/mG-JqwNAsXw/s1600/IMG_1386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X32QEetk7WA/UiIqsSU6kEI/AAAAAAAAB4w/mG-JqwNAsXw/s640/IMG_1386.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After breakfast, we went back to Robert's parents hotel and visited a bit longer and then it was off to get ready for Gabriel's graduation. A celebration dinner at the Park Lane Tavern followed the ceremony with more time to visit with his family. It was a late night, but a good one.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SWKXy5HGYyc/UiItH2omd0I/AAAAAAAAB48/K5nga5uCkw0/s1600/IMG_6457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SWKXy5HGYyc/UiItH2omd0I/AAAAAAAAB48/K5nga5uCkw0/s640/IMG_6457.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lois, Gabriel, Robert, Katie, and Mike - The Piersons.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Congratulations Gabriel!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">DAY 6, Saturday (June 15th) -</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We slept in late and missed the motel's complimentary breakfast. Boo. Instead we enjoyed more BBQ at Virginia BBQ before heading out to Gabriel's house for another BBQ (delicious ribs!) with his friends and family. A very relaxed day.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sVKpqkZTulk/UiIxqLKehCI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/WfzJkDW6v88/s1600/IMG_1398.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sVKpqkZTulk/UiIxqLKehCI/AAAAAAAAB5Y/WfzJkDW6v88/s640/IMG_1398.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Coming soon....part 3 of the "Grand Tour."</span></i><br />
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-56648700698317256822013-08-22T19:27:00.001-07:002013-08-31T14:27:55.743-07:00"The Grand Tour" Road Trip Part 1/4<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The beginning of our "Grand Tour" Road Trip began in our RV parked in my parent's backyard, which at the time was our current location of domicile. The beginning began with a belly full of my mom's delicious spaghetti ("I want Robert to have a full tummy," she had said) and an early bedtime of 6pm. Our plan was to sleep a few hours and be on the road by midnight to start our longest road trip to date. We were heading to Spotsylvania, Virginia for Gabriel's high school graduation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At 9pm with me just falling asleep and Robert apparently still staring at the carpeted ceiling of our RV, I heard him whisper, "Are you asleep?" "I was," I replied "Oh," came his response. I knew then that our departure wouldn't be at midnight. It would be right now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"> <b>DAY 1, SUNDAY (JUNE 9TH) and MONDAY (JUNE 10TH) -</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With a few last kisses and hugs to our cat, we sped away under the cover of darkness. We made good time as Robert hightailed it east on I-8 towards our final destination some 2,572+ miles away.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiHJW1PjfOE/Uha78k8QIyI/AAAAAAAABzU/cb_TKZjdP6I/s1600/IMG_1123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JiHJW1PjfOE/Uha78k8QIyI/AAAAAAAABzU/cb_TKZjdP6I/s400/IMG_1123.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Getting gas at Love's in Joseph City</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At Gila Bend, Arizona we turned north on Highway 85 towards Phoenix. We stopped for gas in Buckeye, getting 25.8mpg, and at 3am Robert clicked on the air conditioning. Temperature: 84-degrees. Please note the time was <i>3am</i>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Phoenix would be reaching triple digits by daylight. Between the heat and humidity, the A/C would remain on for most of the trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Somewhere along the way there was a time change but I barely noticed as I was most likely asleep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We eventually turned east on I-40 and watched the sun rise over the Meteor Crater Natural Landmark, somewhere west of Winslow. The sunrise was beautiful, but unfortunately it shined right into our faces. Another gas stop in Joseph City ($3.39/gal) and onward we drove.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At about 8:30am, we crossed into our least favorite state - New Mexico. Once we reached Gallup, everything east would be new territory for us. Although neither of us care much for New Mexico, we were very excited to see everything!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7rNv4v3aKs/Uha8B54i_1I/AAAAAAAABzc/316aXTH0KOk/s1600/IMG_1126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y7rNv4v3aKs/Uha8B54i_1I/AAAAAAAABzc/316aXTH0KOk/s640/IMG_1126.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Welcome to the Land of Enchantment!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nK5CnEJVDTI/Uha8yXfSZiI/AAAAAAAABzk/P4FIHLN66fo/s1600/IMG_1131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nK5CnEJVDTI/Uha8yXfSZiI/AAAAAAAABzk/P4FIHLN66fo/s640/IMG_1131.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Excited!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, in New Mexico there wasn't much to see except poverty, flatness, and dirt. We drove on as fast as the speed limit would allow (okay, maybe a bit faster) and eventually reached Albuquerque by 11am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We still weren't enchanted by the "Land of Enchantment" and were glad when we finally crossed into Texas (Time: 3:40pm).</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXtxjkBgDOA/Uha8zwRKwuI/AAAAAAAABzs/Rb53r_esb74/s1600/IMG_1134+xx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OXtxjkBgDOA/Uha8zwRKwuI/AAAAAAAABzs/Rb53r_esb74/s640/IMG_1134+xx.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bye bye Land of Enchantment!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q0K8XM2aZsw/Uha-_8X0d2I/AAAAAAAABz4/o83yglV9qXw/s1600/IMG_1136.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q0K8XM2aZsw/Uha-_8X0d2I/AAAAAAAABz4/o83yglV9qXw/s640/IMG_1136.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello Lone Star State!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i>
<i>Yee Haw!</i> We had another time change and continued on into Texas, however, Texas didn't look much different than New Mexico. Still hot, flat, and brown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Somewhere west of Amarillo we passed a cattle stockyard and for miles all we could smell was cow poop. Not a nice welcome to Texas. As it was now Monday afternoon and Robert had been driving since Sunday night, we decided to stop in Amarillo for our first night of slumber. As usual, we opted for the Super 8 Motel.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After settling in at the motel, we headed out for dinner. One of the things on our itinerary for this trip was to eat real Texas BBQ. Dinner was an all-you-can-eat BBQ bonanza at Dyer's BBQ!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1tdUbjFDtY4/Uha_EiMdM8I/AAAAAAAAB0M/li5rzbE7sS0/s1600/IMG_1160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1tdUbjFDtY4/Uha_EiMdM8I/AAAAAAAAB0M/li5rzbE7sS0/s640/IMG_1160.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With the smell of stinky cow poop long forgotten, we gorged on brisket, beef, and pulled pork. We left so-fat-it-hurt-to-walk kind of happy. We went back to the motel and fell into a BBQ coma for the next several hours.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c4ebpJRa1CE/Uha_DxjYkYI/AAAAAAAAB0E/myzejLGGuLs/s1600/IMG_1157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c4ebpJRa1CE/Uha_DxjYkYI/AAAAAAAAB0E/myzejLGGuLs/s400/IMG_1157.