I'm not even sure where to begin....
On May 15, 2010 Tommy, I, Sire, King Arthur and Sir Lancelot pulled out of our driveway and headed out west in our RV. We drove just over 9000 miles with the motor-coach, a little over 7000 with the truck, and 1500 miles on trails with the Polaris. We saw so much!!! The RV is 42 feet long, has 4 slide outs, 3 air conditioners, 4 TVs, a full size, front loader washer and dryer, full size refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave/convection oven, sleep number king size bed, king dome satellite, (which means it scans as you drive to keep the signal at all times), and anything else you think you need to live full time in. It is literally a house on wheels. It is beautiful and we are so very lucky to own one.
The first major stop we planned was Moab, UT. It took us 6 days of hard driving to get there. We could have stopped along the way to site see but, beyond New Orleans, there really was nothing that interested us between here and there. We traveled on RT 10, if you know that route, it is very boring. In LA you travel a very long time in the bayous. If you've never seen them before they are cool, but because we live near the Everglades, they looked the same. Alligator after alligator.
Once we hit Moab our whole world changed. Neither one of us had any idea how incredibly beautiful Utah was. Our thoughts were, we were to run into Donnie and Marie and be overwhelmed by Mormons. We couldn't have been more wrong, or more ignorant. We had reservations for 10 days at a park in Moab and ended up staying there a full month. Tommy's brother Jim, and his wife Cathy joined us there for a week and we had such a great visit. Jim brought along his Polaris so we all could go trailing together. We had the best time. Not only did we meet Jim and Cathy in Moab, but we became friends with Ivan and Gloria. (They ran the park we stayed in.) There are alot of people who work at parks for a free stay and they were one of the couples who do that. (Mostly full timers do this.) On top of Ivan and Gloria, we also met Janet and JD, and Bill and Kathy. The first night we met them, Bill cooked us a seafood dinner that was to die for. A couple of days later Janet and JD, and Bill and Kathy moved on to Alaska. I tried desperately to talk Tommy into following them, but to no avail. We kept in FB contact with both while they were on their journey and we were on ours.
Once we left Moab, we headed all over the state. It seemed we could not leave Utah. It is indescribably
beautiful. And Salt Lake City, even though its full of Mormons - is so incredibly addicting. I spent 2 full days in the genealogy library looking up my lineage. And could go back in a heart beat and spend and entire week there. Tommy, not so much! The Mormons do want to convert you, and they put up a good argument against any religion that you do believe in, but they leave it alone if you tell them to. Extremely, unexceptionally, nice people. We went to a Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance while there and were taken back with the talent and dedication they put into it. It was bone chilling! A once in a lifetime experience!
After we explored ALL of Utah we headed to Wyoming. Jackson Hole is incredible! We only spent 2 days there and headed up to Yellowstone National Park. That is an experience everyone should have. The terrain is so diverse from the West to the East to the North to the South. Wild animals - everywhere! Natural springs and guisers - everywhere!
From Yellowstone we went to Sturgis, SD. That was WILD!!! My son, Kyle flew in and we stayed in Custer. (About an hour away from the craziness.) It was an adventure to say the least. Not something either of us need to experience again, but it was a great time. While Kyle was there we also went to Crazy Horse and Mt Rushmore. They were both very impressive but Crazy Horse takes your breath away. I can only hope to live long enough to see it complete! We were lucky enough to be at Crazy Horse on a day of blasting, very cool! After Kyle flew back home we went down to Colorado.
Again, we explored the entire state. Colorado is, and was, one of our favorite places - ever!!! The first stop we did was in Steamboat. We met up with our friends Jeff and Nancy, (they are from here in Stuart), at Mark and Suzie's cabin. The cabin is 20 miles out of town and is just perfect! We helped build a log cabin, 3 car garage. What a fun time that was! We stayed for a week and did not want to leave. Steamboat is the coolest, little town that has such a community feeling that you just feel as if you belong since day one of being there. And the hot springs are indescribable. Hated, hated, hated to leave!
From Steamboat we went to Breckenridge and then onto Leadville. We stayed in Leadville for several days and explored all the little towns surrounding it, such as , St Elmo, and Tin Cup. Two very, very old true Ghost towns. Original buildings still standing and no residents. Extremely interesting. Lots and lots of old mines that we probably should not have entered into but did anyway!The trails were awesome!You have to see these places, put them on your bucket list.
From there on to Buena Vista, called BV by the locals. Small, old town that the people who live there are very proud. From there off to Salida. Love this town. The Arkansas river runs through it and it so so nice and quaint. Sire had a great day in the river and we had a great time at a local bar with the owners and his family.
After Salida we headed East to Colorado Springs where we caught up with Kaitlyn and Helen. They both flew in for a week and we explored Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, and museums amongst other places. It was wonderful to see both of them! It was sad when they both left us.
From there we headed west to Crested Butte. Beautiful ski town. It was littler than we anticipated but so very cute. Great ski area because of its size. Also great fly fishing, in which we became addicted. There can be no overcrowding because of its size which makes it so personable. After Crested Butte we drove to Gunnison and then through Montrose onto Telluride. I cannot describe Telluride with out saying, I want to live my last days there. It is by far - the most beautiful place I have ever, ever seen. And if you know me and Tommy, you know that we have been all over the place and nothing compares! Nothing!!! Before Telluride we stopped in Ouray. What a great little town. I could live there too for a while. There we met so many nice people. It is central to Telluride, Silverton, Gunnison and anywhere you want to be within a couple of hours. After Telluride we started towards Durango and Cortez before getting into Arizona.
We spent a couple of days in Flagstaff looking at Real Estate but did not fall in love with anything. From there we went to Sedona and Prescott. We were impressed with both towns but they are too pricey for what we want to purchase.We really want to centrally locate ourselves to travel, with a home base in the middle somewhere. Sedona is breathtaking.
From AZ we headed to Santa Fe, NM. it was okay, not overly impressive but our goal was to get to Albuquerque. I have a cousin living there and we were signed up to volunteer for the Balloon Fiesta. We spent the first 3 days with my cousin Michelle and her kids. Had a great time with her and then headed down to the fairgrounds for the festival. What a Blast! We will be back year after year after year! The Fiesta was unreal!!! We made alot of new friends there that we will reconnect with again next year.
After leaving Albuquerque we went to San Antonio where we met back up with Bill and Kathy. The river-walk and Alamo are a must. Very informative and very historical. We enjoyed both immensely. Oh, and the authentic Mexican food is unparalleled.
After the Alamo we headed home. It took 3 full days of 8-10 hrs a day of driving. We were going to stop at New Orleans but it seemed the closer we got to home, the more we wanted to get there.
I'm sure I left out a lot of details and places we encountered but it has been so overwhelming that I cannot, honestly, with out it all melting together, put it all into a blog. I hope the pictures I choose to close out this journey are as enjoyable to you as they are to us. We will hold this trip in our hearts - forever! I cannot put into words what a wonderful experience this has been, and if I could, I would hug and thank, profusely, Thelma, Tommy's mom, for enabling us to purchase the RV and live out the dream!
Its funny, after all is said and done, you would think you would end up divorced or close to it - living so closely and having only one vehicle, but Tommy and I are more close to each other than ever and we are so so so incredibly thankful for the lives we live! We wish everyone we know could do what we are able to do. I can only hope you enjoyed the blogs and felt as if you experienced what we did, or get to do it yourself and we can follow you!!!
Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts, for following our journey!
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