SharivilleLife stories from Shari

Well Whoop de Do, what a day this was.  Good thing we rested up yesterday from all the wonderful things we did in Tucson.  Cause today was  a day to remember.  We started out here in the RV with bacon, cheese, onion and avocado omelettes.  That  I was  Jerry’s request.  Then we loaded up Teddy and took about a 3 hour drive all around the Laughlin area.  It’s really a lovely area.  Of course it sits right on one of my favorite Rivers in the USA. The mighty Colorado. I got some fair pictures, but, Judy Lou, not to many of the wild flowers.  I may have  better luck tomorrow on the way to Vegas.  I think we were here a couple of yrs ago and this place has grown so much in that time.

Tonight, being Friday night we had to hit the sea food buffet.  Since Jerry had gotten tickets for the Tribute to Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper and Richie Valens, at the Riverside Casino, we just went to the buffet there.  Got a seat by the window right on the river.  We watched the river taxi’s.  One was crisscrossing the river to pick up people from the Arizona side,  Bullhead City, and bringing them over to the Nevada side to eat, see the shows and spend their money.  The other one was running up and down the river from casino to casino so people wouldn’t have to walk so far.  A great idea, as this place thrives on seniors. Jerry, bless his sweet heart, loves shrimp.  They had peel and eat shrimp and those who have spent time with us eating where they have these critters know that I always peel them for him, which I ordinarily dont’ mind, but tonight he put blue cheese dressing all over everything and I was up to finger licking blue cheese all the while.  Thank goodness he only wanted to do that once.  They had my favorite, crab, but it never tastes like it does on the Oregon coast, does it Judy Lou?  But it was very relaxing to sit and eat and watch the beautiful blue Colorado flow by and the ducks enjoying their life.

Then we wanted to walk off some of that great food, so we took in the antique auto show on the 3nd floor of the Riverside.  Jerry always likes those old car shows, me I really enjoy the gift shops.  In fact I found a hat I liked  and ended up buying 5 of them in different colors.  That helps with the traveling to cover up my hair. I always have that wind blown look, even if the wind isn’t blowing.

Then the peace de resistance, the tribute show.  It was sooo good.  The Big Bopper is actually the real Boppers son, who was born 3 months after the accident.  The Richie Valens singer was excellent and of course the Buddy Holly singer looked and sounded just like the real one.  The show was one and a half hours long, they did all the songs that these 3 ever did.   They all 3 died way to young.  I was 16 and a junior in high school when the plane went down in Feb, 1959.  I remember how broken hearted I was.  For us Rock n Rollers its marked as the day the” Music Died.”  And in lots of respects it did.  The singer who did Richie Valens was really a mover up there on the stage and kind of made the show, lets say he had all the right moves, just him and his electric guitar,  but I was so crazy about buddy Holly when I was 16 it was, for me,  that time all over again.  One thing Jerry and I share is our love of entertainment.  Guess that’s why we’ve been to Branson, Mo 6 times.  Jerry  has a couple of yrs on me, in fact a whole generation, but you would never know it.  He gets into that “ Old Rock n Roll ”  feeling right along with me.  It was a wonderful show, brought back many memories and we left with a happy feeling.  I didn’t know that The Big Bopper wrote the song,”White Lightening,” the song that launched George Jones career.  Now that’s the one person that I still have to see to make it 100% of my favorites.   It has been a good few days here in Laughlin, but it’s time to move along , and along to a great favorite  of ours Las Vegas.

If you have not driven in the desert southwest in the early spring you just have to find the time to do it.  We left Tucson around 9 AM today, stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast, they do breakfast really well.  We will soon be out of range for Cracker Barrel as they are not in California.  We will miss them, they always have nice big parking lots for RVs.  The food is good too.  Anyway back to the desert.  The further north we drove the warmer it got and we started noticing that the desert is in bloom.  The wildflower are everywhere and cactus is blooming too. The further north we drove the more flowers we saw. The Lupins are in bloom along with yellow, orange and white flowers, and mostly pink cactus.  We drove from 72 degree weather during the day into 88 degree weather.  Thank goodness for the air conditioner. We ended up with about 370 miles today. It was much better driving and we whipped right along as we had a tail wind for a change.

