Places We've Been

A Blogger’s Centerline Day

I heard about the ABCD photo contest the day after the deadline from Froggi Donna over at 2TakingAFifth. Known as A Blogger’s Centerline Day, it was thought up and hosted by Gary France of USA Tour On a Harley Davidson. While I don’t ride a motorcycle, I thought the concept was nice. So, today while we were out, I took my own Centerline Photo. I won’t win a contest with this photo, but wanted to let Gary know I loved his idea!

Here I am, standing in the middle of the road on Arizona Hwy 67. This is the road that leads to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I am about 11 miles from the rim here, at the first bend in the road after you enter the Grand Canyon National Park. That water you see behind me is snow melt. By mid-summer, all the water will be gone, and there will be a lush meadow there. That is where the buffalo (or beefalo) hang out most of the time in summer.

This road is closed to the public from December 1st every fall, until May 15th each year. That is because they get lots of snow here, and for most of the winter the only way in or out from the developed area is by snowmobile. FabGrandpa and I arrived here on April 25th to begin our work again. In a couple of weeks, when the gate is opened, I would be risking my life to stand here!

A bloggers centerline day — Arizona Hwy 67 south, 11 miles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!

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Storms In Tuscaloosa

Karen · 3 Comments

Fabgrandpa and I spent the winter in Alabama, just 35 miles south of Tuscaloosa. Today, while I am so glad we left there two weeks ago, my heart goes out to the people who are still there. Yesterday, a tornado not only touched down, it wiped out a major portion of the town.

This was an F5 tornado, about a mile wide. The area where it hit, around 13th Street and McFarland Blvd, is one of the busiest areas of Tuscaloosa at any time of day. We shopped at that Big Lots. Bought donuts at that Krispy Kreme! We have eaten at Full Moon Barbecue. Both of those businesses are gone. Just a pile of rubble. But the worst part of it is not the homes and businesses lost. It is the people who were killed. It is just so sad that they could be gone just like that! More than 600 people were admitted to the hospital in Tuscaloosa, and at least 50 were killed across the state of Alabama.

Until I started living in an RV full time, I lived in the south all my life. I used to keep a “storm kit” in the closet under the stairs in the den. It had a flashlight, some extra batteries, a change of shoes, some cash, candles, snacks, bottles of water, a tarp, and other things that I thought we might need if the house was hit by a tornado. Weather still frightens me. If the wind is blowing hard, I have a hard time sleeping. Although I have never seen a tornado in real life, I have no desire to. I don’t ever want to be close enough to one to see it.

I also want to mention that there was a tornado that touched down near Andrews AFB, where my son and his family live. My daughter in law said it was less than one mile from their house. The city of Ringgold, Georgia was hit hard, too.

Let’s all of us be thankful today that we are still alive, and remember in our prayers all those who have suffered such great loss from these storms.

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Our Drive To The Grocery Store

Karen · 4 Comments

I am amazed every time we go to the grocery store that I get to see this wonderful landscape. It just seems so weird that you drive through such scenic wonderment on the way to buy a bag of rice and some ground beef:

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Driving Through Marble Canyon In Arizona To The North Rim Of The Grand Canyon

Karen · 3 Comments

The last leg of our trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon always seems to be the most scenic. We left Flagstaff around 9:00 a.m. and arrived at our campsite at the North Rim about 2:30 p.m. We stopped once for fuel at Cameron, then for lunch at Jacob’s Lake. The weather was beautiful with not much wind, which was a plus. Here are some pictures of the scenic beauty along the way:

Hwy 89 north towards page arizona — Could you imagine living in that house?

If you look very closely, you will see a house in the center of this photo. It will give you some idea of the scale of those cliffs–they are HUGE! Could you imagine living in that house, out in the desert?

Although this is the fourth year I will be working at the North Rim, I never get tired of seeing this landscape or taking this drive along Arizona Highway 89 and 89A. It is beautiful!

highway 89a through marble canyon, arizona — The road does seem endless, though

This is Marble Canyon, on Highway 89A in Arizona. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River — Navajo Bridge crosses the Colorado River

Crossing over the Colorado River on Navhjo Bridge. This marks the far eastern edge of the Grand Canyon.