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">YUMMY!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Total day's mileage: 1043.9 miles.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">DAY 2, TUESDAY (JUNE 11TH) -</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Up early as neither of us could sleep, which was good as Amarillo was supposed to reach a high of 101-degrees. It was already 70-degrees with 50% humidity. A quick Super 8 complimentary breakfast of waffles shaped like Texas and on the road by 7am.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A beautiful Texas sunrise from our Super 8 Motel room window</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We made good time across the Panhandle and into Oklahoma. While I was sleeping, Robert saw some tornado damage from the monstrous tornado that recently carved a path across Oklahoma.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Oklahoma tornado damage</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I finally awoke when we reached Oklahoma City (10:35am). We were both surprised by how lush and green the state was. I always pictured it to be a dust bowl. We stopped for lunch at McDonald's about 2pm. It was 95-degrees.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gotta love that $1 menu!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Crossed over into Arkansas not much later. It was so <i>HOT</i>, the hurt-to-breath kind of hot. Not much to see as we cruised through Little Rock and made good time into "The Volunteer" state of Tennessee.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which way do we go?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Made it to Nashville where we bunked at another Super 8. It was a long travel day as it was already after 10pm. A good time to stop.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Total day's mileage: 920 miles.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">DAY 3, WEDNESDAY (JUNE 12TH) -</span></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Birthday Mom!</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rise and shine about 7:10am. Temperature: 80-degrees w/75% humidity. Ugh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We picked a great day to take a walking tour of downtown Nashville as we broke into a sweat just exiting our motel room.
I was a bit disappointed with Music Row. Suppose I had expected more, maybe to see Blake Shelton or something, but downtown Nashville was nice.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6nLupnnJ9lw/UhbDyWWJKQI/AAAAAAAAB00/Zh_RqoaWZQM/s1600/IMG_1234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6nLupnnJ9lw/UhbDyWWJKQI/AAAAAAAAB00/Zh_RqoaWZQM/s640/IMG_1234.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Apparently I have my own sandwich shop in Nashville</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We walked around Capitol Hill and saw where James Polk was buried and watched some state prisoners cut grass. The guard didn't even get out of the van as we approached. Robert said she had on a full face of makeup, so she probably didn't want to melt in the humidity. I was smart and didn't wear any makeup.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">After wandering around Nashville, we had breakfast at the Waffle House. We gorged ourselves on grits and waffles and when we left, we saw a buzzard perched on the restaurant's sign watching us and probably waiting for us to keel over from a heart attack or high cholesterol. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nom nom nom nom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We didn't wait around to find out what the buzzard was waiting for, but hopped in the car, cranked the A/C and continued following the long, white line eastbound on I-40.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I fell asleep and again missed a time change. Arrived in Sevierville - Dolly Parton's hometown! - around 2:30pm. Decided to call it a day as we wanted to spend enough time the following day at Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which was less than an hour away. </span><br />
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Checked into the local Super 8 Motel. The room was great with a balcony overlooking a river. Tons of birds and I saw my first Northern Cardinal - Awesome! - and another little bird I couldn't identify.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bcjhGZN8dpo/UhbHnS7hV6I/AAAAAAAAB2U/xknMzcQBBmg/s1600/IMG_6277.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bcjhGZN8dpo/UhbHnS7hV6I/AAAAAAAAB2U/xknMzcQBBmg/s640/IMG_6277.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Beautiful birds</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oFCguFUSyR8/UhbHnBjyh-I/AAAAAAAAB2M/_2mMgMdkYUE/s1600/IMG_6284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oFCguFUSyR8/UhbHnBjyh-I/AAAAAAAAB2M/_2mMgMdkYUE/s640/IMG_6284.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Singing away!</span></td></tr>
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And then it was off to find more BBQ. We dined at Tony Gore's Smoky Mountain BBQ and Grill. It was delicious! I liked it better than the Texas BBQ at Dyer's. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My favorite BBQ of the entire trip! Absolutely delicious.</span></td></tr>
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Followed dinner with a nice, long soak in the hot tub and then splashed around in the pool to cool off. It was a short travel day, but a good one. We really liked Tennessee. It's a beautiful state and definitely worth going back to visit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Total day's mileage: 217.0 miles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Coming soon.... Part 2 of the Grand Tour.</i></span></span></div>
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Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-20475174512552892462013-01-03T14:44:00.001-08:002013-01-03T14:44:14.476-08:002012 End of the Year Run to Anza BorregoHappy New Year!<br />
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I am a bit late in posting as December is always a busy month for us with Christmas and family get togethers. Plus, I have been sick for the last two weeks and haven't felt like doing much of anything. I figured since I called in sick to work today, I might as well take the time to blog a bit about our latest adventure to Anza Borrego Desert State Park.<br />
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On December 15th, a group of us met up at the Visitor's Center in Anza Borrego to make a drive through the desert. The weather had cooled significantly, in fact it was raining when we left the house that morning, but it turned out to be a great day in the desert.<br />
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With our group all together, we left the pavement about 10:30am and disappeared into the wide open space that is Anza Borrego Desert. The storm that had dumped rain on us on our drive from home, had left the desert sky full of clouds and perfect for us photographers. There was even some snow at the higher elevations.<br />
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We passed by some sand dunes and saw coyote tracks. We've been to the sand dunes many times, as it is a favorite place for exploration, but I can never remember exactly where they are. Perhaps near Blow Sand Canyon...?<br />
