Pictures from Montana and Northern Idaho

We zoomed into Spokane this afternoon. On the way, we saw a forest fire near Missoula, MT...Julia shot one picture of the smoke. Here are links to the pics along the way:

Link 1:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.93io64fj&Uy=-vhnz2e&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=470855587779_444557811503

Link 2:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.bdijwu9b&Uy=-hdbfic&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Passing through Montana

Today we're in Dillon Montana. It's about half way between Salt Lake City and Spokane. We ended up skipping Yellowstone, not because we wanted to, but because the campsites were full. I'd forgotten you need to make reservations in advance--that was true even back when I was here last time--19 years ago. Oh well--something else to put on our "see it next time" list.

The other thing is, we're starting to get antsy about finding "the place." I always said I'd home school if we didn't find the right place by fall, but holy cow, do kids ever find ways to make their parents crazy!! I'm not sure we'd survive a full year of togetherness!

So for today, we're on our way. Although I'm keeping my eyes open--this is a nice area and houses are CHEAP. Maybe we should consider Montana. Of course, I heard on the news last night that they've had 29 days THIS MONTH of over 100 degree weather!! I thought all these mountains are supposed to keep it cool. We're at 5000 feet for heaven's sake!

OK, off to have breakfast. Then on the road.

Back by the Great Salt Lake

After nearly drowning in all the rain down at Panguitch, we headed north and are now parked at the Salt Lake City KOA. The kids have gotten in some swimming (which they've missed since we didn't have a pool at Ft Tuthill and it was too rainy in Panguitch.) Plus we had dinner with our old Farmington neighbors, Ben and JaNeil Wilson and their youngest daugher, (and our former babysitter) Stephanie. It was great to spend an evening with good friends and eat a home cooked meal. Especially since I wasn't the one cooking it!

It was also fun to see the old neighborhood again; it hasn't changed much. At least the immediate area hasn't changed much. The street above is being expanded to perch yet more houses ever higher on the mountain, and the nearby towns have boomed. We spent Friday morning driving around: we stopped at Hill AFB, then drove up to Ogden and over the mountains to Huntsville. Huntsville is beautiful and close to Snow Basin, one of the sites used for the 2002 SLC Olympics. It has really grown since we were last there (in 1998) and housing prices have soared. Still, it would be a lovely spot to live. This photo is from the dam at the end of the reservoir near Huntsville. The town is on the right bank, around the corner from here. Snow Basin is off to the right.

This one is on the drive from Ogden to Huntsville near Snow Basin.

Today we're taking it easy and trying to decide where exactly to go next. Our next major stop is Spokane, WA/Coeur d'Alene ID, but we're debating whether to make the detour to spend a few days in Yellowstone. Part of me wants to get on with the search, but it seems like a good opportunity. Of course, I'm sure we'll get back this way again sometime.

Here's Max looking cool. Photo by Bridget.

From Flagstaff to Panguitch, UT

As the midway point to today's drive, we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell's southern tip. You can be sure America is safe there...I was not allowed to enter due to the small 1.5" Swiss pocket knife I had on my key chain. The kids really didn't want to see the inner workings and were more interested in lunch--so we sat in the coolness of the RV and watched the other tourists come and go.

There are two albums of pics today. The first is for the scenic drive up from Flagstaff:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=3x70wrv.2ib3b8ov&Uy=-hodsp7&Ux=0

The second album is for the Glen Canyon Dam and southern UT (near Bryce Canyon and on into Panguitch)

Grand Canyon

Rainy and cool, that's the way the drive up and back went today. The Canyon itself was just the right temperature...gonna let pictures speak for themselves. Here's a teaser and the rest are at the link below:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.64q1ccqv&Uy=-f7h21j&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Fort Tuthill (& Flagstaff AZ)

What gorgeous country! We drove down from Ft Tuthill to Slide Rock Park and then to Sedona. One can see why one of my former bosses loves this area! Anyway, today we were in the RV half the afternoon because when we got back up north it was raining hard and the temps had dropped into the low 60's. Postings will be a little thin--internet is only available in the Ft Tuthill lodge as the wireless does not extend up to the camp site. As always, here are a few teaser pics, the rest will be on Kodak at the below link:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.aqoj2b8n&Uy=gfgbtb&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

A short stop in Gallup, New Mexico

After four days in Albuquerque, we headed west. Since we needed an oil change and the campground in Flagstaff can't take us until Sunday, we opted to make today a short one. We're spending the night at the USA RV Park in Gallup, NM. It's a very nice park and is FREE to active duty military. Fortunately, David's retirement isn't official until the 1st of August, so we just snuck in under the wire. Of course, they have a wonderful gift shop full of Route 66 and Native American stuff, so I think this free campground has cost us more than any other!