We did a change of plans, since we have spent time on several occasions at Emerald Cove near Lake Havasu, we decided to drive on further north and spend a couple or 3 nights in Laughlin, Nev.  It also sits directly on the ever so beautiful Colorado River, I love this river.  It reminds me of a sidewinder in the sand the way it makes its way thru the desert. It brings life’s blood to so much and so many.  You just don’t want to let your dog swim or drink from this river.  Its very alkaline and from prior experience its like feeding your dog a bag of prunes and this goes on for days.  So beware.  So no, we will not be letting Teddy go for a swim here.

We found this really unusual RV park.  Its all terraced on the hill above Casino row.  So tonight we can sit here and look out our big back window at all the bright lights down on the Laughlin strip.  Its really a sight to see.  Very cheery and seems to be beckoning us to come down and play.  Maybe tomorrow.  It was a long day and I am sorry I didn’t take any pictures of the wild flowers, maybe tomorrow………………..Hugs    S and J

Today was a more laid back day for us.   Tomorrow  we head out for further west.  We plan to drive to at least  Quartsite.  The next day we pull into Emerald Cove on the Colorado River for 4 days.  We were there last year only in April.  That’s one of our fav places.  I love to see that gorgeous blue river running thru the desert.

Today we visited the Mission San Xavier Del Bac.  It sits outside the city of Tucson, in the flat desert and can be seen for miles around.  It’s called “The White Dove,” of the desert.  I have to say, It is much prettier than our missions in Calif.  Its very ornate inside, very beautiful.  I just sat on one of the benches inside and felt consumed with peace.  Then a bus load of people arrived and that feeling quickly disappeared.    This mission was founded in 1692 by Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino. The foundation was laid in 1700.  Lots of stuff around here bears the Kino name.  This church took 14 yrs to build between 1783 to 1797.  Boy that seems like a long time ago.  I think they have come a long way around here since then. It sits in the middle of an American Indian reservation.   The floor plan resembles a Latin  Cross.  It has chapels at each end.  The dome is so beautiful looking up from the inside and also from the outside.  It’s 52 ft. high, looks higher to me.  The dome is supported by arches and squinches.  While we were there there was a woman on a rising type ladder doing some restoration work on one of the inside walls.  Most of the paintings are original, altho some what faded.   This church is the oldest Catholic church in America still serving parishioners to which it was founded.  I got some really nice picts.  The lions on either side of the communion rail  represent the ” Lions of Castile,” a tribute to the  reigning family in ‘Spain  during the time the church was being built. They have been redone and re-carved in wood to look like the original. 

The gardens around the Mission are of course cacti.  It is so very lovely and peaceful.   There is every kind of cactus I have ever seen represented in the gardens.  The entire Mission is cared for with the upmost respect.  It was such a pleasure to visit here. We came back to the rig and had pears, apples with crackers and cheese and wine. A very relaxing day.  Have to get prepared for tomorrow.  It should be a pretty drive, the cactus are beginning to bloom…………..Hugs,           S  and J.

Today has been quite a day and I just finished a nap with my feet up.  I think we must have walked for miles.  I need to go home and arrange with Dr.  Morris to do my R knee, then I will really be able to enjoy all the walking this life style demands. Today we walked the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

When I say museum don’t think of a musty smelling, dimly lit, building with lots of antiques, this was the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.  Most all of the activities were out doors.  Since the weather here is about 74 degrees with a mild breeze it was the perfect setting for a wonderful day. After we stopped at Phoebe’s Coffee Bar for a “pick me up, and a muffin or stone as Jerry calls them, we started out with a bird and rapt0r demonstration and how to preserve these wonderful birds.  There were hawks, owls and ravens that were the highlights of the show.  Very educational.  From there we took the far outback desert loop trail.  Along this trail we were fortunate to find several Javelinas, these some people think of a part of the pig family, but in reality they are not  they are peccaries. Look that one up. They are really quite the cute animal and in the desert probably would not be a danger to humans unless forced to protect themselves.  They are very social and live in groups.  We caught a picture of a  Javelina washing another’s foot.  Sweet.  Further along the trail we spotted a coyote, they have a really nice large area and they use invisible fencing to keep them from mingling with the tourists, which could be inconvenient.  We visited Cat Canyon and Jerry saw a Bobcat. We toured the cactus garden and we checked out life on the rock and visited a Prairie Dog town, which included a very nice and friendly Roadrunner.  These guys certainly have a personality, not to say those fat little Prairie Dogs don’t, they are really cute.

