May 15 and 16--My  father was one of twelve brothers and sisters and five half brothers and sisters, all born in Nashua, Iowa. Having these many children was not unusual in the mid-west during the early 1900s. The probable reasons for such large families was the need for free farm workers and long, cold winter nights. Of course, I have many cousins from all of these aunts and uncles. We visited two cousins in Nashua, one in Shellrock, and three in Ionia. My mother had only one brother and we visited one of his kids in Rudd. Great to reconnect with family and friends in the Nashua area.

Friday May 17the we traveled on to Milton, Wisconsin, to visit one of Patrice's relatives. We made a small detour to stop at Camping World in Madison (DeForrest) to have a replacement fan installed in the bathroom, We had outrun thunderstorms through Iowa and Wisconsin, and stayed in Milton through the 21st to let some storms pass us. Actually spent a short time in a storm shelter under the clubhouse in the RV resort at our park. Funny how when I lived in the mid-west for the first 35 years of my life, I paid little attention to tornado and severe weather warnings. Now while traveling through tornado alley with our fifth wheel, I  heed these warnings seriously.

Leaving Milton on the 21st, we headed south to mid-Illinois, then straight east to Remington, Indiana. This route allowed us to avoid pulling the RV through Chicago. We only used electricity at the site, didn't even unhook the truck, then the next day on to Seville, Ohio, outrunning severe storms on both days. Great RV parks both nights, and the sites are getting more expensive the further east we go. Gas is around $4.00 per gallon in most states, and at about 7 miles per gallon we are spreading our wealth all across this great USA.

All through Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio it is apparent that farming has changed dramatically since I lived and worked there. Silos (including expensive Harvestores) are empty and barns are used for storage on most farmsteads, and few cattle are seen in the fields. Those living in the farm houses are probably the original land owners and/or older parents of sons and daughters who have left to work in the surrounding cities. Huge farm machinery can be seen working all of the farm lands that were once part of the small farmsteads. These huge machines are owned by a single farmer who is working between 1,000 and 5,000 or more acres of crop land. That farmer may own some or all of this land or may he may be renting it, some times in small parcels located several miles apart. The articulated tractors may cost up to $250,000 and may be pulling farm conditioners, planters, and reapers 48 feet or more wide. In some cases these new farmers may be the sons or daughters of the older generation who have gone to college and returned to work these mega-acreage farms. The beef cattle and dairy herds that were once an integral part of the small farm are now managed in confined lots by big commercial interests. Those of us who had friends and relatives on these smaller farms are sad to see how things have changed.

We are spending the Memorial Day weekend in Jefferson, Ohio, where we have met up with the couple that is touring the Atlantic Maritime Provinces of Canada with us this summer. It will get down to 32 degrees with a 15 mile per hour wind off nearby Lake Erie tonight--big difference from North Palm Springs, California. I am finally wearing my long pants.

Tomorrow a trip to Ashtabula on Lake Erie is planned, with lunch at the Deer's Leap Winery. Ashtabula County is famous for its covered bridges and its wineries.        

We are set up at the Cedar View Campground in Nashua, Iowa. We moved here yesterday, May 13, and are visiting friends and relatives, leaving Friday. Nashua is located on the Cedar River and has two "claims to fame"--Cedar Lake and the Little Brown Church in the Vale--"O-oh come, come, come, come, come to the church in the wi-i-ild wood, oh come to the church in the vale. No-o place is so dear to my childhood. . . ."

Cedar Lake was created by a dam constructed by the Iowa Public Service Company in 1917. The hydroelectric plant operated until it was abandoned in 1965. The dam fell into disrepair, the lake ultimately drained, and the Cedar River once again flowed freely through Nashua.

While Cedar Lake existed, massive amounts of silt were deposited on its floor and after it drained, the deposits began to smell and supported all kinds of undesirable vegetation. About the mid-1980s a group of local citizens formed a committee to raise funds to remove the trees and plants and repair the dam. The dam was reconstructed in 1989 for the purpose of maintaining the water level of the lake. Cedar Lake now supports water recreation, and many new homes have been built on the clean shore property. In 2010 the City of Nashua received a license to re-install the power generating equipment and begin producing hydroelectric power.

I was born in Nashua and lived there until I left for college. My father was a concrete mason. He built farm feed lots, made concrete blocks and brick, concrete horse tanks, plastered home interiors, and other concrete jobs in and around Nashua. He also built the stone fence around the old family farm and it still exists today, although the farm is much changed.

My dad died when I was 16, and my mother, sister and I moved into a house closer to town. After my mother died in 1979, the house has changed hands and been remodeled several times, a tornado knocked out the huge trees in front, and this is how the house looks now--pretty good!

