Ed and Claudia's Roadtrip
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We hope you enjoy reading our stories as we share our adventures with you.  Please feel free to browse through some of our photos.

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Albuquerque, then Back to Texas

10/21/2017

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If you ever wanted to choose a specific way to end a road trip on a high note, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta would be one of those ways.  It was such a great atmosphere with breathtaking views that everyone needs to experience at least once.  This is one of those places that pictures just can’t do it justice.

We started our visit to the fiesta by attending the evening session on a Saturday night.  In order to get to the fiesta park we purchased tickets online that included a bus ride into the park from a nearby mall.  Our evening included a chance to explore the 78 acre park, listen to some live country music, grab a bite to eat and enjoy a few events.  The main events we were able to enjoy included the Twilight Twinkle Glow when at twilight; the burners of dozens of tethered balloons were ignited, illuminating the night with colorfully glowing balloons.  Following that we sat back and watched the Laser Light and Afterglow Fireworks shows.

The next morning we headed out early and caught a 4:30am bus back to the fiesta.  The events we watched on this day included a Dawn Patrol Show that displayed eight balloons taking off in a celestial predawn dance, illuminating the sky in brilliant colors.  Following the Dawn Patrol Show the real activity began as close to six hundred enormous hot air balloons prepared to ascend as the sun began to rise over the mountains behind us.  Over the next hour and a half we witnessed the mass ascension of balloons of every shape and color imaginable.  The beauty of it all was incredible.  On any given day during the festival, up to 100,000 spectators may be on the launch field.  There we were provided the rare opportunity to observe the inflation and take off procedures.  It was fascinating to be so close.

On our next day, Bruce, Sue, Claudia and I headed in a completely different direction.  We started off by taking a drive out to old Rt. 66 to visit a section called the Musical Highway.  On this quarter-mile stretch of the highway, the rumble strips have been engineered to sound like the song “America the Beautiful”.  You have to be going exactly the speed limit of 45 miles per hour in order to hear the vibrations in action and it does actually work.  I know, because we did it three times.  Only on route 66!!
 
Next, the four of us headed over to the New Mexico State Fairgrounds to attend the Chinese Lantern Festival being held there.  The festival featured over thirty larger-than-life illuminated displays crafted by Chinese artisans.  In addition it featured performances by dancers and acrobats.  The festival also included Chinese handicraft on display as well as some Chinese food to enjoy.

On our final full day in Albuquerque we ended up having to take Stella to the vet.  She had a couple of hot spots on her paw that needed treatment and it couldn’t wait till Texas.  For the rest of the trip back to Edinburg she had to keep her paw bandaged and/or had to wear her cone.
 
That night, Bruce, Sue, Claudia and I enjoyed a final farewell night out for dinner and drinks to celebrate our ten weeks together and to wish each other safe travels.  We had such a great time with them but as we began our return to Edinburg, they began their trip east for the holidays.  We knew we’d be meeting up again at Sandpipers in December.

With only five nights left on the road before returning to Sandpiper, we began our trip south to Lubbock, Texas where we spent our first two nights.  I wish I could say our trip from Albuquerque was uneventful but as we were heading out on the interstate we witnessed a very scary event.  With the glare from the sun shining right on us, I thought I saw a blown truck tire right in front of us until Claudia yelled “it’s moving”.  It turned out a motorcycle went down right in front of us and the guy was lying in our lane!  It was a good thing we were going slow enough to stop in time.  We stopped about 15 feet away from him.  I’m not sure he was aware enough to know I was closing in on him.  He was definitely going into shock as we watched a person place the 911 call and people began to stop and help him. He was lying in the second lane of a four lane highway during rush hour traffic and his motorcycle was about 200 feet further down the highway in a ditch smoking, with very little left of it.  We have no idea how he ended up that way but we’re thinking a car either hit him or cut him off.  We stayed there to block traffic until police arrived.  He was hurt pretty bad, but we’re hopeful he made it.  I told the cop I was glad it was me behind him.  Being a large motor coach towing a car I had to go slower to allow for all the nuts who were cutting in and out of traffic right in front of me.  This made it easier for me to stop in time.  Once the scene was secure, the police stopped traffic to let us get past the accident and be on our way.