By then we had walked for miles it seemed and had worked up an appetite.  So we went to lunch at a really lovely place called The Ironwood Terrace.  It was cloth table cloths and napkins and had a very nice ambiance. First they brought us a basket of warm bread with cilantro pesto, and cactus pear…. ice tea.  Jerry had guess what?  You got it, a Kobe  hamburger with steak fries and I had a Cob salad with all the usual ingredients, except they used jalapeno bacon, nice and spicy and imported Klamatta olives.  It was a delicious lunch and we agreed we would definitely eat here again.  That’s how we judge the food, would we do it again?

From there  it was off to the walk thru aviary to see, up close, the desert birds of the Soronian Desert.  They sure have some lovelies and some sang and chattered as we walked the path thru. There were over 40 different varieties present. We stopped to rest in the shade along the way, close to the stream, and just enjoyed the wonder of nature.  This place has lots of benches of all kinds, drinking fountains and rest rooms.  They have made it a truly wonderful place to come to.

We saw beautiful Mt sheep with great big horns. We went thru the Riparian Corridor and were lucky enough to catch a playful ottor strutting and showing off.  They are the cutest creatures and always you come away smiling after seeing them. We didn’t get to see a Coatie or a Beaver tho, I was a bit disappointed but they were hiding out. A water hole in the desert is a very special place, and they say they do exist.

We walked by the Pollination Gardens which included the Humming Birds, moths and bees and butterflys.  We checked out the snakes,  some really bad fellows, bet you didn’t know that the Majove Rattlesnake was the most poisionous of all the rattlers.Thats because their venem attacks both the tissues and is neuro toxic.  Leave it to a Neuro nurse to be interested in that.   We saw scorspins and terrantula’s, and lizards, they even had black widows on display. There were some pretty impressive lizards there too.  Of course all along the way was a true desert, only an organized one.  There are over 100 varieties of cactus and other desert plants.  All of the area is tenderly tended to insure a pleasant experience for people to enjoy and get the maximum benefit of. All in all we had a really incredible day. Anyone who knows me knows I have an afinity for museum’s and this was” The” most special. On the way out we had to forego the ice cream store darn, we were still to stuffed from lunch.……….This saguaro, with the fan top is abnormal and occurs once in 200,000 plants they don’t know why…… Angie this turtle made me smile.

March 14, 2010  Sunday

Today we had a really fun and educational day.  We went to the Pima Air and Space Museum.  We had a guided tour to begin  with for the first hour and then we took an hour long tram ride out into the field to get the skinny on all the air craft outside of the buildings.   There were planes from all era’s from WW11 on to the present.  We got the lowdown on all the particulars.  There are some fab air craft at this museum…..There were a couple retired Air Force One’s.  One in particular was the plane that transported the Iranian prisoners home to the USA after 444 days in captivity. They were members of the American embassy, all 53 of them.   That started on Nov 4, 1979 until Jan 20, 1981. They were released from Iran just minutes before President Ronald Reagan was sworn into office.  Tell you anything? The flight home was designated as The Flight to Freedom.  It gave me goose bumps to hear that story told again, and to see the actual air craft that flew them home to freedom.  As an American I can remember how devastated I was to think that Iran had done this to Americans.

The plane that flew down to the antarctic and picked up the female scientist , who discovered she had cancer,  was on display.  It even had the ski’s under the plane, they flew in under extreme circumstances, weather wise  and flew out within minutes.

We also saw one of the planes that participated in the “ Berlin Air Lift,” that was another heart wrencher for me.  Seems like I have always been politically involved, with a true American heart.  America is everything to me, always has been.  I guess it reflects coming form a military family.  This museum made me so proud to be an American and to see the kind of power we have and the caliber of men and women who work with all their hearts  to keep us safe.  Stalin began the blockade in June of 1948 and lasted until Sept 1949.  It was the first confrontation of the “Cold War.”  It became a symbol against Communism.  It  was Russia’s attempt  to dominate the entire area.  It was a massive effort to supply 2 million people with food and fuel by the heroic efforts by the Americans and British.  277,000 flights were made, many at 3 min intervals.  By spring of 1949 an average of 8000 tons of food and fuel were being flown in daily. Then in 1987, there came the very famous speech by, once again,  President Ronald Reagan.  Mr Gorbachev, ” Tear Down This Wall.” Reuniting East and West Berlin.

