WestwardHoII



	*The Southwest and a Return to Moab.*

10/4/00 On the Road Again, Bowling Green Ky; home of the National Corvette Museum Anyhow we got the RV repaired, the factory paid for my front end alignment, got the X-tine a new transfer case, oil change and grease job and now we are off again. Much more comfortable driving at night.
10/5/00 Six mile traffic jam at Little Rock, Near Fort Smith, AK at Rest Area, Big Trucks, Big Noise but could not see to drive do to Big Rain, discovered leaks when driving in hard rain, more warranty stuff.
10/6/00 Steady hard wind from the North, no way to trim the sails, arrived Tucumcari, NM On original Rt. 66, cold cloudy and Freeze warning. Tomorrow should be easy drive to Albuquerque.
10/7/00 Got RV parked with 1000's of others, the rain started immediately, then started canceling events.
10/8/00 Everything canceled, no fun to be outside, looked around town, bought some toys for the RV.
10/9/00 All events canceled but they released the pilots to go if they wanted to, about 80 flew over the parking lot, tomorrow they promise it to be clear. Mean time it is 90 degree in Tucson and Phoenix. What is it like at the Balloon Fiesta ? Think Millersport Corn Festival, except Corporate America is here.
10/10/00 Four days of cancelled events at the Balloon Fiesta was enough, from atop a hill I spotted the only sunshine on the horizon, a small hole of bright light. Cloudy and cold filled the drive until we crawled over Indian Divide Pass in the Capitan Mts., then the sun was bright, sky was blue and the temperature started to rise. The hole is the sky was over Roswell, NM. An encounter of a different kind; when approaching Roswell a large, a very large serpent, established it’s territory in the middle of the road. As I passed it raised up 2ft, opened its mouth, and with fangs fully exposed stuck out at the RV as I passed, I expected a flat tire.
10/11/00 Moved on to Carlsbad, visited Living Desert State Park,
10/12/00 Toured Carlsbad Caverns, then moved on to Benson AZ, Ready to strike Eloy
10/13/00 Stopped to say Hi to John Renz, then on to Tempe, 70 degrees and Sun!
10/14/00 Just sitting watching the OSU Homecoming game against Minnesota, I forget the Score ! (MN won) Apache Palms, Tempe AZ,
10/15/00 Apache Palms
10/16/00 Great tip on going up 89A, I guess The Lone Ranger was filmed near Pleasant Valley, maneuvering through Jerome was a thrill and Sedona was impressive. The signs say no vehicles over 50 ft, so at 47 ft combined length we had fun in the Mingus mountains Made it to Flagstaff
10/17/00 A point of interest that you probably missed is, that the lone remaining reflector on the Navajo Bridge was made by Ray-O-Lite Newark , Ohio. Stayed at Kanab,
10/18/00 Zion NP, Canyons ! $10 extra while they stop traffic to let campers through tunnel. Crowed campgrounds, have to share with Stubby, a little lizard who has lost his tail and lives under the North log. Hiked some trials, more tomorrow.
10/19/00 Hiked three more trails, Plus saw Treasure of the God's. saved Angels Landing trail for next time, great stuff. We'll sleep tonight!
10/20/00 Moved on to Bryce Canyon NP; Nothing but sunshine and 70's, toured 1/2 the park plan of doing more tomorrow.
10/21/00 Return of the Clouds accompanied by a low 40's chill and rain or course. Looks like Albuquerque. We'll start by doing the laundry. Return to Moab; Moab has a grand entrance, I-70 20 mile East of Green River exit, it’s an amazing Wild West landscape. Don and Winnie still here!
10/22/00 What to do ?, Arches National Park, Canyonlands NP, Biking, Jeeping, What a day, got to drive on the Slickrock at Sand Flats, I started out on the Finns and Things trail, very hard to follow, but I met a couple of guys from northern Utah, we swapped stories and then I followed them across the fins. They got lost too, then it started to rain then hail, I wonder why they call it Slickrock. Better than a Jamboree, we all got back just fine.
10/23/00 Well, more bad weather, so we are heading home.
10/24-25/ Over the Rockies and out on to the plains, 28 hours of driving, 1700 miles, and a whole lot of gas. Got in front of the rain 1/2 way across Kansas. Home again, home again and now we start preparing for winter.