We started our only full day in Lubbock with a visit to the center honoring Lubbock’s favorite son, Buddy Holly.  There we were able to see some great memorabilia and learn more about his life and the influence he had on the rock ‘n’ roll scene.  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed to be taken inside the center but we enjoyed the visit.  Our next stop took us to the American Wind Power Center, a museum of windmills and their use for power in Texas.  Unfortunately the museum was hosting a function that night so many of the exhibits were unavailable for viewing.  Regardless, we were able to see many of the different types of windmills that have been used over the decades.  Our final stop of the day was to the Silent Wings Museum, a museum dedicated to the lives of the World War II glider pilots.  The museum is located on the site of a World War II Army Air Field where glider pilots were trained between 1942 and 1945 and houses a restored WWII glider as well as many other historical artifacts related to these pilots and their actions.

On the following morning we headed off to our final campground before arriving back at Sandpipers in Edinburg.  At this point we were definitely looking forward to getting home but we were still determined to take our time and enjoy our last few days on the road.

When we first arrived in Fredericksburg we were hesitant to commit to our planned three night stay.  This was due to the fact that the hot spot on Stella’s paw was looking worse since our vet visit rather than better.  After cleaning and redressing it a couple of times however, it appeared that her hot spots were getting better so we were less worried about infection.  Unfortunately she was still in discomfort, especially with the bandage and/or cone on all the time.  With that worry behind us, we made the decision to stay the full three nights and just keep a close eye on her paw.

We started our first day in Fredericksburg with a brief stroll through the quaint little town.  It was a Sunday and after noticing that many of the gift shops were closed on Sundays we decided to take a drive down the road to Luckenbach instead.  Luckenbach, Texas (population: 5!) became "famous" when Waylon and Willie sang about it back in the 70's.  It’s considered part of Fredericksburg, but is about as far away in attitude from Fredericksburg as you can get.  Luckenbach isn’t so much a town as it is a gathering place.  It maintains a ghost-town feel with its small population and strong western atmosphere.  One of its two main buildings houses the remnants of a post office, a working saloon, and a general store.  The other main building is nothing more than an outdoor stage which is known as a popular venue for country music.  While we were there we strolled around, enjoyed the atmosphere, had some lunch and heard a little country music.

On our second full and final day in Fredericksburg we returned downtown early for breakfast at the Old German Bakery.  It’s obvious from the look and feel of Fredericksburg that this place has a strong German heritage.  It was founded in 1846 and named after Prince Frederick of Prussia.  The town is notable as the home of Texas German, a dialect spoken by the first generations of German settlers who initially refused to learn English.  Following breakfast we returned to the campground so that Claudia could drop me off.  This allowed her to return downtown for some browsing without me having to wait on a bench somewhere.  She sure does love to browse the shops.  I spent my time catching up on some computer and web site work.  When Claudia returned we sat outside and enjoyed our final happy hour of this road trip together.  It was a beautiful day and the best way to end this year’s journey.

On Tuesday, 10/17 we arrived at Sandpipers, officially ending our 2017 road trip.  Our first few days were busy, and we had a few minor problems, but nothing that stopped us from relaxing and enjoying our time back home.  The refrigerator in the mobile home wouldn’t start up.  For the very first time ever the car wouldn’t start after being towed all day.  And then, when I reconnected the battery cables on the golf cart, that wouldn’t start either.  The good news is we were able to get everything transferred from the motor home to the mobile on our first day.  We were able to get the car started back up after a brief charge and it’s still starting fine and the refrigerator finally did start up on its own and is now working great.  The only remaining problem was the golf cart and that was picked up by a golf cart repair service.  In the meantime we have a cart that was loaned to us for as long as we need it.  And oh yeah, our satellite TV was reconnected and I now have the NFL Ticket back up and ready for some football!  Go Pats!!

So life is very good right now.  In a few months we’ll start getting that itch again to return to the road and we’ll begin making plans for next year.  In the meantime, it’s back to spending time with our fellow Sandpeeps and enjoying some tennis, water volleyball, playing with the band, Zumba, etc.  Yes, life is very good right now.


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Great Stops Enroute to Albuquerque

10/3/2017

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Once we completed our month long visit to the Yellowstone area it was time to begin heading towards Albuquerque, New Mexico in order to attend the International Balloon Fiesta.  We had two and a half weeks to get there so we made the most of our time. 

Our first stop was a brief one near Salt Lake City, Utah.  I will remember Salt Lake City as a place packed with people.  Many of them were always in a rush, especially the drivers.  It reminded me of driving in Boston where yellow lights mean step on it and merge means step on it faster than the guy next to you.  Claudia took a visit to the Mormon Tabernacle with Bruce & Sue to hear an organ rehearsal while I went out in search of a power cord for our jetpack.  Without that cord we were without Wi-Fi.  They told me that the organ rehearsal was quite entertaining and other than the traffic it was well worth the trip.  Claudia told me later that it was biggest organ she has ever seen.  Hmmm…..