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We stopped for lunch at the San Gregorio Historical Landmark. The Anza Expeditions of 1774 and 1775 made there camps in this area. Quite possibly in the same spot were we relaxed and enjoyed the great company of our friends.<br />
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This phainopepla kept watch over us during lunch. Probably hoping to snag some scraps, but there was nothing left over. We were hungry!<br />
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After lunch we took another short break at Hawk Canyon and at The Slot, where the shadow people came out to play! Thanks Jen, Rochelle, Frank and Heather for embracing the silliness.<br />
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But all good things must come to an end - at least for now - and it was time to head home....<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-76283698761604808652012-11-24T18:27:00.000-08:002012-11-24T18:30:53.355-08:00A Short Trip to Celebrate<br />
<b>Happy Thanksgiving to you!</b><br />
<b>Happy Anniversary to us!</b><br />
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Every November, Robert and I return to the scene of the crime - Pine Hills Lodge in Julian - to celebrate our anniversary. We usually do brunch, but this year, we decided to combine celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary with Thanksgiving. We invited our parents to join us at the lodge for dinner. It's been quite some time since our parents have seen one another, so it was nice to have everyone together. We are truly thankful for our family and the endless love and support they give.<br />
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With tummies full, we returned to our campsite at The Springs at Borrego Springs, an RV resort complete with tennis court, pool, hot tubs, golf course and few other amenities. After our last trip when we had to use the RV as our primary vehicle (and spent a lot of $$$ on gas doing so), we've been working on getting the Jeep outfitted for towing. Robert was a bit apprehensive, but we towed it behind the RV with no problems and it was so nice having a car.<br />
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The following day was spent doing as little as possible as there was nothing on our itinerary except to relax. We watched TV, played with Cierra (this was her 2nd trip in the RV and although her incessant meowing didn't last as long as the last time, she was still very angry about being in the carrier) and Robert played with his new iPad I got him as an anniversary gift. I figured he would use a tablet more than the traditional 5th anniversary gift of wood. As usual, I was right. =)<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Demon Kitty</span></i></div>
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When Robert and the cat eventually awoke from their naps, we (Robert and I, not the cat) splashed around in the pool a bit and soaked in the hot tub. For dinner, we opted for the taco buffet the resort offered. Not bad, but the meat had no seasoning whatsoever. Robert told me to consider the demographic of the residents at the resort. I suppose even a bit of spice might have been too much for some of the older people to handle. Heck, I can't even handle spice so it was probably best the meat was bland.<br />
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After dinner we walked around the resort - all the while listening to the Lucky Tongues as they were that night's musical entertainment - and drooled over all the big rigs. Wow. There is some serious money invested in RVing. A few of the rigs, I'm sure, cost more than our house and were probably just as big, if not bigger!<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Took Cierra outside to explore, but she wasn't too keen on that.</span></i></div>
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Saturday was a short day since we had to check out by noon. We slept in and I made pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Spent some time enjoying the beautiful desert weather and then we broke camp, which was basically unplugging the RV from the hookups and draining the RV's tanks. So much easier and quicker than when we used to tent camp. Tent camp! HA what were we ever thinking!<br />
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We could have easily stayed another day or month at The Springs, but the cat was happy to be home.<br />
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<i>Happy Anniversary!</i></div>
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-88218110971200038372012-11-11T18:57:00.002-08:002012-11-11T18:57:38.909-08:00In the Meantime....Although Robert and I don't have any big trips coming up, we have been trying to make the most of our weekends now that we are on the same work schedule. It's nice to have <i>every</i> weekend off! <br />
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In October we went to the Miramar Air Show. Robert has never been and I last went something like 15 years ago. We met up with our friend Frank and hung out in the Flight Deck Chalet all day. We had a great time, except we forgot the sunscreen and came home with a pretty good sunburn.<br />
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Lots of static displays to wander through.<br />
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When you don't bring a tripod, you improvise! Had to get a picture of Robert and I at the air show. A side mirror on a military vehicle worked just fine.<br />
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Napalm dropped alongside the runway. Picture perfect with a Blue Angel parked in front.<br />
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The Saturday following the air show, my photography group had it's monthly outing at Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center. Luckily we arrived by 9am so we were able to get parking, because by noon it was absolutely packed! We had a good time for a few hours until the crowd got to unbearable.<br />
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Last Saturday, my photography club had it's monthly outing in La Jolla. A storm had just passed through, so there were nice, puffy clouds in the sky and a strong breeze kept the air crisp and clean. Another good Saturday hanging out with friends and being with my husband.<br />
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Again no tripod, so we took a photo of our reflection in a ball spinning in a water fountain.<br />
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Robert <i>always</i> finds a way to get into my photos!<br />
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Pelicans were everywhere! Such a weird looking bird.<br />
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Next, we're heading to Borrego Springs for a short camping trip over the holidays so stay tuned! <br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-90262583522173179542012-08-14T09:53:00.001-07:002012-08-14T10:37:40.358-07:00South Dakota and Back Again....Part 3 (The End)<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tuesday, July 31st</i></span><br />