We saw and heard about aircraft for Korea and Vietnam and the gulf wars and some planes currently being used.  Of course one of my favorite to see was the SR 71,” Blackbird.” The fastest plane ever used, that we know of.  Could fly across the USA in 63 minutes. Well hows that for a history lesson.  Hope you enjoyed it, I certainly did enjoy going to the museum and writing about it on my blog. 

When we left we went to a great Mexican restaurant for a combo plate and a dos XX  beer. Completing a really great day.

Hugs…….Shari and Jerry

Mar. 13, 2010  Saturday

Well here I sit, totally tired.  We started out the day attempting to go to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  We even got there before noon, which is pretty good for us.  The place was jammed. Even the overflow parking was being used.  There was a line a mile long just to get into the place.  So we decided to wait until Mon. as the weekend was here. With us we never pay attention to what day it is, that’s the beauty of retirement, until we are forced to as in today.  So we made other plans and went to Old Tucson.  What a great idea that was.  It was busy, but not like the museum.  Its also more money, we got a two for one ticket from the resort here for the museum,we will use it on Mon.

Old Tucson is actually an old movie studio lot.  It’s where many many westerns  were filmed.  So we spent the afternoon touring the place and found it to be fun, interesting and historical. All the tours and exhibits were included in the gate fee.  We ate lunch at Big Jakes BBQ . I had the best ribs, they were so tender they just fell off the bone, with cole slaw and beans and a biscuit and honey, Jerry had a pulled pork sandwich with beans and the best BBQ sauce.  From there it was over to see a film on remembering John Wayne.  It was nostalgic.  Then we took in a comedy stunt show, ” the Treasure of Santa Maria.” really funny. Then of course we had to hit the ice cream parlor, you know how it is, my favorite dessert and all.  I can’t believe they were out of Rocky Road my fav, so I settled for Cherry.  Jerry had his fav, chocolate.  Then another film, ” Where Legends Walk,’ all about some of the movies that were made there on the lot.  Between shows and events there were all sorts of western memorabilia to see all over the lot.  We took some picts and really enjoyed the 72 degree weather.  There was just enough breeze  to make it comfortable in the outdoor shows.  We took the historic tour of Old Tucson, the guide was very knowledgeable.  Some of the boo boos made in some of the movies were pointed out like the 8 communication towers on one of the mountains in the background of an old west western, or the Christmas lights they forget to take down on one of the main buildings in a certain 1800s movie. Funny funny.  We also went into The Grand Palace Saloon to see Miss Kitty’s Can-Can Revue.  That was really a nice show.  Jerry had his picture taken with a couple of the Can Can girls. He was pleased.  We ended the day with a “gunfight,” not a real one of course.  It was The Wild, Wild West-night of the Deadly Tycoon, very action packed and funny.  We were pooped.  Got our exercise today, and got some education too.

For the fans of John Wayne, and we are, did you know that 3 of his movies were made entirely right here in Tucson, at this very  lot we visited. He made over 150 movies as the star and did even more with bit parts.  It was a good feeling to walk the same area where he made, McLintock in 1963, and El Dorado in 1967, and Rio Lobo in 1071. There is a famous mountain here that is in many many movies done here not just westerns.  Its called golden Gate Peak, don’t know where they got that name for here.  All in all it was a very fine day, we didn’t get lost, and that’s always good.   More tomorrow.  Hugs, Shari and Jerry.

What is it for me about the” Desert  Southwest?” I have asked myself  often before, because it keeps drawing me back. I don’t believe I would want to live here full time, but time here is wonderful.  I have a real fondness for Death Valley, its serene, peaceful and spiritual, and it’s on the way from California to the Great Desert Southwest.  Here I get a feeling I cannot explain.

