Category: Fun

We’re supposed to be parked on the shore of Lake Ontario this week. Helen and I had put together an August trip built around our 48th anniversary and a week at the Chataqua Institute in northern New York. After hearing lectures from world-renowned speakers on the subject of Global Power, plus evenings filled with concert music and talks on lighter subjects, we knew our heads would be spinning. So, we hoped to continue our journey and explore Swan Bay, NY, the Thousand Islands region, then venture into Canada, returning to Niagara Falls before heading home. With every detail arranged and Lucy serviced we were anticipating the trip. What’s that saying about “The best-laid plans of mice and men…”

During our trip out west this spring, I began to notice some discomfort in my right knee.  I did my best to ignore it, thinking it was related to some long days of driving. Swelling in the joint soon followed and, by the time we made it back to Knoxville, I was in considerable pain.  I made an appointment with the surgeon who replaced Helen’s knees last year, hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.  Sure enough, arthritis had gobbled a chunk of my knee and a replacement was the best option.

This story does not end here. Helen began to notice some pain in her right hip. Helen does not wait around.  She immediately went to see the surgeon who replaced my hip last summer.  The verdict…hip replacement, although other options were available. Those options, however, would only postpone the inevitable.  As I write this she is in the pre-op classes at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. My classes take place in two weeks.

After digesting all of this distressing news we decided that we had no business ruining a delightful trip to New York and Canada only to hobble around with one hand on a cane and the other buried in a bottle of Advil. We canceled all of our reservations, gave each other a big hug, then went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. We may be in pain, but still blessed beyond words. There will be other trips.

We flailed around for a few days after putting our Canadian trip out of our heads before Helen decided that she couldn’t stand going through August without a camping trip to calm the soul. We may not be able to hike or do a lot of sightseeing on foot, but we can most certainly sit by a mountain stream while enjoying morning coffee.  Helen called our favorite campground near Cherokee, North Carolina to see if a creekside campsite was available. Bingo…she booked one for three nights, thought for a minute, then called back and booked one more night. “Take that, you #*!% hip!”

The drive to Cherokee is only two hours which is about the limit with my knees as they are now. The jobs of hitching and unhitching Lucy (trailer) aren’t as easy as they used to be with good knees, but if I take it slow, I do ok. Walking for more than about five minutes and standing with my weight on my bad knee is where I get into trouble so, after getting Lucy settled, I pulled out my rocking chair and watched the creek go by. Things could be a lot worse. I placed a video here.  See if you agree.

After a couple of days of reading and creek-watching, we felt like we could handle a day-trip to nearby Bryson City, NC, one of our favorite places in the whole world. We parked Butch (truck) on the bridge over the Tuckasegee River and took pictures of the flower arrangements planted in the boxes on the bridge railings. The begonias (above) stood out very dramatically.

Our usual first stop is Bennett’s Drugs which is now an antique store. About two years ago we purchased antique silverware for our camper here at a very reasonable price, and have returned every time we camp in the area. The shop is an eclectic mix of furniture, collectibles, old photographs and music albums.  The shop owner also has two talking birds caged in the store which only add to the uniqueness of the place.

We walked more than we should have, but it’s difficult to leave Bryson City.  We made stops at the wonderful chocolate shop to buy some dark chocolate brittle bark and some dark chocolate-covered toffee to take back to Lucy. At lunchtime we ventured into High Test delicatessen for the best sandwiches on the planet. We took them with us for the 10-mile drive back to Cherokee to enjoy by the creek. That night we visited the Cherokee Casino to see if we could get a down payment on the impending medical bills.  I did great…Helen canceled me out.

Although we did very little on this trip, we managed to soothe the pains of our worn-out body parts as well as the pain of losing out on a trip to New York and Canada, but we’ll heal.  We’re blessed, and we’re still Easin’ Along…with a slight limp!

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually, all good things must come to an end, including our trip to the desert southwest and points in between. Reluctantly, we said goodbye to our friends in Colorado and pointed Butch eastward with Lucy in tow to begin a slow trip towards home. Initially, our plans called for a trip to Colorado Springs and visiting some friends there while camping at the Air Force Academy. Time was getting away from us however, and our granddaughters were coming to attend Vacation Bible School at our church. We wanted to arrive in plenty of time to get ready for their visit.

In the time since we began RVing, I have often thought about committing to it full-time.  I’m fairly certain that I would be happy as a full-timer because I love visiting new places and because there is so much to see in our country. Nevertheless, Helen and I both love our home and being near family, our friends, our church, as well as the lakes and mountains around Knoxville. Once home, we have the opportunity to regroup for a while, then begin to plan the next trip.  In this way we always have something to look forward to whereas, a full-time commitment might become routine after a while, but who knows, our thinking may change at some point. For now, homeward it is after an incredible three-month journey.