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A late start as Gabriel and I mutinied and refused to get out of bed until a reasonable hour. At 9am we were heading south on the 385 into Nebraska. With every trip, we try to take new road, whether it be a two-lane blacktop or freeway and driving into Nebraska was all new territory. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KQHdC9idfYk/UCpbKzvmk8I/AAAAAAAABhY/-dEtKkTysPQ/s1600/Nebraska+Arkansa+Natl+Forest+0382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KQHdC9idfYk/UCpbKzvmk8I/AAAAAAAABhY/-dEtKkTysPQ/s320/Nebraska+Arkansa+Natl+Forest+0382.jpg" width="320" /></a>We stopped in Chadron at the Country Kitchen for an adequate, but not entirely delicious, lunch and then it was back on the road. We saw lots of pronghorn (pronghorn!) and then lo' and behold we saw these strange green things! During our last trek through Nebraska (in a Toyota Yaris, nonetheless) we saw lots of cornfields, but this, this looked liked trees. Yes, indeed, pine trees! And lots of them! <br />
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Trees in Nebraska, who would have thought? But once we got through the Arkansas National Forest, it was back to cornfields and flatness. Bah.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7nb3JYrw6xA/UCpbkAGik0I/AAAAAAAABhg/kRDmeVBEGZU/s1600/Nebraska+Sidney+0393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7nb3JYrw6xA/UCpbkAGik0I/AAAAAAAABhg/kRDmeVBEGZU/s320/Nebraska+Sidney+0393.jpg" width="320" /></a>And then yet another HUGE surprise. As we traveled through Sidney, we saw a water tower, not unlike all the other water towers we'd seen during our trip, but there was something a wee bit different about this one. <br />
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For one, it was green instead of white and instead of the town's name, it read, "Cabelas." <br />
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That's right, Cabelas' World Headquarters! Do you think we stopped? Duh, but this time we got away cheap with just a coffee mug.<br />
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At 2:30pm we crossed into Colorado and then our engine died. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2C6VxT-kr5M/UCpfO7czH_I/AAAAAAAABhw/Tjhy05VS1To/s1600/Prairie+Dog+Ranch+Store+0245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2C6VxT-kr5M/UCpfO7czH_I/AAAAAAAABhw/Tjhy05VS1To/s400/Prairie+Dog+Ranch+Store+0245.jpg" width="400" /></a>Robert coasted to a stop, put us in park in the middle of the road, turned the key and the engine started up again and we had no other problems the rest of our trip. I think I should make a notation here, that just prior to the engine dying, we passed quite a few prairie dogs as in probably a few dozen, maybe upwards of 100 or more as they are so hard to count. <br />
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Robert yelled, "Prairie Dogs!" as we'd done numerous other times during our trip when we'd see prairie dogs. We then joked about feeding peanuts to the ones at the Ranch Store, which probably killed them. It was just after that our engine died. Coincidence? I think not. I believe it was Prairie Dog Magic that caused the engine to die and had any of us exited the vehicle at that point, we would have been attacked and most likely ripped to unrecognizable shreds. <br />
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With all our lives (and body parts) still intact, we rolled into Denver at 5:15pm to drop off Gabriel at Carrie's house. He was flying home to Virginia the following day. After another short visit with the family, we were southbound on the I-25. We hit a major thunder and lightening storm (no need to reiterate my feelings about thunder and lightening). Lots of rain and FLASH BOOM BANG!! <br />
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Made it to Colorado Springs unscathed and spent another night in a KOA.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Wednesday, August 1st</i></span><br />
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Another hot day as we traveled south on I-25. At Pueblo we saw some workers on the side of the road picking up trash. The kind of workers who are not there by choice, but are doing community service work as a condition of their probation. They were wearing black and white stripped pants like the chain gangs of the old days!<br />
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Honked and waved at them, but no one paid any attention. Turned west on the 50 and headed through Canon City, established in 1860 and home to nine state prisons and four Federal penitentiaries. <br />
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Reached the <a href="http://www.royalgorgebridge.com/" rel="nofollow">Royal Gorge Bridge</a> by 10:30am and it was already 90-degrees! <br />
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The Royal Gorge Bridge was built in 1929 and is a suspension bridge that hangs 956-feet above the Arkansas River, which makes it the tallest bridge in the United States. It's wooden walkway consists of 1,292 planks. Of course there are large spaces between the planks, so looking down was a bit unnerving. Robert, also wary of heights, stayed mostly in the middle of the bridge except when a car rolled past and we had to move out of the way. The speed limit is only 10mph, but the entire bridge shakes when cars cross. No shame in admitting I was scared, but once across the bridge, there is no other way back except to cross the bridge again. On our way back, we rode on the trolley car, so it didn't seem as scary.<br />
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Across the Royal Gorge Bridge is a theme park with zip lines, an aerial tram, petting zoo, a mountain man town, and various other attractions. You can also ride the Silver Rock Railway. You can see the tracks at the bottom of the gorge running along the river bank.<br />
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Passed through Gunnison (elevation 7708-feet) where we hit heavy rains that followed us all the way to Montrose. Guess where we spent the night? Another KOA Kampground!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Thursday, August 2nd</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPTZSTlsAmo/UCpmW8Q_-iI/AAAAAAAABis/FRYRkwWDcq8/s1600/Colorado+Blk+Canyon+NP+2267.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPTZSTlsAmo/UCpmW8Q_-iI/AAAAAAAABis/FRYRkwWDcq8/s320/Colorado+Blk+Canyon+NP+2267.jpg" width="320" /></a>Welcome to the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm" rel="nofollow">Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park!</a><br />
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Our 4th, and last, National Park of the trip.<br />
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There wasn't much of a chance to see wildlife as there was in some of the other National Parks we visited. The park road followed the edge of the canyon, so there were no large meadows or other open areas where one might see elk or other wildlife gathered, but we did see a deer at the entrance to the park.<br />
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As we climbed into the RV after walking back from one of the viewpoints, Robert happened to glance in his side mirror. He saw a bobcat emerge from the brush along the trail right where we had been just a few seconds earlier! The bobcat had most likely been hidden in the thick brush along the trail and had watched us walk past, but we never saw it. Eeek! <br />
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Robert's not very fond of heights. Notice the death grip on the railing. Ha Ha. <br />
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Straight down! Robert wouldn't look as I leaned out to take a picture. <br />
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The view from Cedar Point was spectacular. Even though we were so high above the Gunnison River, we could still hear it's roar and with the chirping of birds....so peaceful and amazing.<br />