We arrived with clear skies and hot weather, but by 2 o'clock the sky was dark and the rain started coming down. The lightening and thunder followed shortly. Bridget and I were trapped in the gift shop (I hate it when that happens) for an hour or so...if there's one thing you don't want to do in a thunderstorm, it's run across a flat, open RV park.

The storm cleared up about 6:30 and we went to the park's ice cream social.

Kirtland's Summer Bash

In addition to meeting up with the world's best secretary and her husband for dinner last night at Abuelita's, we lucked out again today and took advantage of being at Kirtland for the base's Summer Bash (party). The kids got plenty of time in jumpies (inflated slides and bouncy things) and got oodles of free propaganda for agencies and firms supporting the military. Doug, photogenic guy that he is, will be appearing in next week's base paper operating the Explosive Ordnance Disposal robot. Here are the pictures:

P.S. David finally got his retired ID card, Doug got his first ID card and Julia got a new one too to celebrate the change in status 11 days away.

Albuquerque

Bridget and her most recent new friend try on Bridget's dresses yesterday. This morning, she's impatiently waiting to go over to their cabin to play more....

Back in the Land of Entrapment ; )

The sun decide to warm things up alittle for our arrival in Albuquerque. It's currently 98 degrees...though not very humid : ) We tried stopping by Kirtland AFB to stay at the FAMCAMP, but the last full service slot vanished in the 2 hours it took to get into town from our lunch stop in Santa Rosa. Note to Westbound travelers on I-40. 18 miles out from, NMDOT is is repaving and the travel lanes are limited to one. : ( It took us an extra 20 minutes to get to town...and probably cost us a cheaper stay. We headed to Bernalillo to the KOA. We have great TV reception, free WiFi, and a shaded pool to swim in. Not to mention, we are about 10 minutes closer to our friends living on the west side. Will upload some pictures tonight or tomorrow morning.

Chao!

Wichita Falls

We spent the weekend in Wichita Falls, Texas, with our good friends Tom and Linda Ventriglia. Tom is a squadron commander at Sheppard AFB. We go way back--to our tour at Hill AFB in the mid-90s where David and Tom worked together in the 649th Munitions Squadron. Tom and Linda have two boys, Alex (5) and Nicky (3). All five kids had a great time in the monster wading pool in their back yard. We adults enjoyed eating, drinking, reminiscing and making inappropriate jokes together. Good times!

Here are a couple photos from our tour of Tom's facility this morning. His squadron does all the entry level munitions training for the Air Force. This includes building bombs, as well as loading them on pallets and aircraft, so they have mock-ups or real aircraft of all types for practice. Above, you can see Bridget sitting in the cockpit of a real (although not operational) F-16. We also got to climb up in the cockpit of the B1 mockup.

Below you can see Tom with our kids (only Douglas's fingers are visible,) in front of Tom's B-52. You can see his name on it. Some people are buff, but very few have their own BUFF. How cool is that?


After the tour we loaded up Fezzik and headed for Amarillo, Texas. It is flat and hot and windy, but if you ever have to come here, the KOA is very nice.

Link to more pics at the Kodak Gallery: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.53ahp8s7&Uy=-18vp3v&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=735817793809_386892660503

Rainy Texarkana

Arkansas and Texas have been all rain today. Tomorrow we are hopeful to break out of it as we drive over to Sheppard AFB near Wichita Falls, Tx. We are all safe and warm in our comfy RV. Tonight we have cable TV and internet to keep us occupied as it rains.

Today we set a record for being huge gasoline hogs--70.2 gals/$196.50--our biggest fill-up to date. Towing the CRV has taken our MPG to about 6.4--definitely not great, but as we rationalized at the beginning, this whole trip should be cheaper than family roundtrip tickets by air. Here some pics Julia snapped of Memphis today...more online at the Kodak Gallery link below:

Swollen Mississippi River near Memphis

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.9arftcjr&Uy=-6bfc15&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Tennessee

Last night we were in Hurricane Mills, TN. It's about 70 miles east of Memphis. Gorgeous country. Not much out here though. Julia drove about 16 miles to get to a store that had meat for our dinner. Today we're onto Texarkana...and a rainy day. We made reservations last night and as of then, none of the Tx KOA's were closed for flooding from all the rain NE Tx has gotten. Saturday will find us on the way to Sheppard AFB to visit our friends the Ventriglia family. Tom is the 363TRS/CC. Should be a hoot!

