6-25 Nearing home

Saturday, June 19th, we finished the cross-country leg of our trip, finishing at the home of brother S and his wife S at Lorton, Va. We stayed there until the following Tuesday, enjoying a good visit with them, their son S and his wife (and young son we hadn't met before, and their son K and his fiance R. We got out on a short sail on S's nice new boat. 

Three days of travel took us to Gadsden, AL and the final family visit, an overnight at the home of nephew P, his wife A, their three fine little girls and, another little one we hadn't met before, their son Henry. A good visit to a fine young, hard-working family.

That left us with about 650 miles to home, which we chose to split into two days. We are spending our last camping night of the trip at a quiet KOA at Tifton, Ga.

6-18 to Bedford Pa

The terrain changed today, from the nearly flat farmland of central Ohio to increasing hills farther east. By the time we nipped the WVa panhandle, we were in small but steep mountains, covered with dense broadleaf forest where it hadn't been cleared in the 19th century for pasture. It must be spectacular in the fall. Continuing east into Pennsylvania and the Allehgeny mountains, we got off the Turnpike and drove past prosperous farms with enormous barns. Many dairies. Stopped for the night at a big RV resort near Bedford. Last night's farm was fun, but here we can refill our water tank and dump our holdings tanks, and enjoy 110V AC. Rain forecast tonight; haven't seen a drop a month. Gracie's neighbors are two giant Great Pyrenees dogs.They have not eaten her yet.

6-17-21 to Zanesville, OH

The drive was unremarkable, but we're staying at another Harvest Hosts place, McDonald's Greenhouse and Corn Maze. Corn is just sprouting, but we are parked in  grassy field near barns and pens where there are goats, sheep, turkeys and a small calf. The animals are habituated to visitors and all showed great interest in Gracie, especially the turkeys. She was cautious, but got nose to nose with several of them.

7-16 to Richmond, IN

Not much to say about crossing Indiana on the Interstate. On the way we skirted Indianapolis, where we spent a 6-month training assignment many years ago, and recognized not a thing. But the KOA campground in Richmond, IN was a winner, with a large mowed meadow behind our site for Gracie to enjoy, and plenty of shade trees and grass. Surprisingly cool, 60's in the evening and mid-50's in the morning.

6-15 to Edwardsville, iL

Saturday thru monday we spent near KC visiting S's nieces C and S and their families. Sunday we were 13 for a  barbecue lunch at C's, representing 4 generations of cousins, aunts, uncles and nieces. Great fun. Monday we were 4 for lunch, S and i, niece S, and C's husband B. Monday night we caught a KC Royals game, great fun. Tuesday morning we bid them goodbye. A fine visit, catching up and sharing tidbits of family history. The only loss was the baseball game. Gracie and C&B's dog Darby became good friends. They even shared dog beds, despite a size disparity. See pic.

Driving east on Tuesday, we crossed Missouri straight across I-70, circled north of St. Louis, and stopped for the night at another Harvest Hosts spot, Triangle H Farm in Illinois. As the sunset approaches, we are the sole 'campers' at a large and attractive horse farm. There appear to be about 25 horses, mostly boarded, plus chickens.

6-10 and 6-11 heading east into Kansas

We said goodbye to Colorado family and to the mountains, and headed east. Unremarkable trip on the Interstate except for a strong southerly crosswind which kept us on our toes. Our Harvest Hosts stay at the winery went so well we sought out a host in extreme eastern Colorado, which turned out to be a farmhouse owned by a woman who is over her head when it comes to getting rid of junk and trash. A strong wind was blowing, but it was still uncomfortably hot until the sun went down. i got up to close up the trailer windows and vents at 3 a.m., and was rewarded with a bright starry sky. Should also mention that at Burlington we briefly visited a 100+ year old carousel, beautifully painted and accompanied by an equally old pipe organ.

6-11 to Salina, Kansas

went halfway straight across Kansas on I-70, stopped for the night at a KOA at Salina. Nothing exciting, just made tracks. Across from the KOA is a museum of antique farm implements, including a steam tractor. had hoped to visit the Eisenhower museum and library at Abilene tomorrow morning, but need timed reservations and the only time avail was too late in the day.

6-2 to 6-7 Oregon to Colorado

Some catching up to do, but I did keep notes day by day.

6-2 Soapstone to Pendleton OR

Said goodbye to family at the forest Air BnB and followed U.S. 30 and I-84 along the Columbia, passing through Portland along the way. At the Dalles traffic was stopped in both directions by a brush fire. Many fire trucks and a helicopter dumping water. after 40 minutes the fire was suppressed enough to let us through, but just as we passed the fire it flared up 20-30' right beside us. We quickly noticed there was no traffic behind us; they'd stopped traffic again. 48 degrees this morning, but 104 in eastern Oregon. As we approached Pendleton the Interstate was closed by what we later learned was a fatal truck accident. A late arrival at an RV park on a ridge with a fine view over a wide valley of green pastures. No hot water in the trailer; will have to try to get it fixed.

6-3 to Ontario Oregon/Idaho

Broke camp early and towed the trailer to an RV service shop as soon as they opened. Technician quickly discovered an unplugged electronic control box. Probably caused by electric wire stowage. Quickly and cheaply back on the road. At Ontario, a mix-up with RV park reservations left us with no campsite. Crummy RV park anyway. Due to lat hour we bailed out and stayed at a motel. When we went out to look for dinner, we were caught in a bad dust storm, very high wind and little visibility.

6-4 to Nat Soo Pah Hot Springs, Idaho. 

Desert terrain except where irrigated. A lot of nothing. Camped at an old-time mineral spring with a good (grass, trees) campground. I took the waters, S did not.

6-5 to Ogden, Utah

Google said only 200 miles, so I coded the route preference to stay off Interstates, with a destination of Promontory Summit, the site where east met west to complete the Transcontinental Railroad with a Golden Spike ceremony in 1869. We sure did stay off the main highway: the last 40 miles were gravel, and the last 20 miles were on the roadbed of the 1869 original Central Pacific side of the railroad. The railroad was rerouted from that roadbed in about 1900, and the rails were pulled for the steel during WW2. So we were driving on the gravel roadbed which hasn't been maintained or improved for 150 years. The road was so bad we briefly considered veering off and driving on the adjacent salt flats instead. We were comforted by our provisions of food and water, enough for a couple of weeks if we got stuck. Anyway, we made it with no worse damage than some cabinet screws shaken loose. Need to be careful what I tell Google.

6-6 Visit to brother in Ogden

We spent the afternoon visiting with brother T and his partner V at their home in Ogden, and then they took us out for a fine dinner. Our chances to spend time catching up with T are too rare.

6-7 to Palisade CO

Followed the main highways to Palisade, just east of Grand Junction, where the Rockies start. We stayed at a small winery which participates in the Harvest Host program, allowing members to park their RVs for free. We got a tour of the vineyard by owner Linda Lee, and enjoyed her garden and, once the sun went down and it cooled off, a good night's sleep.

6-8 to Golden CO

in the morning we visited our host's store in the town of Palisade, tasted and bought serveral of her wines. Then it was a beautiful drive across the mountains on I-70. Snow above 10,000'. The Suburban pulled the trailer without more than a little complaining. To son P's house in Golden. We enjoyed sharing dinner with P and his wife S; we'd spent a week in Golden last month but this time we had time with just them. The next night, Wednesday the 9th, grandson G joined us for dinner at P's. Didn't see G last month because he was down with covid. He's doing very well and we're proud of him.