Great Sand Dunes NP in the distance

April 28 and 29 Alamosa Colo.

Left Santa Fe in the 30's, and the day never really warmed up. Drove up a wide barren valley with snow-capped mtns on each side. As we moved into the Sangre de Cristo Mtns bare ground gave way to scattered junipers, then sage, then pines. We picked Alamosa as halfway between Santa Fe and our Golden/lakewood destination. After setting up camp, a short storm came through, with slushy hail instead of rain. Tonight's forecast is 18 deg but we're cozy. 

S has not felt well today, with waves of nausea. We hope it's just a passing bug.

Thursday morning 24 deg, not as cold as predictedbut ice on the car's windows. S feeling better. After breakfast we set out on a day trip to Great Sand Dunes National park, 30 miles away, not knowing quite what to expect. The dunes, up to 700' high, cover 10 sq miles at the foot of a high mountain range. To access the dunes, we waded a shallow river (Gracie was hesitant, but loved it), and hiked about 1/2 mile over level sand to the foot of the dunes. They are popular for sliding down on a sled or board, which we didn't do, or hiking far up the hills. We didn't do that, either. We just enjoyed the hike and the scenery. Reportedly, the park is jammed with visitors in another month, but not very many people were there today. 

Did some shopping in the afternoon, then had a pizza delivered. Tomorrow we head for the homes of M and P near Denver, where we'll stay a week. The blog may go dark for that time.

April 26 and 27 Santa Fe NM

A short drive from Las Vegas NM to Santa Fe. Stopped on the way at Pecos National Historical Park, the ruins of a pueblo and a mission church. The pueblo was occupied for 600 years until other Indians and white settlers crowded out their farm land in the early 19th century. Very interesting walk with good interpretative information. If you want to build someting that lasts a very long time, use stone, not adobe.

Overnight 35 degrees, but warmed up in the morning. On Tuesday we visited the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, with a current exhibition of paintings by a Navajo man whose name I should have written down- wonderful. Their permanent exhibition is a collection of silver and turquoise jewelry from the last 150 years. And we made a somewhat crazy purchase of a very nice Navajo basket inspired by the legend of the Coyote Woman.

Tuesday evening we took our step-granddaughter E to dinner. It was great to get to know her better; a charming young lady. And a good mexican dinner, too.

Family selfie back at Ft. Sill

4-25 Las Vegas, NM

While stlill at our campsite we tuned in to a Zoom Mass, as we did last week, with our old friend Fr. Pete Krebs from NJ. A few old familiar faces and a good homily. We take Gracie everywhere, as a service dog, but we aren't comfortable taking her into a church.

 A short drive today, most of which was very dry desert: scattered junipers, cholla, and scraggly grass. But we could begin to see mountains in the distance with snow on top, and by our destination the terrain was a little hillier and slightly greener. Stopped at a KOA with good facilities but not much in the area of interest. Didn't see the town of Las Vegas NM itself. Took a walk in the desert to give all 3 of us a chance to stretch legs. Daytime 80 deg, bone dry, and wind avg 28 mph, gusts > 40. Elev 6450'. Really glad we took the back roads today. Desert has a beauty easy to miss from the Interstate.

4-23 and 4-24 Santa Rosa NM

Our route, which we planned to avoid major highways, avoided practically everything. We went 175 miles between gas stations. A problem for the unawares, but not for us. The terrain transitioned from grazing and farming to flaat-out desert. But with a bright sun and temperature in the 70's, it was an enjoyable trip. Tumbleweeds. One pronghorn. Flat terrain except for one large valley/canyon with colorful cliffs and rock formations. Just after crossing into New Mexico we passed through a large wind farm, which turns out to be one of Nextera Energy's. That's ex Florida Power and Light, the largest wind producer in the U.S. and one of our favorite stocks. Btw the largest mfr of turbines is a Danish company, Vestas. I notice that on a windy day like today, the biggest turbines regulate themselves to 15-18 rpm. They are relatively quiet, kill fewer birds than cats do, and are currently the only economically viable alternative energy source. And i think they are beautiful.

Our destination was Lake Santa Rosa State Park, but it turned out to be desolate and, because of state covid regulations, unattended. So we went back and found a good quality campground in the town of Santa Rosa. Talking with other campers, the situation is about the same now at all the NM. A shame; generally we like state parks best. The campground in town even has a BBQ restaurant which delivered a fine dinner to our campsite. Wind howling. Overnight low 35.

A phone call from daughter M on Saturday morning gave us the worrisome news that grandson G has tested positive for covid. He feels pretty good so far.

Saturday morning was for chores. Laundry, grocery shopping, failing to find a Fed Ex box to send young G a blood oximeter. in the afternoon we drove a few miles to the near-ghost town of Puerto de Luna, along the Pecos River, with many old adobe buildings and ruins. The drive out there wound through canyons with colorful rock formations.

Gracie is adjusting well to camping. She has her own bed, but once we're awake she can join us. 