First Stop – Albuquerque, NM

From Cortez, we drove south along US 491 to Gallup, NM then traveled east on Interstate 40, a direct route to Knoxville, stopping first in Albuquerque, NM.  We hoped to stay for one night at the FamCamp on Kirtland, Air Force Base, but that can be tricky because this campground doesn’t take reservations. We called the camp office on the morning we left Cortez and were told that, for the moment, there were five spaces available. That was a risk worth taking.  We stayed at Kirtland once before in our first trip west in Sherman, a rented RV, and enjoyed our stay there greatly.  Above, is a picture from that trip taken from the top of Sandia Mountain. On this visit, we didn’t even unhook Lucy.  We opened the slide-outs and went to bed.

Amarillo, Texas

As is my usual practice, I try to stay under four hours driving time from one stop to the next, and Amarillo, Texas is almost exactly four hours from Kirtland AFB. We found Oasis RV Park through RV Trip Wizard and made a reservation for one night.  Oasis RV Park is about a half-mile from I-40 and had good ratings so, we jumped on it.  When we arrived, the sky was looking rather ominous which can be a daunting thing for RV owners in flat country, but thankfully this storm moved north and out of harm’s way for us—and for Lucy. For a second night, we slept well.

Lawton, Oklahoma and Ft. Sill

After a couple of one-nighters, it was time to to take a break from the road so we made reservations for two nights at Medicine Creek Campground on the Army base at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. The drive from Amarillo was three hours and we arrived rather early in the day.  I was looking forward to unhooking Lucy and settling in for a full day and a half of no driving.  When we arrived at the entry to Ft. Sill and asked for directions to the campground, the young soldier at the gate instructed us to drive to the Lake Elmer Lewis Campground, 12 miles from post, rather than Medicine Creek.  Not knowing the difference, we made the trip to Lake Elmer Thomas, a delightful campground open to both military and civilian campers. Unfortunately, a young camp hostess turned us away and redirected us back to Ft. Sill and Medicine Creek. Medicine Creek only has six campsites, but very nice.  We were one of only three campers in this very quiet setting.

Roland, Oklahoma

Two very restful nights later, we again returned to I-40 heading toward Ft. Smith, Arkansas. We received an email while at Ft. Sill canceling our reservation at a campground in Ft. Smith due to flooding along nearby Arkansas River. Helen did some research but could not locate another campground near Ft. Smith, but did find a Casino Hotel in Roland, Oklahoma just west of there (picture at top). We decided that we would park Lucy for the night and get a room in the hotel.  When making the reservation, Helen asked if there was ample parking for our RV.  The clerk replied that there was an RV campground adjacent to the hotel with full hookups—free of charge. Once again, luck was with us, but it didn’t carry into the night.  Eventually, the Casino gobbled the equivalent of a full night’s rent. The next morning, we discovered a Kildeer sitting on a nest behind Lucy.

Millington, TN Naval Support Activity

Midway RV Park, Millington, TN

We drove away from Roland, OK to witness thousands of acres of flooded farmland near Ft. Smith. We couldn’t help but feel for the farmers who probably lost a corn crop for this year. For this leg of the trip we pushed the envelope a bit and drove for over five hours to reach the Navy Support Activity at Millington, TN, just north of Memphis. Once again, we would stop for two nights to rest up a bit, and to spend an evening with some old friends from the University of Tennessee and fraternity brothers as well.  Becky, our hostess and a dear person really went all out to make us feel welcome. We had such a wonderful time, I forgot to take pictures.  The campground at Millington is very nice–even the deer love it.

Home

I broke with precedent once more and drove over seven hours to reach home.  Helen was anxious to unwind a bit and prepare for our granddaughters and I was eager to get Lucy unloaded and cleaned up. Our pace of life picked up immediately.  In addition to some time with our precious granddaughters, we had medical and dental visits that we postponed while we were gone. A leak in the water line to our refrigerator needed repair as did a faulty air conditioner. Our yard (as small as it is) awaited our attention. Mail needed sorting.

I suppose that an increase in activity is not unexpected after three months and over 8400 miles away from home. I admit that, more than once, the laid-back lifestyle of RV living came to mind. Maybe I’ll re-think that commitment to full-time RVing. Retirement does have its advantages.

I love our life…and just Easin’ Along.