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The park road ended at High Point (elevation 8,289-feet), but to reach the overlook we would have had to hike over a mile. Not a long distance, but at altitude, this city girl wasn't really feeling up to any strenuous activity. As it was, I was having a hard time breathing just walking some of the shorter trails.<br />
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After leaving Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, we had lunch at the Red Barn in Montrose. I had a bison burger and Robert a chili burger that he ended up spilling on his shirt. The waitress called him, "messy."<br />
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When we travel, Robert likes to pick up newspapers from the local communities. On our way out of the Red Barn, I grabbed a copy of the "San Juan Horseshoe." We didn't immediately notice the warning on the front of the paper, "Warning: May contain revisionist thinking." <br />
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Here a just a few of the headlines from the paper:<br />
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"Sadie Hawkins Day Concept Lost on Taliban"<br />
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"Senators Promise to Hire More Domestics" and the article read in part, "In an attempt to create more jobs, members of the United States Senate today voted unanimously to hire at least two new domestic servants in their multiple households before the end of the year...." Glad to read they are doing their part.<br />
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"Huge Asteroid Barely Misses Earth"<br />
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...and my favorite, "Homeless Tough on Grocery Carts." An interesting read to say the least.<br />
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From Montrose, we headed south on Highway 550. Got caught in a bit of traffic south of Ridgeway because the heavy rains had caused a mudslide across the road. The were in the middle of clearing the road, so our delay wasn't very long.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8MJzTGvQ1g/UCps5jWyH9I/AAAAAAAABjs/UDa_x7I2YI8/s1600/Colorado+Ouray+0489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C8MJzTGvQ1g/UCps5jWyH9I/AAAAAAAABjs/UDa_x7I2YI8/s400/Colorado+Ouray+0489.jpg" width="400" /></a>If you are afraid of heights, do not travel along Highway 550 in Colorado. <br />
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Just south of <a href="http://www.ouraycolorado.com/" rel="nofollow">Ouray,</a> a quaint little town worth visiting, we drove up and up and up. There were no guard rails and the drop looked very painful. And I'm not exaggerating. About a foot of space lay between us and death. <br />
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I think at one point (ok, several points), I leaned so far over to get away from the edge that I was in Robert's lap! Elevation: 9,155-feet and climbing! Driving the road was more scary than walking across the Royal Gorge Bridge.<br />
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More rain as we went over Red Mountain Pass (elevation 11,094-feet) and arrived in Silverton. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XoxkFFBlRR0/UCp0We-Ti8I/AAAAAAAABkQ/1tj82Xm7oh0/s1600/Coloraod+Silverton+0510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XoxkFFBlRR0/UCp0We-Ti8I/AAAAAAAABkQ/1tj82Xm7oh0/s320/Coloraod+Silverton+0510.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/TownofSilverton/CBON/1251591999715" rel="nofollow">Silverton</a> is linked to Durango by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which is a National Historic Landmark. As we rolled into town, we could see in the distance the steam rising from the train. <br />
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However, it was pouring rain so we just drove through town and didn't do any sightseeing, although I tried to take a few pictures out the window.<br />
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Silverton was established in 1874 as a mining town. It now has a population of 638. It is a wonderfully historic town and we were disappointed we didn't get a chance to explore it. I suppose we could have sat in a saloon, had a beer, and waited for the rain to stop, but the rain didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. Actually, it got worse while we were driving through.<br />
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Continued south over Molas Pass, elevation 10,197-feet and Coal Bank Pass, elevation 10,640-feet and into Durango. I don't know how it could be pouring rain and 80-degrees, but so said the temperature gauge at the local bank. <br />
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Welcome to New Mexico! <br />
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We headed south to Farmington, east to Shiprock and then south again into Gallup. We were still traversing new road, and it lead us into the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation and to be honest, it was quite depressing. For every one unkept child we saw, there were two, three, or five equally unkept dogs chasing after them. The houses looked as if a strong wind might blow them away and several had tires on their roofs, which I figured kept the shingles from falling off. It was so sad that I wanted to pullover and pass out money and food to the kids we saw. It made me very thankful for what we have.<br />
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Hitchhiking seemed quite common on the reservation as we passed many with their thumbs out, but one hitchhiker was quite disturbing. Actually it was two, a father and son. The son looked to be maybe 3 or 4 years old. As they heard us approaching, both of them stuck out their thumbs to hitch a ride. Obviously this wasn't the first time the baby had been walking on the side of the highway thumbing a ride. <br />
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In Gallup, we stopped at McDonalds for a quick bite. You know you're in a bad neighborhood when there is a security guard standing watch in McDonalds. We haven't done much traveling in New Mexico, but I was glad when I-40 lead us into Arizona.<br />
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Somewhere along the way, we had a time change and at 9:45pm we were pulling into our five-star accommodations in Flagstaff, a Wal-Mart parking lot. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Friday, August 3rd</i></span><br />
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Early departure from Wal-Mart. I was still sleepy, so I curled up in the back and slept as Robert took us south on I-17. <br />
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At Glendale (100-degrees), I awoke to a wonderful site: Cabelas. Spent more money and had lunch at a nearby Cracker Barrel. <br />
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Dropped down to I-8 from Highway 85 and headed west towards home and the setting sun.<br />
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Arrived home at 5:30pm to find our most adorable little Cierra waiting for us. Good to be home. I really missed the cat.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Total Miles Traveled: 3,465</span></b><br />
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4 National Parks Visited: Rocky Mountain National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado; Badlands National Park and Wind Caves National Park in South Dakota.<br />
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3 Cabelas stores visited: Mitchell, South Dakota; Sidney, Nebraska; Glendale, Arizona.<br />