May 11 we drove from Halstead, Kansas to St. Joseph, Missouri, a beautiful drive through lush farm country. Part of our route took us over the Kansas Turnpike. I first traveled this pike in 1959 with my first wife, our baby son, a trailer house, and a 56 Mercury. We were on the way from Iowa City, Iowa, to Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma, where I began a two-year Army assignment with the Field Artillery. Patrice and I also passed Lawrence, Kansas, where I lived with my first wife, two sons and one daughter  in 1965-66, while I studied for a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering Water Resources at Kansas University (go Jayhawks!).

May 12 took us from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Story City, Iowa. At the Iowa Information Center in Lamoni we had Maid-Rite sandwiches. Weren't as good as I remember--what a nostalgia trip (they were historical, much loved, "sloppy joes")! Also passed by Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where I get my Bachelor's Degree in Agricultural Engineering (go Cyclones!).

It's relaxing to sit in this nice site for four days. Weather has been fine--today we watched a thunderstorm pass by us with lots of rumbling and sheets of rain--it was about 100 degrees out! Tomorrow's supposed to be 76 degrees, quite a change. Loving life on the road.


       

We traveled from Liberal to Halstead, Kansas, today. The old girl (just turned 245,000 miles) pushed a headwind all the way--gas mileage was appropriately lower. Our route took us from a dry desert-like environment to lush farmlands with silos and grain elevators, pumping oil rigs, and cattle operations. We are also seeing many wind turbines here in Kansas, and lots of actual windmills, all metal, some working, some not.

Yesterday we left Tucumcari, New Mexico, leaving our last contact with Route 66 on this trip. We reached Liberal, Kansas, crossing briefly over the panhandles of both Texas and Oklahoma. Most of the ride was through the high plains desert. Liberal is the fictional town where Dorothy lived--Dorothy of The Wizard of Oz movie; museum nearby. And the very real Dalton Gang's sister's house is in Liberal, with a hidden escape tunnel from the house out to the barn, restored and museum attached.

We are parked at the Spring Lake RV Resort near Halstead tonight. We were here in 2004 with 40 other Alpenlite rigs, attending an Alpenlite Travel Club pre-rally. This was our first trip with our newly acquired Alpenlite Portofino and with the Alpenlite Club. After a few days of getting to know everyone, we were all ready to move to Hutchinson for the Great North American RV Rally (GNARV).

It rained and rained while we were here. Several rigs got stuck when we started to move out, and we used two or three pickups and chains to pull them up onto the road. We were instructed to wait in an old abandoned airport near Hutchinson while the rally people tried to dry out the parking lots on the grounds (using helicopters!).

We finally got the word towards the evening to "head 'em up and move 'em out" onto the grounds. It was wet and muddy, and after us, no other rigs were allowed into the official lots. A few thousand rigs had to dry-camp in parking lots of all kinds, all over Hutchinson, and there we were, 40 white shining Alpenlites in a short row in the middle of wet, sucky-muddy huge fields.

Notwithstanding, The GNARV Rally was huge, and wonderful!--full of exhibits, classes, displays, vendors, and clubs. We joined the Escapees at one of the booths. It was our introduction to how much fun it can getting together with all kinds of RVers can be. Making life-long friends with the Alpenlite people added to joy of it all. We were committed to the RVing lifestyle!

While parked here in 2004 we drove over to Yoder, south of Hutchinson, for a fried chicken meal at the Carriage Crossroads. For old time's sake, we did it again tonight. Same great food!

Yesterday we drove from Tijeras to Tucumcari, New Mexico. The rise in elevation up to the Continental Divide had inflated our Sleep Number bed to 100 every night and we had to bring the number down when we went to sleep; last night it was deflated to 85, because we're down to 4,000 feet. It was an easy drive all the way, with grasslands and colorful cliffs and mesas.

Today we explored Tucumcari. The Route 66 theme runs through Tucumcari along with the road. A few motels have the recognizable features. The one most elaborate was the Blue Swallow Motel, with colorful murals in some of the garages, and neon swallows on the walls between the units.

Motel Office with vintage autos

Note: You can enlarge any of the pictures in this blog by placing the cursor on the picture, clicking, then selecting the size desired.

Motel units

Tucumcari is full of wonderful murals - some of them related to Route 66, and some about the history of the area, and activities on nearby reservoirs. This is one of the large format murals about cattle ranching. In all of them the colors, perspective, and light rendering is perfect. You can see how large this mural is by noting the yellow parking barriers on the lot in front of it.

Mural of cattle ranching (the windmill is wooden)

This old "camper" was found near the western entrance to Tucumcari, on Route 66. The cafe is no longer there, and who knows about the owner of this rig?