For the next couple of days we enjoyed a return trip to Zion National Park.  We started the first day off by taking a ride into the park for some hiking.  Unfortunately we left too late and there were no parking spots left when we arrived.  Zion is one place where you cannot drive into the park beyond the visitor center and the only way around within the park is by bus.  Rather than park outside the gate and then walk to the buses, Claudia suggested a drive down a road that was near our campground.  It was a 22 mile drive to the Kolob Reservoir and it turned out to be a gorgeous drive along an area of Zion we hadn’t seen before.  And to top it off, we had the entire area to ourselves.  No traffic and no obstructed views.  Absolutely lovely!!
 
We did return to Zion earlier on the following day and found a parking spot right away.  This allowed us to travel by bus to the Temple of Sinawava, the last stop on the Zion Canyon shuttle, in order to hike a trail to view some of the best "narrows" sections of the North Fork of the Virgin River.  Many people rent water shoes and continue hiking through the river once the trail ends but we turned around at that point and headed back.  We boarded the bus for our return trip but got off after a couple of stops in order to hike one of our favorite Zion trails.  This was the trail to Weeping Rock, a large bowl-shaped alcove where the “weeping walls” form a beautifully lush hanging garden with a little flowing stream below.

The following morning we headed off and arrived at Sam’s Town Campground for a weeklong stay in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Our first full day began with a short walk over to Sam’s Town Casino for breakfast.  After breakfast we located the free Sam’s Town Shuttle that took us over to Harrah’s Casino on the strip.  This turned out to be the first of many trips on the shuttle.  Once at Harrah’s we purchased five day passes for the Monorail which we then took to Bally’s Casino, further south along the strip.  From there we took the fairly lengthy walk over to Planet Hollywood Casino.  Along the way of course we stopped to enjoy the sites and do a little gambling. 

After a bite to eat we headed over to Planet Hollywood’s Saxe Theatre where we enjoyed our first show of the trip, a tribute to the Beatles.  Beatleshow Orchestra took everything you love about the Beatles and presented it just as if John, Paul, George and Ringo were on stage together again. These guys re-created some of the most memorable Beatle moments from every era of their career.  It was a really great show.

Our next day took us over to the old area of Vegas where we spent a couple of hours visiting the Mob Museum, officially the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement.  The Museum presented an authentic view of organized crime’s impact on Las Vegas history, as well as its unique imprint on America and the world. The real stories and actual events of Mob history were revealed through the exhibits to tell the story about the role of organized crime in the U.S.

Following our visit to the Mob Museum we took a short walk over to the old Vegas strip called the Fremont Experience.  We grabbed a bite to eat before enjoying the sights and sounds of a completely different side of Vegas.  We watched as characters of all kinds came out while music and light shows played all around and above us.  Before the development of pretend volcanoes, or dancing fountains, or the highest Ferris wheel in the world, there was this five block area in downtown Las Vegas that was the center of gambling in the United States.  Here we found cheaper drinks, a zip line, street performers, and a constant party atmosphere all under a 1,500 foot long video screen/canopy that contains 12.5 million LED lights.  This five block stretch is home to ten casinos and six hotels.  Notable resorts included the Golden Nugget, Binions, Four Queens and the Fremont.

At this point we were ready for a day off but there just wasn’t any time for that in Vegas.  We had another show to enjoy on our next day so it was back to the strip, once again via the shuttle and the monorail but this time to the MGM Casino.  After spending some time at MGM we took the long walk over to the New York-New York Casino.  On the map it was “just across the street” but the walk turned out to be well over a mile due to construction on the pedestrian overpasses in the area.  Following more gambling at the New York-New York Casino, we headed over to the theatre where we enjoyed the show Zumanity.  This show was an adult oriented version of Cirque du Soleil with a seductive twist on reality.  It was part burlesque and part cabaret and was a show that we’ll never forget.  This show ended later than our previous show so it took a 30 minute marathon run to Harrah’s in order to make it to the last shuttle bus of the evening but we made it with zero time to spare.

The next day was a Sunday so we did take the day off.  Not so much because it was Sunday but because the Pats game was on.  The game started at 10am Vegas time so I headed off early to Sam’s Town Casino where I found a seat at the Sports Book where I was able to place my bet and enjoy the game.  Patriots won by 3 with 23 seconds left but I lost my $20 bet since I needed a Pats win by 9.  We then enjoyed a quiet afternoon relaxing.