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9 states visited: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona.<br />
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Wildlife seen: Moose w/calf, elk, Golden Eagle, marmot, deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, buffalo, bobcat, prairie dogs, Canadian Geese, pheasants, American Robin, Magpie, wild turkey, and various other birds.Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-85875695866102889952012-08-05T13:41:00.001-07:002012-08-05T13:48:29.068-07:00South Dakota and Back Again....Part 2<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Thursday, July 26th</span></i></div>
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On the road by 8:30am for a very very long day of traveling. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">We headed north on I-25</span> into Wyoming, another state I find incredibly beautiful. Made a quick stop in Chugwater (population 212) to sample some chili at the Chugwater Chili Corp. It was good, but not to brag or anything, my chili is better.</div>
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Veered away from the freeway and headed east on the 313 through Hawk Springs, then north on Highway 85 through Torrington (established late 1880s, population 6,501). We saw lots of pronghorn (Pronghorn!) along the way and at 2:45pm we crossed into South Dakota.</div>
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There is just something so beautiful about South Dakota. Everything seems fresher, cleaner, more colorful. Whenever we are in South Dakota, I seem more at peace, more relaxed and find it easier to breath. It's a feeling hard to describe, but I would not be unhappy living the rest of my days in South Dakota.</div>
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We followed Highway 18 through Hot Springs, then went north through the Black Hills to Rapid City. From there it was east on I-90 to Mitchell. We stayed the night at the KOA and I was so tired and grumpy I don't remember much else....zzzzzzzz.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Friday, July 27th</i></span><br />
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Rise and shine and off to the Corn Palace!<br />
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The original <a href="http://www.cornpalace.org/" rel="nofollow">Corn Palace</a> was established in 1892 as settlers displayed the fruits of their harvest on the building's exterior in order to show the fertility of South Dakota soil. The present building was completed in 1921.<br />
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Each year the exterior decorations are removed and new murals are created. This year's theme was "Saluting Youth Activities." While we were there, the youths were working on putting up new corn decorations.</div>
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But the real reason for going to Mitchell was Cabelas. We love that store, but Gabriel didn't like it so much. Of course I had to have my usual elk sandwich, while Robert had roast beef. We got out of there in under two hours and with money still in our pockets.<br />
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At Sioux Falls we turned north and by late afternoon we were pulling into <a href="http://www.milbanksd.com/" rel="nofollow">Milbank</a>, the birthplace of American Legion Baseball. After checking into the campground at Farley Park, we headed to La Bolt for the Feeding Frenzy.<br />
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Every year there is a theme for the Frenzy. Last time we went in 2009, the theme was duct tape. This year it was the Olympics. The Frenzy kicked off with a torch run from Strandsburg to La Bolt (about 4-miles). The kids had a blast as they got to run around the lake with the torch. Some of them got a little too rambunctious, so by the end of the run the torch had fallen apart, but their enthusiasm got everyone into the spirit of having fun. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mdcF6m27sCM/UB37xsn5NRI/AAAAAAAABbQ/WekCtcktXaw/s1600/South+Dakota+0199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mdcF6m27sCM/UB37xsn5NRI/AAAAAAAABbQ/WekCtcktXaw/s320/South+Dakota+0199.jpg" width="320" /></a>Olympic games were also planned for the weekend, which included a 3-legged race, wheelbarrow race, Wheel of Fortune, badminton and seed spitting. I came in 11th overall in seed spitting. I think a few kids spit further than me. A disappointing and embarrassing finish to say the least. <br />
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Mostly the games were for the kids, although Wheel of Fortune was a big hit with the older crowd. I think Robert's mom, Lois, had insider information as she kept guessing the phrases! Of course she was on the opposite team. <br />
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On the way back to Milbank, we watched the sun set over golden fields of hay and fields of corn that went on for miles. A wonderful ending to a wonderful day.<br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Saturday, July 28th</span></i><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sqn0U-8K5SY/UB4BK5ek2qI/AAAAAAAABbo/m9CF3nrjiao/s1600/IMG_0215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sqn0U-8K5SY/UB4BK5ek2qI/AAAAAAAABbo/m9CF3nrjiao/s320/IMG_0215.jpg" width="320" /></a>We stopped by Alice's Restaurant in Stockholm (pop. 108) for breakfast on the way to La Bolt. Alice's is owned and operated by Robert's Uncle Richard.<br />
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At Alice's all the women will sit on one side of the room, while the men gather on the other side. In the mornings, the men will shoot dice to determine who pays for coffee.<br />
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Alice's is different in that the menu is fixed. Alice's caters to senior citizens and is subsidized by the government. </div>
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The dinner menu on Monday, for example, will be meat loaf and other than a cheeseburger, that is all you can order. Prices are very low so seniors with limited incomes can afford to eat and the food is always good. The town's library is now inside Alice's and you can even access the Internet!</div>
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The rest of the day was spent visiting and eating and eating and visiting and then eating some more. My stomach hurt I ate so much.<br />
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Robert and his mom, Lois.<br />
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Some good ol' fashion squeeze box and fiddle music. Pat, the squeeze box player, also sang songs in Swedish. <br />
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Robert grabs some food and checks to see what games are scheduled for the day.<br />
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Robert and his grandmother, Lorretta.<br />
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Back at the campground, we watched the sun set over Lake Farley. Beautiful.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sunday, July 29th </i></span><br />
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Bye Bye Milbank.<br />
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We made good time across South Dakota to Interior, where we would be staying the night at the KOA. To get to the campground, we had to drive through a portion of Badlands National Park. <br />