4-23 on the road in NM

4-21 and 4-22 near Amarillo Texas

Leaving Ft. Sill, our route took us through the Witchita Mountains Wildlife Refuge where we saw two bison and were held up while several wild longhorn bulls occupied the road. Gracie didn't notice the buffalos, but she thought the longhorns were exciting. Her wildlife list now includes whitetail deer, alligator, armadillo, Canada Geese, bison and wild longhorn cattle.

The terrain changed continuously as we headed west, including scrubby desert, green pastures, and irrigated wheat fields. We city kids could not understand why land is used for different purposes since it all looks pretty much the same to us.

Our stay for 2 days is a large RV park 10 miles west of Amarillo.

Listened to a Rays game Wed. eve. Lost a good game to KC. We're still over .500.

Wednesday night it went down to 35. 

On Thursday, with the prospect of a cloudy, cold, windy day, we took a day trip to Palo Duro Canyon where we didn't have to go outside unless we chose to. We'd been there before, in midsummer 2019 when it was over 100 degrees. The scenery is beautiful and it makes for a good driving tour. Gracie saw mule deer, two big tom turkeys, and three more longhorns.

The sky cleared in the afternoon, and it warmed up into the 60's. We are snug in our little trailer, but we look forward to the promised warming trend so we can get outside more. i suppose we should have started this trip a couple of weeks later.

4-16 to 4-20 Visiting family

We spent 5 days at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma visiting daughter M, granddaughter J, and great-grandson K. We hadn't seen M since our pre-covid Thanksgiving family reunion, and it's been 2 years since we got together with J and K. A fun time with them, catching up on news and getting a feel for the routine of their lives these days. G is deployed to the mideast for a year. We hope it isn't so long before we see them all again.

The whole middle of the U.S. is having unseasonably cold weather. At M's, the nights were in the 40's and one night the wind blew above 40 mpg. Our big Florida flag blew away completely, but a soldier came to the door the next day with it. 

4-14 and 4-15 Cooper Lake S.P., Texas

lighning and thunder started 5 a.m. Wednesday, followed by steady rain. We broke camp in the rain and drove through it until about noon.

The terrain changed when we got far into Texas. instead of mixed forest and rolling hills in La., it was flat open prarie with large green pastures. We are out of Southern Yellow Pine timber country now. Having driven through a thousand miles of it once again, it occurs to me that cultivated timberland is actually a poor excuse for forest. The trees are densely planted, often in rows.  Mature longleaf yellow pine trees are beautiful, tall, with a spreading canopy, sometimes 30" in diameter. But trees are cut for timber when they are still only 10-12" thick. And when an area is clear-cut harvested, what's left behind looks even worse than the aftermath of a forest fire. We all need 2x4's, but it ain't pretty.

A thunderstorm came through at 1 a.m. Wednesday night, and Sandy gave Gracie a dispensation from the rule that our bed is off-limits when we are sleeping. She snuggled with us for a couple of hours, then went willingly back to her bed when the storm had passed.

Thursday morning we took a short hike on the park's nature trail, which looped through hardwood forest and "pocket prarie" remnant of the primeval grasslands. The trail was wet, but Gracie was in heaven. We'd planned to canoe in the afternoon- the park is on a very large reservoir lake- but it rained intermittently. And besides, it was cloudy and chilly. So the afternoon was spent on housekeeping, reading, and naps. in the evening, rain started in earnest.

I somehow lost a french press coffee mug yesterday, so I'm learning how to make "cowboy coffee": stirred into boiling water. 

4-12 and 4-13 Lake Bistineau State Park, La.

The best part of the travel day was a 35-mile stretch on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Over the years we have bicycled most of this road and driven the rest, a depression-era boondoggle road to nowhere. it makes for very enjoyable riding or driving. The historical markers make it a lesson in the history of trade and settlement along the Mississippi in the early 19th century. The rest of the drive was a straight shot on I-20, with no good alternative secondary roads, so it was an unusual Interstate trip for us.

We nabbed a waterfront campsite by the lake, which is really a beautiful complex of cypress swamps. Shortly after we set up camp, a yellow cocker spaniel came by. Turns out, a woman bought the dog in January "For six hundred dollars!" and took him camping first thing. He promptly ran away, and no one has been able to catch him since. He's been living at the campground, relying on the kindness of strangers. He's friendly, but won't let anyone, or any dog, get near. ironically, the dog's name is Buddy. it was fun to listen to the Rays game on the radio Monday night. Rays won a pitchers' duel.

Tuesday we took a short hike in the morning. Gracie likes a walk in the woods better than anything, and she thought this was the best hike ever. in the afternoon we launched the canoe and had a good paddle exploring the bayou. After the canoe trip, as we were walking up the dock, Gracie mistook a carpet of aquatic plants for dry land and jumped in.Turns out, she can swim. Once ashore, she ran around like it was just what she'd intended.

Rays game on the radio Tuesday night, but we got killed.

Hardly any other campers here, but they are expecting a big motorcycle rally this weekend after we're gone.

Looks like we'll have one more stop before reaching Melissa's home in Oklahoma. We're settling well into the routine of travel and camping. Gracie keeps us entertained. She thinks camping is great. Travel in the car, not so much.