Vermillion cliffs along highway 89A in Arizona — Vermillion Cliffs

and here is your one minute video of the Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona:

Kaibab National Forest Arizona — Along Highway 67 South on the Kaibab Plateau

After lunch we headed south on Highway 67 headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. There was snow in the higher elevations, but it looks like it has been melting quickly.

Almost to the entrance station to the North Rim Grand Canyon — Still on Highway 67 South, almost to the entrance station

The higher we went on the Kaibab Plateau, the more snow there was. Still, there wasn’t nearly as much snow as last year.

entrance station north rim grand canyon — The North Rim doesn't open to the public until May 15th, so I had to jump out and unlock the gat. Brrrr, cold!

Last year, the snow was taller than our RV at the entrance station. This year, it wasn’t nearly as high, but it was still cold. The gate doesn’t open to the public until May 15th each year.

north rim grand canyon april 2011 — See, not nearly as much snow as last year.

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USA RV Park in Gallup, New Mexico

Karen · 1 Comment

: The driveway to USA RV Park in Gallup, New Mexico

Just to show you that I am not whining and complaining all the time, I have to tell you about USA RV Park iin Gallup, New Mexico. We stayed there the next night after the nightmare that was Santa Rosa, and I have to tell you, it is one of the best RV parks we have stayed in in the more than 11 years of living full time in an RV. We noticed when we entered the park that it was lovely, clean, well kept. The driveway was attractive and made the whole place appealing as soon as you enter the property.

: The office and store were immaculate!

When we walked inside the office/store, we were greeted by the people behind the counter. The owner registered us, and gave us a discount for Fabgrandpa being a veteran. That was another first, because in all the years we have RV’ed, not one park has given us a discount for military service! After we paid, and were shown where our site was on the map, the owner handed us his business card with his home phone number on it. He told us if we had any problems during the night to call him personally. We both felt that was his way of telling us that we wouldn’t have any problems, and we didn’t. Everything worked like it was supposed to, all night.

: Our site was flat and level

The whole park was clean and looked so nice. It was hard to believe the price was only $31 and change after the veteran’s discount was applied. The roads were paved, and sites were graveled, so even though the wind was still blowing, there was no dust, and that made it very nice for us. The site was long enough for our truck and trailer without unhooking. We were very very satisfied with our stay at USA RV Park. I didn’t personally visit their bathrooms, but FabGrandpa did, and he said they were sparkling clean.

: Parked by the propane tanks

The next morning before we left, we had to fill up with propane. The service was quick, and even at the price of $3.25 per gallon made filling up a pleasure. I would say if you are on your way along I-40 in Gallup, and need an RV site for the night, USA RV Park is your place.

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A Little Bit Of New Mexico For You

Karen · 2 Comments

While our stay in Santa Rosa was the pits, New Mexico is rather pretty to look at, with some interesting terrain and landscape. Between Santa Rosa and Gallup, we passed through Albuquerque and Lavaland. Albuquerque is a fairly large city with lots of traffic. You have to drive over a large mountain to get there. This combination of traffic and mountain is always scary to me, so I try to distract myself by playing Angry Birds on my Droid. I did manage to get some nice photos though. Enjoy, and know that I sacrificed my nerves to get them:

a truck hauling a wind turbine blade — This is one of those windmill blades on a truck going up the mountain.

sandia mountains albuquerque — Going up the mountain to Albuquerque

new mexico sandia mountains — and up some more!

albuquerque new mexico — Almost through Albuquerque

Between Albuquerque and Gallup, we went through Lavaland, New Mexico. Yes, that is the name of the town. Lavaland. Here is a one minute video of Lavaland, with REO Speedwagon in the background:

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Santa Rosa RV Park In Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Karen · 1 Comment

We stayed at the Santa Rosa RV Park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico on Sunday night. Let’s just say we are marking this one off our list of places to stay on I-40 in New Mexico. The site was level, but it was dirt–no gravel or pavement at all. With the wind that was blowing, it was dusty and miserable while getting the trailer set up. It didn’t help that the electricity connection was on the wrong end of the site, so even with our surge protector box added in our cord still wouldn’t reach. We finally pulled the trailer in backwards and took the electrical cord under the trailer to reach.