On our following day we started the day off with breakfast at the Omelet House for one of their famous four egg omelets.  Some of our friends had recommended this so we had to give it a try.  It was worth the stop and we had plenty left over for the next day.  Next it was back to the shuttle, monorail & another walk back to Planet Hollywood Casino for our final show.  This time it was for an Elvis Tribute at Planet Hollywood’s V Theatre.  The show was titled All Shook Up and was the only All-Elvis show on the Las Vegas strip.   It was backed by an awesome live band and we heard many of the hits from his entire career.  In my opinion it was the best show of the week.  This show ended a bit earlier than our last one so we were able to enjoy a leisurely return to the campground via the monorail & shuttle.  We arrived at the shuttle with ten minutes to spare.

So yes, all in all we had a fabulous time in Vegas.  With all that said and done however, it was an exhausting visit and neither of us are in any real rush to return.  The city is so spread out that getting around is a chore and we were on our feet just about all the time.  It’s also a lot more expensive than our usual stops, especially since we find ourselves eating out a lot and paying a lot of money to enjoy many of the shows and activities in the city.  I think we’ll enjoy sticking to our scenic routes and stops for a while… but not until after the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque of course.

Our next campground took us to Holbrook, Arizona where we were able to re-visit the Petrified Forest National Park.  While there we made several stops along the 20 mile park road for some beautiful scenic views.  Along the way we also took a couple of great hikes.  The first one was the Blue Mesa Trail, a favorite trail from our first visit that began with a steep descent from a beautiful mesa.  It then continued along a one mile loop that offered the unique experience of hiking among badland hills of bluish bentonite clay as well as petrified wood.  Our second hike was the Painted Desert Rim Trail, a one mile round trip hike that led us on a winding trail through the rim woodland, and gave us some spectacular views of the Painted Desert.  This was a short but excellent visit with some very nice weather and it was just as awesome seeing it the second time as it was the first time we were here.

Our final campground before heading off to Albuquerque was to Rancheros de Santa Fe Campground in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a six night stay.  I started our visit off in Santa Fe with only one event in mind and that was to head over to Buffalo Wild Wings in Santa Fe to watch the Pats game.  Unfortunately they lost a close one but it was still great to see them play.  Claudia stopped by for lunch while I was watching the game (it started at 11am Santa Fe time) but spent most her time shopping nearby.

We started our next day off by taking a 200 mile scenic drive along the Jemez Mountain Trail.  The trail began in the high desert through small villages then proceeded through canyons and lush forests and led eventually to the peaks of the mountain range, several thousand feet higher in elevation than where we started.  The region is steeped in Spanish and Native American history.  We stopped along the way to enjoy a couple of short hikes for some spectacular views. 

Since we didn’t get to see everything we wanted on our drive, we returned to a portion of the Jemez Mountain Trail on the following day to visit what we missed.  We started off at the Puye Cliff Dwellings, the ruins of an abandoned pueblo, first settled in the late 10th century and where up to 1,500 pueblo Indians once lived, hunted game and cultivated food.  We had an excellent private tour by an ancestor of the tribe that used to live there and the tour was fascinating.  We also visited Bandelier National Monument, an area containing some of the most unusual and interesting ancient ruins of a pueblo in the Southwest including petroglyphs, pictographs and steep narrow canyons with mountains rising to 10,200 feet.  While there we hiked over two miles and climbed ladders 140 feet high to an area where some of the pueblo Indians once lived in the sides of the mesa cliffs.

Our next day took us to downtown Santa Fe with Bruce and Sue to enjoy lunch at “The Shed”, a cafe housed in a circa-1692 hacienda with a cantina-style bar.  They served a classic Southwestern menu including its signature red chile enchiladas made with blue corn tortillas.  This was a place that was recommended to us by some friends of ours from Texas so we had to give it a try.  I wish I could say that the meal was delicious, but wow!!  We all agreed that the “red chile” on our enchiladas was much spicier than anything we had ever eaten.  It was too spicy for my taste and WAY too spicy for Claudia.  Now we know to always ask about how spicy the sauce is when eating out somewhere with a “Southwestern” menu.

On our final day in Santa Fe we had a very rare rainy day so we spent it relaxing at the campsite.  That night I was able to watch the Patriots win a close game on Thursday Night Football from the comfort of our own motor home.  I really enjoyed that!!

It’s been a busy two and half weeks since leaving the Yellowstone area but we’ve finally arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the International Balloon Fiesta.  The weather is looking perfect and we’re very excited.


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    Ed and Claudia always dreamed of retiring and travelling the country in their motorhome.  They retired in 2013 and this is the continuing story of their adventures on the road.

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