Gracie wasn't through with her adventures for the day. At bedtime I took her out for a walk and she spotted an armadillo. She gave chase and the two animals were well matched for speed, with Gracie about 10' behind for a long way. Shortly after they disappeared in the dark, Gracie trotted back, very pleased with herself. i'm glad it was not a skunk.

4-10 and 4-11 Coal Bluff State Park, Miss.

Once again, a quiet, almost-deserted state park campground. The recent rain caused high water in the river; we saw swollen creeks all the way across Alabama and Mississippi. The current was running too fast in the river to consider canoeing, so Sunday, after finding an online Mass in the morning, we drove upriver a few miles and launched the canoe to paddle back to the campground. Per the GPS we were making between 2 and 3 knots even without paddling. I rode the bike 10 miles to fetch the car, the first ride in a while. Enjoyed it. Gracie liked the canoe ride well enough, and while long car rides are not her favorite thing, she's adjusting well. And she doesn't get carsick.

4-8 and 4-9 Camden, AL

Nothing interesting to report. On Thursday we came to Roland Cooper State Park, the right distance for the day, which looked like a good river for canoeing. But thunderstorms all day Friday made for a quiet day of reading. The bright spot is we signed up for MLB live audio coverage of all baseball games, so we enjoyed hearing the Rays whip the Yankees, and we look forward to listening to many more games. Learned that Prince Philip has died. Almost made it to 100.

Early hrs fri: 2 hrs constant lightning and thunder, 6 hours steady rain. Little wind. The storm was worse along coast. 

4-6 and 4-7 Torreya State Park

During our drive Tuesday, Gracie wouldn't settle down. She has a single back seat to herself, with a booster seat to give her some elevation. After lunch we took away the booster seat and put her dog bed on the seat, and she quickly curled up and took a nap. Live and learn. The only thing better would be if she rejects the back seat entirely; would give us a lot more storage space.

We made our way to Torreya State Park. The terrain is a surprise for Florida, a jumble of ridges and ravines. The campground is small and quiet. Hiking is the only recreation. Hurricane Michael two years ago devastated this part of Florida, stripping the leaves and many branches from the trees it didn't destroy entirely. The tree canopy is recovering, but is nothing like pictures from before.

It was forecast to drop to 48 deg. overnight, but was 55 in the morning. We took advantage of the cool morning to hike a trail over serveral sharp ridges ending at a waterfall. Yes, a Florida waterfall about 15' high. Very pretty. Gracie loved the hike. She actually stepped on a big box turtle before realizing it was alive. When it moved, she jumped a foot.

In the afternoon we drove a short distance to an ante-bellum plantation house high above the Apalachicola River and did a short hike to the ruins of a Confederate artillery battery which defended Columbus, Ga. from Union gunboats.

Before leaving home we downloaded an app which gives us a live stream of radio stations from home. But we were disappointed to learn that the Rays games are blocked by agreement with MLB. 

In our car and little trailer we have a surprisingly complete household for extended living.

4-5 at Manatee Spgs

A warm Sunday afternoon, but a chilly night. The propane furnace took off the chill quickly Tuesday morning. After breakfast we took Gracie out the boardwalk along the spring run out to the Suwanee River. in the afternoon we launched the canoe and paddled out into the river, which is running fast and high after recent storms in Georgia. most of the manatees have left for the season, but there were still about 6 lazing in the clear spring run, including a 3' baby.

in the middle of the afternoon, Gracie did her service job of alerting me to something approaching from behind: two deer, which ambled through the campsite. G was ready to chase them, but was told not to and didn't. 

There was an alligator near the canoe launch, but we didn't see it.  So Gracie's wildlife list is at two: manatee and deer. Squirrels and domestic animals don't count.

Nobody blinks when we bring G into a store or restaurant. She behaves well.

Green green cypress trees. Flowers shifting to yellow and notably red: One field was so dense with Indian Paintbrush you'd think it was sown.

first day, to Manatee Spgs

After Easter Mass and breakfast we hit the road at 11:15. Gracie has never been on a long car trip, but had been carsick twice before, so we'd primed her with an anti-carsick pill and hoped for the best.

just a 4-hour trip to Manatee Springs, with a lunch stop along the way. A sunny day in the low 70s, with spring wildflowers carpeting the roadside along Rte. 19 in pink, red and white.

Not warm enough to swim in the cold spring water, but just as well: no swimming pending a "security check". Turns out there's a big alligator which ate a dog.

Preparation for this trip seemed like a bigger job than usual; checklists, etc. And Gracie occupying one side of the back seat made packing more like a puzzle. To get anything, you must move something. But it all fits, and we don't seem to have forgotten anything critical.

ADA regulations for service animals actually do qualify Gracie. We've all heard of silly abuses, but the guidelines give as an example a person with hearing loss- check: my last test rated my hearing loss "profound"- and a dog trained to alert to sounds I can't hear, e.g. something or someone approaching from behind.- check. So Gracie has a Service Dog vest and she can go anywhere at all with me. Makes a big difference.