After we got all set up and went inside, the breaker in the connector box outside kept popping. Even with the water heater and the refrigerator on gas, and everything else electric turned off, the breaker still popped when we tried to run the A/C, which was needed because it was hot there. FabGrandpa called the office and asked them to send someone down to change out the breaker, and were told they would do “in the morning”. Ok then, we were leaving in the morning.

This place was not worth the $31 we paid to stay there. I kept thinking that the girl who checked us in told me “The water and electric sites don’t have cable TV.” and then thinking to myself “she should have said the water and electric sites don’t have electricity.” I think I can tolerate things that don’t work a whole lot better if the attitude of the people running the place is one of trying to make their customers happy. They didn’t and to me, that is a major FAIL!

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Backing Up A Bit

Karen · 6 Comments

tallest water tower in Texas — The Shamrock Water Tower

I almost forgot to tell you all about Shamrock, Texas. We stayed at the West 40 RV Park in Shamrock last fall when we were on our way from Arizona to Alabama. We bought a tire for our trailer in town at C & H Supply. We enjoyed the good people of Shamrock so much that we decided to stop in again and spend a couple of days there. West 40 is not the cheapest RV park in town, but we like it, the sites are flat, and the people who run it are super nice. We paid $25 a night to stay there after a Good Sam discount. They have free wi-fi and full hook-ups. The park is 44 years old and has not been upgraded, but like I said, we liked it.I didn’t take any photos of it this time, but here is our site from last fall:

West 40 RV Park Shamrock Texas — West 40 RV Park

After we got set up, we went to town looking for something good to eat for dinner. We found Big Vern’s Steakhouse, on Route 66 right in town. We liked Big Vern’s so much that we went there two nights in a row.

FabGrandpa had the 16 oz ribeye and I had the 10 oz one, and they were the best steaks we had ever put in our mouths! It’s not cheap to eat there–we spent $50 plus tip both nights, but i can not tell you just how good those steaks were!

16 oz ribeye steak at Big Verns Steakhouse — FabGrandpa's 16 oz ribeye steak, cooked to perfection.

Oh, yeah, it came with two grilled shrimp, bread, and your choice of two sides. We got the carmelized mushrooms and onions and a baked potato. Both nights.

Fabgrandma — I got dressed up a little bit the second night.

I found the necklace that I bought to wear to Becky’s wedding and then lost, so I wore it the second night we went. Cute, huh?

Since we were in town for a couple of days, we went exploring to see what we could see. The tallest water tower in Texas is located in Shamrock, so we drove through downtown to see it. Don’t you just love exploring old towns?

FabGrandpa used to work at an Ace Hardware store, so we always have to go in and look at them when we travel. This one was also the grocery store and pharmacy. The people who worked here were soooo nice! I had to get a prescription filled, and instead of transfering it from Wal-Mart, the pharmacist sold me 5 tablets to get me to Flagstaff. I call that “Great Service!”

I also can’t tell you enough just how helpful and nice the folks at C & H Supply in Shamrock were, again. Last fall, we had a blowout on the trailer just outside of Amarillo, and bought one to replace it from them. When we were in West Memphis, we went to the Goodyear Tire Store there to replace the one that blew out on the first day of our trip. That guy charged us $165 for one tire. He mounted it on the rim, but didn’t put it on the trailer. At C & H Supply, we bought two tires, had them mounted and balanced, moved one tire to the spare AND they put the two news on the trailer for us, all for $278. We highly recommend them if you are traveling and need new tires.

C & H supply shamrock texas — The guy at C & H Supply put those tires on for us.

While FabGrandpa took care of the tire business, I walked next door and took pictures of the Tower Service Station. The building was built in 1936 as a Conoco Service Station and restaurant, but you may recognize it from the Disney movie, “Cars”.

U-Drop Inn & Tower Service Station — U-Drop Inn and Tower Service Station

Tower Service Station shamrock texas — Tower Service Station Shamrock, Texas

If you’d like to find out more about Shamrock, here is the link to the Shamrock Visitor’s Guide.

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