From Moab, Utah we drove about 2 ½ hours to Cortez, Colorado in the Four Corners area.  Helen and I were very excited because we would visit Mesa Verde National Park, but we would also meet up with Paul and Dayna, longtime and dear friends from our Army days in Germany in the early 1970s who live in the area. Another couple, Rod and Sally, also from those days, was flying in to join us. We couldn’t get there fast enough.

Cortez, a city of about 8,000 residents sits at an elevation of 6,100 feet above sea level. As we drove in, clouds formed and rain, possibly show showers as well, were in the weather forecast. We managed to avoid all of that and pulled into Paul and Dayna’s driveway where Paul and Rod came out to greet us.  Paul, now a rancher, directed us to pull Lucy (trailer) over to one side of the driveway where, amazingly, he had full RV hookups, including 50 amp power and a sewer connection.  Perfect!

After getting Lucy situated, we joined Dayna and Sally in Paul and Dayna’s lovely home. Readers may remember that we introduced everyone to Rod and Sally several years ago, when we visited them at their summer home in Minnesota (link here), but we had not been with Paul and Dayna since the late 1970s. Although we managed to stay in touch over the years, the six of us had a lot of catching up to do over the next two days and our conversation lasted long into the evening.

The plan for the next day was for Helen and me to join Rod and Sally on a tour of Mesa Verde National Park. Snow fell as we drove to the Park Visitor Center to buy tour tickets and continued as we rode the bus along the face of Point Lookout to begin the tour. We passed a small herd of deer beside the road—the snow didn’t seem to bother them very much. Our tour began on a cliff overlooking the elaborate cliff dwellings on the opposite side of the canyon.

The Ancestral Pueblo people moved into this region around 600 AD and lived there for the next 700 years before scattering to New Mexico and other regions of the Four Corners around 1300 AD. The early inhabitants lived on the mesa tops in pit homes covered by a wood roof structure for around 200 years. Next, they began building above-ground homes composed of wooden poles covered in mud and plaster. By around 1150 AD, the Ancestral Puebloans began constructing elaborate stone homes in alcoves within the cliffs.  It is those homes that we came to see, and they are fascinating.

From our stops across the canyon, we had great views of several cliff dwellings that we would visit later. These structures resembled stone palaces and some extended three stories high. Some structures have one room only, and some have up to several hundred rooms and probably served as an early form of a community center. For perspective, our tour guide reminded us that the Ancestral Pueblo built the cliff dwellings around the same time as Europeans built the Cathedral at Notre Dame, and long before Europeans came to America.

The tour guide, a Park Ranger and a descendant of the Pueblo, led us down the cliff steps to the Cliff Palace, the largest and most elaborate of the Cliff Dwellings. Once there, he gave us an enlightening lecture about the life and work of the inhabitants.  Much is unknown about the people who lived there except that they farmed the mesa tops and were excellent basket weavers and potters. Most of the homes contained several families and some of the rooms were used to store grain and other food after drying.

By 1300 AD, the Ancestral Puebloans left Mesa Verde.  No one knows why, although most feel that a severe drought precipitated the move. Some believe that the Puebloans departed suddenly because of the tools, pottery, baskets, and other relics of the civilization left behind in the cliff dwellings.  Those relics and the dwellings remained largely untouched until the late 1800s when discovered by livestock farmers allowed to graze their herds on the Native American lands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually the area became the Mesa Verde National Park to preserve the Ancestral Puebloan history and culture. There are some 600 cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde and 4500 archeological sites. I recommend this visit to anyone looking to increase their knowledge of prehistoric America. Our tour lasted about three hours, but time flew by and before we knew it, the time came to climb back up the cliff and return to the bus.

The rest of our trip was spent enjoying the company of our friends and visiting the charming community of Cortez.  The sky cleared and we enjoyed the lush farms and the scenery below the San Juan mountains. Paul was kind enough to take us to the Antique Corral to do some browsing.  It is so hard for Helen and me to pass up an antique store or flea market.

That afternoon, Paul gave me a tour of his ranch that included a trip down to his fish pond to feed the trout that he raises there. His dog Piper ran ahead of us and had a ball watching the fish as they chase the food tossed into the pond. Numerous photo opportunities existed all around.  Some of them are shared here.

Reluctantly, the time came to Ease Along down the road. Rod and Sally left early. Helen and I lingered for a while, the morning was so beautiful and the snow-capped mountains had us entranced. By now, we have driven over 7,000 miles on our RV trip, and this visit is the highlight so far. We send our sincere thanks to Paul and Dayna for hosting us and the huge effort they made to make us feel welcome.  Thanks also to Rod and Sally for taking the time to join us and make the experience even better.

Retirement is the best gig going — time to be Easin’ Along.