We spent time today in two of the five Mt ranges that surround Tucson.  First we drove over to the Rincon Mts. and then turned around and drove to the Tucson Mts. both ranges are part of the Saguaro Natl. Park.  Everyone knows my fondness for Natl Parks. I now have another one chalked up. Can you say ” sah….WAH….row?  That’s how the ranger told me this park is  pronounced.  Of course it’s all about the Saguaro Cactus and they are something to behold.  They only grow here and nowhere else in the world.  Here in the Sonoran Desert. They are a treasure. They are spellbindingly glorious.  I have seen these cactus’ before but never a forest of them.  Saguaro Natl Park is definitely one of “My America’s” precious sights to see.  This park was created in 1933, that was a good yr.  In 1976 Congress designated over 70 %  of the park as wilderness area, thus providing this area solitude and a place to renew your spirit.  I think that’s just what the desert does for me, it renews my spirit.  The park in the Tucson Mts. varies in elevation and those tall giants can be seen at all levels.  They say the Saguaro cactus can live, if it gets a good start, which is difficult, 175 to 200 yrs.  Can you imagine what these cactus could tell us esp about this area.  From the Apache Indians, the outlaws like Billy the Kid, the Earp brothers and the Clantons, they had to be all over this area. They really did witness the “Wild West ” at it’s glory.  Yet they stand quietly in their place, some with out stretched arms and are ever so silent.  If they could only talk.  but then that would take the mystery away, wouldn’t it?

These marvelous green giants grow ever so slowly.  In a yr a seedling may grow a quarter of an inch.  In 15 yrs it may reach 12 inches. At about 30 yrs it may flower and by 50 yrs it can reach 7 ft. tall.  The Saguaro’ that live to 150 yrs. can reach 50 ft.  After about 75 yrs into this they may sprout arms from small prickly nubs that will grow out and up.  There’s a rather big poaching problem with these guys.  People steal them for landscaping and that’s a definite No No!!!  These are the largest cacti in the U.S.

While I was tromping around in the desert, very carefully, to take pictures I kept an eye out for the various creatures the rangers advised about.  I was so fortunate not to see a Diamond Back Rattler, a Scorpion, or a Tarantula.  But I was looking.  We saw Quail and Roadrunners, cute little guys. But this park is not just about the fantastic green giants, this is the Sonoran Desert, and it supports untold mammals and reptiles and birds of several kinds.  I would love to have seen an Elf Owl.  They nest in the Saguaro’, or a Desert Tortoise. That would have been the icing on the cake.  Imagine this environment with about 12 inches of rain per yr?  And yet it’s a wonderful place to come to to renew your spirit.

The cactus’ are not in bloom yet, but there are so many different kinds of them.  They are all special in their own way.   I love the Ocotillo’. I have seen them in bloom and the flower is orange.  There is lots of Creosote Bush and Barrel Cactus.  We caught the movie at the visitors center and it just explained so much.  I have longed to visit Tucson for as long as I have been traveling and finally we are here.  Tomorrow will bring another wonderful day of adventures, so tune in again, it will be interesting, esp for those who have caught the travel bug.

Mar. 11, 2010, Thurs.

Hello from Tucson Arizona, its positively gorgeous here.  We arrived yesterday afternoon after just a short drive of about 240 miles.  We made our quota for the first time.  I have always wanted to explore Tucson.  There seems to be lots of things to see and do and the park we are at has room for 1100 RVers.  Its fairly full.  We got here and it was so nice that our original 2 day stop has morphed into 6. They had quite a time rearranging our RV space because we wanted to extend, but like all these parks they are so accommodating.  The weather is wonderful, no wind, a mild breeze and sunny clear blue sky’s.

Our main problem is Teddy.  He has decided that he will pee once a day and as far as the other that’s debatable too.  I’m worried he will ruin his kidneys.  Don’t know what the problem is. Sounds trivial but I just can’t figure it out. Jerry keeps parading him around the park but no dice. I think after this blog I will be caught up to date.  Don’t know what we will be doing today , but you can bet we will be doing something.  I’m up for a new adventure.  That’s the name of the game.  The adventures of Jerry and Shari.  Will keep you posted on the blog.  Hugs, S and J

Mar. 9, 2010. Tues.

Late start.  Well I needed awhile to get started, plus a couple cups of coffee.  Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not a morning person. We ate breakfast at the nearest Flying J at about 2 PM.  Being west of the Pecos by now is worse than being east of the Pecos. ( that’s pretty funny, esp my fondness for rivers, the Pecos River was about 3 feet wide,) but at least it had running water.  Probably rare out here in this area. Now being west of the Pecos there isn’t even cactus let alone anywhere to eat.  We were almost into El Paso before we got breakfast.   We drove thru El Paso, that city never ends, there’s houses from mountain to mountain all thru the valley between, as far as the eye can see.  I don’t think I would like to live in El Paso.