Somebody's grand idea

What we've discovered about Tucumcari, and several other towns on Route 66, is that unless the town is prosperous in other areas, Route 66 is barely hanging on as a tourist draw. Many old motels are boarded up or crumbling, the interstate freeway has chopped up the towns or bypassed them, and all the souvenirs look the same. Things change.

This is the last remnant of Route 66 that we will be near, because we leave I-40 tomorrow, heading up US Highway 54, crossing the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles to Liberty, Kansas.

Traveled from Sun Valley, Arizona, to Tijeras, New Mexico today. Beautiful drive along very colorful cliffs that have been sculpted by water and wind. All of the drive was above the 5,000 foot level and we crossed the Continental Divide at 7,120 feet above mean sea level. New Mexico is truly "America's Land of Enchantment".

Camped today at Root 66 RV Park in Sun Valley, Arizona (yes--it is spelled Root even though it is on Route 66). Visited the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Park.

The Painted Desert is a 200 million year old badlands area. The soil layers and river channels have been turned red from oxidation of iron minerals. The white layers are sandstone and the red layers are iron stained siltstone. This Desert may not be as dramatic as the Badlands of the Dakotas but the area is beautiful in it own right.

Painted Desert

The Petrified Forest National Park is one of the most outstanding areas we have ever visited. The area was once a vast floodplain traversed by many streams.Tall conifer trees that grew along the banks of these streams fell and were washed onto the adjacent floodplains where they were buried by silt, mud, and volcanic ash. Groundwater eventually seeped through the logs and replaced the wood tissues with silica deposits that crystallized into quartz thereby preserving them as petrified wood. The petrified wood colors of yellow, red, black, blue, white, and pink come from iron, carbon, manganese, cobalt, and chromium minerals in the silica-saturated groundwater. The petrified wood weighs about 200 pounds per cubic foot. It is illegal to collect or remove and petrified wood from the Park but it can be harvested from public lands.

Petrified Wood 

Nice drive today through basin and range country. I-40 parallels and crosses Route 66 several times going east from Seligman, Arizona. We took a side trip to Meteor Crater about 20 miles west and 5 miles south of Winslow. The diameter of the Crater is about 1 mile and it 700 feet deep. It was caused by a meteorite traveling about 26,000 miles per hour some 50,000 years ago. The iron-nickle meteorite was probably about 150 feet across and weighed several hundred thousand tons. It struck the site with an explosive force of more than 20 million tons of TNT. In 1960 Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of the U.S. Geological Survey proved conclusively that the crater was caused by the meteorite impact. I took this photograph with a Canon EF-S, 10-22mm, 1:3.5-4.5, USM lens while standing on the edge of the crater rim.

Meteor Crater

We traveled on to Winslow and drove through town on historic Route 66. Of course we stopped on "the corner" made famous by the Eagles. Do you remember "Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, I'm such a fine site to see. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin down to take a look at me." Here we are:

  The Corner at Winslow, Arizona

 Standing the Corner

The winds finally died down today and we were able get on the road. The drive out of the Coachella Valley is a long uphill pull on I-10. The elevation near Indio, CA, at the northern end of the Salton Sea is -62, i.e., 62 feet below sea level. Ten miles up the hill the elevation is 1,621 feet above sea level. The General Patton Memorial Museum is located at the Chiriaco Summit. General Patton established the Desert Training Center in this area in 1942 in order to train troops for fighting in the African Deserts. The Training Center area was 350 by 250 miles. Patton would direct tank and troop maneuvers from the air. There are several old tanks at the museum as well as other Army memorabilia.

Desert plants along I-10 consisted mostly of creosote bush and paloverde trees. Except for an occasional ocotillo (now in bloom) this portion of the drive was quite boring. We turned north on CA 177 at Desert Center. This highway runs along the eastern edge of the Joshua Tree National Park. Here the creosote bushes were covered with white fuzzy seed pods that are left after their yellow blooms have disappeared. The most spectacular site along this road was the pink blooming ironwood trees. We had never before observed these trees in full bloom--beautiful. Once we turned north along CA 95 we started gaining elevation. Between 1,500 and 2,000 feet the ocotillo was in full bloom and many cholla were interspersed among them.    

We are camped at Blake Ranch RV Park and Horse Hotel about 10 miles east of Kingman, AZ. This is a great park and they give the Escapees 15% discount. On to Sun Valley, AZ tomorrow.

We didn't leave our lot here in Two Springs today because of high winds. Looks like more of the same tomorrow. Oh well, being retired we can wait for a better day. Here is a photo of our lot. We decorated the shed on the outside and insulated it on the inside. We also selected all of the cacti you see around the edge of the lot and in front of the Oleander. Many of the cacti and most of the Oleander are now blooming. Notice the fence in front of the shed. This is a nice area for sitting and for Carlos to be on the loose.

 We have a lot of wind here in Two Springs. I suppose that is why a wind farm is located next to our resort.