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As soon as we entered the park, we saw several bighorn sheep on some rocks overlooking the road. Of course there was no place to pullover, so the pictures I snapped through the windshield are blurry, but just seeing them perched on the rocks was neat.<br />
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We stopped briefly at the Ranch Store to feed unsalted peanuts to prairie dogs. I think prairie dogs are cute, but they are considered a nuisance, like gophers. They are EVERYWHERE! Although the ones at the Ranch Store were rather fat and lethargic. Probably from eating so many peanuts. <br />
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We later heard an announcement on the radio that you shouldn't feed prairie dogs human food, because prairie dogs don't drink water and human food will mess with their digestive system and kill them. <br />
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Oops. Sorry prairie dogs.<br />
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We also learned (after feeding the prairie dogs of course) that prairie dogs are carriers of Black Death-style bubonic plague. Nice. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Monday, July 30th</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hJK226OYmQY/UB6tGSwIYVI/AAAAAAAABd0/h9KvoGoP03g/s1600/South+Dakota+Badlands+0254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hJK226OYmQY/UB6tGSwIYVI/AAAAAAAABd0/h9KvoGoP03g/s320/South+Dakota+Badlands+0254.jpg" width="320" /></a>After chowing down on some pancakes (cooked by the KOA staff, not the organic wheat crap we had before), we flashed our National Parks pass at the entrance and followed the rest of the tourists into Badlands National Park (elev. 3,080-feet). <br />
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We last traveled through the park during our honeymoon in 2007. We definitely like the park better during the winter. For one, it wasn't so darn HOT, plus we saw more wildlife and less people. <br />
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Nevertheless, it was still a fun day of exploring.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAAKtGTcZQw/UB61ewGvx2I/AAAAAAAABec/0LdNZDhHoF0/s1600/South+Dakota+Badlands+1973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAAKtGTcZQw/UB61ewGvx2I/AAAAAAAABec/0LdNZDhHoF0/s640/South+Dakota+Badlands+1973.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DX9LXtvlr6g/UB7HTtIGrQI/AAAAAAAABe4/tJdfhX4P6PI/s1600/South+Dakota+0154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DX9LXtvlr6g/UB7HTtIGrQI/AAAAAAAABe4/tJdfhX4P6PI/s320/South+Dakota+0154.jpg" width="320" /></a>From the Badlands we headed to Wall, South Dakota. All along I-90 you can see signs advertising Wall Drug. <br />
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We spent some time wandering through Wall Drug, had pizza for lunch, and bought a few souvenirs.<br />
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And then it was back on the road to visit our 3rd National Park of the trip, but to get there we had to drive through Custer State Park. <br />
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Since we were just driving through, we didn't have to pay, but that meant we couldn't stop or take the wildlife loop road. The park was very beautiful and worth taking the time to explore the next time we are in the area. They had some really nice looking campgrounds too.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hGZTlYIEdoc/UB7MaC1oDoI/AAAAAAAABfk/F9ezT6g_02k/s1600/South+Dakota+0281.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hGZTlYIEdoc/UB7MaC1oDoI/AAAAAAAABfk/F9ezT6g_02k/s320/South+Dakota+0281.jpg" width="320" /></a>At 2:50pm we entered into Wind Caves National Park and less than ten minutes later, we were standing on the side of the road watching a herd of buffalo wallowing in the dirt and grazing.<br />
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We were a good distance away, but could hear them snorting and grunting as they roamed. It was very cool. <br />
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Thanks to Gabriel for seeing them as we passed, because Robert and I were looking in the opposite direction and would have missed them. We also saw some pronghorn and deer.<br />
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We took the 1-1/2 hour Fairgrounds Tour of the Wind Caves. It was interesting to learn the history of the caves and to wander through. It was a nice and cool 53-degrees inside the caves. On our way along the path to the tour meeting area, we spotted a wild turkey and several babies in the bushes. Turkeys are kind of ugly up close, but they do taste good.<br />
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Not long after leaving the visitor center, we saw another buffalo grazing alongside the road. <br />
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Welcome to Hot Springs and hot it was - 95-degrees! Pulled into the local KOA, hooked up the RV, and then took a swim in the pool to cool down. After a good dinner of chicken, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes, we tucked ourselves in for the night. <br />
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Night night.<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-68860269092839981642012-08-04T20:53:00.001-07:002012-08-04T21:06:14.364-07:00South Dakota and Back Again....Part 1<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sunday, July 22nd </span></i></b><br />
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The RV was loaded, gassed, and ready. One last security check of the house by Robert, a few last kisses for the cat by me and off into the night we drove like fugitives. Time check: 9pm.<br />
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Let our latest adventure begin!<br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Monday, July 23rd </span></i></b><br />
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Morning found us parked among a slew of semi trucks in the parking lot next to the Mad Greek in Baker, CA. Although we'd only slept a few hours, the allure of the open road had us up early and eager to drive on. By 8am we were cruising through a very HOT Las Vegas and then into beautiful Utah. <br />
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We eventually headed east on I-70, hitting rain near Richfield. It was a nice downpour to wash away the city dirt, leaving us refreshed and ready for adventure. Travel through Utah was uneventful, but as we neared the Colorado border we could see lightening flashing in the distance. I am not a fan of thunder and lightening, but there was nothing I could do but hunker down and ask Robert a million times if we were safe sitting in a big metal box. <br />
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He assured me we would remain alive and that we were on rubber tires that would save us, but he soon grew tired of answering my questions about weather patterns and the probability of our deaths. After awhile he simply stopped listening, but I continued chattering on, pondering our fates. And this was only the first of many lightening storms we would encounter.<br />