We drove on to Las Cruises,  New Mexico, and to Bev and Mike’s house.  ( Tommy’s mom and step dad.)  So I pulled a “Shari”. I had made reservations for the second and third day out.  Then I find that the place I thought was close to Bev’s is actually 50 miles away in Demming,  New Mexico.  Well OK, they looked closer on the map.  So we did a fast visit, I think we did a lot of visiting in 2 to 3 hours.  But we had 3 cats crated in the back seat and a puppy crated in the trailer, and had already driven 350 miles. That’s with a horrific head wind.  Vincent was home and he and Mike showed us their art work.  I’m impressed.  Mike does fantastic things with photos and Vince is into all forms of art work, doing great with mastering  Corel painting, and really doing wonders with photo restoration. They both sell their art work. Lucky me…… I came away with such a nice gift from each of them.  Mike gave me a matted print of an Indian Chief dancing in full regalia, very spiritual and gorgeous.  Vince gave me a print of his Fox Eye.  It was the abstract that was on face book.  He pointed out the various  animals and birds within the painting, sooo fascinating.  Wonderful gifts and  much appreciated .  Bev, bless her heart, since we couldn’t stay for dinner, she sent dinner with us.  Mike’s wonderful, and they were, Chile beans, and Bev made a macaroni salad and some fresh baked brownies,YUM!!

Well Bev, you will get a laugh out of this part.  Not only did I make reservations 50 miles away, but that turned into 72 miles from your house before we finally arrived at our destination at about 8 PM.  You see after we left Demming, it was 3 miles on one road and 3 miles on another and then 7.5 on a gravel road.  When Jerry found out about the gravel road, I thought his head would start spinning.  Jerry hates gravel roads, esp dragging this sled.  By now we had crossed multiple cattle guards, Angie loves those.  We has seen many signs stating Open Range.  At any moment I could picture a very large Brahma Bull  to appear in the headlights.  It was another ” Shari” moment.  It seems I had neglected to read the fine print about the RV Park, the part about the gravel road. Oh well, in trouble again. Of course by now its pitch black way out there in nowhere.  The wind was blowing 60 miles an hr.  and we are looking for Hidden Valley Ranch RV Park on a road clearly marked “dead end road.”  Well we finally came across it, thank heavens, my life was on the line by then.  They told us to just find a place and park it, very layed back they were.  An so you won’t believe it but the place was full of RVs?  Go figure.  A few minutes ago Jerry took Teddy out for a walk and it was snowing, almost like a blizzard with the wind still blowing a gale.  Snowing in March in New Mexico.  So here we are in the middle of nowhere and the phones don’t work and the air card don’t work and of course no satellite for another night.  I’m in big trouble.  Bev – the dinner was wonderful and esp for a snowy night.  Thank you, Thank you so much.

Mar. 8, 2010, Monday.

We got a late start out of the Metroplex, were hoping the rain would pass, finally figured we may wait forever.  After hitting interstate 20 it rained so hard and the wind blew with such fury the windshield wiper  couldn’t keep up. On down the road we drove into beautiful blue sky with fluffy marshmallow clouds.  Problem being we were in West Texas by then.  If you have never been to West Texas, its a treat.  The vegetation consists of muskeet, cactus and tumble weeds.  The landscaping is done with a bazillion plastic bags blowing and hanging off everything.  They will still be there in a hundred years. Damn litterbugs.

The wind increased and we went thru about 50 miles of dust storm, often pretty dense.  All along the highway were abandoned buildings of old business’ and long abandoned houses.  It gave me a sad  lonely feeling to think about the hard work that once went into all that.  I wondered where all those people have gone to. It has to be a challenge to try to eke out a living in West Texas.  Along the way were cotton fields with wisps of cotton still hanging on, waiting for a new season to plow the fields again.  I thought of my friends who talked about living in West Texas as children and working in the cotton fields and how difficult it was.  Along the highway were many oil wells, usually only pumping at about 50 %.  Makes me wonder why they all are not pumping full speed ahead?

After dark we found an RV park, few and far between. We had by then driven 400 miles, after promising ourselves we would only drive 250 to 300 miles a day.  Well no satellite tonight, Jerry really didn’t want to watch Fox News or the Weather Channel anyway.

You will notice these posts are not on time, because I have had quite a time finding a place my air card could connect me to the internet.