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As our first full day on the road came to an end, we had already put over 920-miles between us and home. Just outside of Glenwood Springs, we found a nice RV park - <a href="http://glenwoodcanyonresort.com/rv-sites.html">Glenwood Canyon Resort </a>- and set up camp, which required only a few minutes for Robert to hook up the electricity and water and for me to pop out the slide and slap some sheets on the bed. For dinner I cooked up some sausage rigatoni and made strawberry shortcake for dessert. With a full tummy, sleep came quick.<br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Tuesday, July 24th </span></i></b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sK9TFal1MDw/UB3QBAAfUAI/AAAAAAAABW8/D_CeqQGuph4/s1600/IMGP2442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sK9TFal1MDw/UB3QBAAfUAI/AAAAAAAABW8/D_CeqQGuph4/s320/IMGP2442.jpg" width="320" /></a>We awoke to the screeching wheels of a train rumbling past, but it wasn't an unpleasant sound as we both like trains. I peeked out the window to find the campground surrounded by high red cliffs, but it was getting hot fast and there was no time to wander aimlessly in the heat as we wanted to get to Rocky Mountain National Park.<br />
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By 8:40am we were back on I-70 heading eastward. At Wolcott we turned north on Highway 131. It was nice to finally get off the freeways and we were rewarded with a glimpse of a Golden Eagle nesting on one of the power poles along the road. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture as we zipped past rather quickly.<br />
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At State Bridge we crossed over the Colorado River, turned east, north, and then east again. At 11:30am we entered <a href="http://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm" rel="nofollow">Rocky Mountain National Park</a> (the first of four National Parks we would visit).<br />
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Robert had never been to the park and I haven't been in over 10 years, so we were both excited to be exploring something new to both of us.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQ-eOldq468/UB3hUM6rlQI/AAAAAAAABY8/W0oM5NwMDVQ/s1600/Rocky+Mountain+1809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VQ-eOldq468/UB3hUM6rlQI/AAAAAAAABY8/W0oM5NwMDVQ/s400/Rocky+Mountain+1809.jpg" width="400" /></a>We camped at Timber Creek Campground (elevation 8,900-feet). It was the first campground we came to, because we wanted to be able to take our time driving through the park and not have to worry about where we would stay the night. Stopping at the campground proved to be a great decision! <br />
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I noticed quite a few cars stopped on the road and people gathering in mass, so I figured there was wildlife of some kind. I thought it might be some elk, so Robert and I headed across the campground to see what the fuss was all about.<br />
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As we neared, a moose and her calf crossed the road right in front of us! I had never seen a moose before. It was amazing. <br />
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Mama moose and her calf wandered through the campground disappearing into the bushes near the river. They weren't afraid of people at all. <br />
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After the moose and her calf disappeared, Robert and I hiked to nearby Holzwarth Historic Site. We saw an elk along the way and were able to track her in the mud. </div>
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As we hiked, it started raining. Not the annoying pitter-patter to spot my glasses, but a full on downpour! Robert was drenched as he wasn't wearing a raincoat and I was trying hard to protect my camera. A couple of park rangers heading to the cabins came by in a golf cart and gave us a ride. </div>
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Holzwarth Historic District is a series of cabins built by the Holzwarth family in 1917 that were eventually purchased by the Nature Conservancy and transferred to the National Park Service in 1975. We were able to tour "Mamma's" cabin, but the others closed at 4:30pm and we were too late.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rh7HLudRTu4/UB3crlAMkAI/AAAAAAAABYk/0pOIA7lQG38/s1600/IMG_0036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rh7HLudRTu4/UB3crlAMkAI/AAAAAAAABYk/0pOIA7lQG38/s320/IMG_0036.jpg" width="320" /></a>For dinner I made pancakes. They were horrible, but it wasn't my fault. Robert had seen some pancake mix at the grocery store that squirted out of a bottle similar to whip cream.<br />
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He suggested I buy that because it would be easier than making our own mix. What he didn't know and what I failed to see when I grabbed it off the shelf, was that it was organic wheat pancake batter. It sucked.</div>
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Not only did it suck, but the batter was expired! Not surprising.</div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>Wednesday, July 25th</i></span></b><br />
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Rise and shine to a wet and cold morning. We skipped breakfast and exited the campground about 7:50am. Not far from the campground we saw more elk grazing along the road seemingly indifferent to the cars pulling alongside them and people snapping their picture. We were no exception.<br />
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We got lost in the clouds as we gained elevation and drove along the spine of the Rocky Mountains. It was very cool! <br />
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We stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center for souvenirs, coffee and hot cocoa. The Alpine Visitor Center sits at 11,796-feet in elevation and is the highest visitor center in elevation in all of the National Park System.<br />
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While we sipped our drinks, we watched a bunch of marmots on the hillside and in the meadow far below us was a large herd of elk.<br />
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We were sad to exit the park, but excited to get to Denver to pick up Robert's son, Gabriel. He would be joining us for the trip to the Feeding Frenzy in South Dakota. Gabriel had flown into Denver and was at Robert's sister's house. <br />
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It was good to see Carrie, Jeremy, and their three boys. We hadn't yet met their youngest son, Caleb, so it was nice to spend some time visiting.<br />
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But then it was back to Denver Meadows RV Park in Aurora where we would be resting up for the next part of our adventure.<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8603784124294307908.post-34157410310245035202012-07-21T07:02:00.000-07:002012-07-21T11:25:09.235-07:00Comic Con - San DiegoLast Saturday, Robert and I (and a few friends from out photography club) went to Comic Con. We didn't have tickets, but hung around outside the Convention Center and wandered through the Gaslamp Quarter taking pictures of all the crazy people. And there were <i>a lot</i> of them!<br />
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After lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory, we went back to the Convention Center and took more photos and video. Even though we didn't have tickets to go inside, we had a fun time. <br />
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For more photos, visit my photography <a href="http://raecosta.smugmug.com/Festivals-and-Parades/Comic-Con-SD/Comic-Con-San-Diego/24171427_Nh99J4#!i=1965313492&k=tLJHDZ9" target="_blank">gallery</a>.<br />
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<br />Rae and Roberthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02604377783783201611noreply@blogger.com1