Not Quite All Bliss

See the smilin' picture on the last blog entry? Well, we just spent 35 mins listening to her tantrum on the way back from the Asheville Visitor's Center http://www.ashevillechamber.org/visitor/index.asp We made the mistake of going into the gift shop there and they had a stuffed black bear Bridget just did not want to leave without. Don't know what caused the deal...could have been hungry, a reaction to off-diet eating or the weather, it's raining and occasionally thundery. Whatever the cause, it abbreviated our trip into town. Maybe it's just meant to be a stay in RV, quiet day...

Asheville West KOA

Asheville, NC

Hi ya'll! We're in Asheville after a smooth trip off the mountain. We're also expecting thunderstorms this afternoon, so we gave the photobug took the day off. New photos from our side trip up to West Jefferson can be seen at the end of the slideshow on the post below this one.

I think I speak for Julia when I say, Boone/West Jefferson are on our list of possible places to settle. Cool mountain air, life a little slower than the city, and no shortage of scenery to see. According to the locals, schools are very good in this part of NC. The infrastructure is great--brand new in this area. We were surprised to learn West Jefferson was a town of a population of only 1100. Seems most homes up here are second homes to folks in Charlotte or Winston-Salem. The only thing we are having trouble with is the accent (and a few observed rednecks)...that twang is some'em to get used to!

The kids made new friends yet again. Bridget met a family of 7 adopted kids (2 white, 4 black, and 1 russian). Okay, I thought it was a little unusual. They had a great time spinning on the marry-go-round and feeding the goats. We took a forced march (for the kids) up the mountain across the road from the campsite to see a cemetery. They found some cool rocks in the road and some kindling for last night's fire.

Got to get back top my Stephen King's novel...reading is an important part of unwinding for me when I'm on vacation...D

North Carolina (West)

We arrived in at the Boone KOA.

Link to pics:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.9csnabjb&Uy=h7d2hd&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

North Carolina (East)

We got into the KOA Campground at Smithfield NC about 4:30 on Thursday. That night was a warm one and the kiddos hopped in the pool and we planned our next few days. Friday we headed up to Chapel Hill and did a whirlwind drive by of the campus (it's huge) and then hit Whole Foods for lunch (we ate in a covered playground in the Commons) and supplies. Sorry, no pictures, we forgot the camera ; ( Then it was back to camp for more swimming and dinner. After a disappointing talk with one of the employees first night here, Julia had a long conversation with a commercial renovator about the pros and cons of living in NC and where while David kept the kids busy in the pool. Later today we're off to the KOA at Boone, NC Surprisingly, Julia knows two people who lived there at some point. It's north of Asheville and the area borders on the Blue Ridge mountains. We're going to look at a small community called West Jefferson--their many industry is growing Christmas trees and art galleries (?) per their web site: http://www.townofwj.com/ How tranquil is that.

More later...

BTW, Smithfield KOA is a good one. Check it out at: http://www.smithfieldkoa.com/

Link to more pics: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.3s0ca8dj&Uy=-ppkott&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Visiting Virginia/ Nearing North Carolina

Just a few words on Wal*Mart camping: it’s free but it sucks. We pulled in to the Chambersburg, PA, Wal*Mart at 9:30pm, waved at the guy parking his fifth wheel two rows away, and settled in for bed. The parking lot lights made the inside of Fezzik look like mid-day at a well-treed campground, so we hung beach towels and sleeping bags to darken the place. We slept great except the drag racers at 11:30, the street sweepers at 12:30 and the dumpster-emptying garbage trucks at 2:30. I can’t believe there are people who Wal*Mart camp on a regular basis.
On July 3rd we made our triumphant return to Dumfries, Virginia, taking up residence in the same camp site we had used just a few short weeks ago. After stopping at Five Guys for burgers and fries, and borrowing the Panera WiFi, we set up camp. We went to bed early (see the notes above.)
The Fourth started out clear and beautiful. The kids played at the playground and swam in the pool, then we headed for the Altobelli’s home about 5pm for their annual Fourth of July Festivities. Mary put on her usual amazing spread: burgers, hot dogs, bbq chicken, salads, fruit, fruit, fruit, and lots of great desserts. Plus most of our favorite Virginians were there. Unlike last year, the storm held off and we didn’t get drenched. Dan only had time to light about half of the huge pile of fireworks before the official ones started across the lake. The Altobelli’s house is right on the lake and they have a three-level deck with a spectacular view of both the lake and the fireworks.
This morning, the kids and I met my bowling/stamping/knitting/coffee buddies, Karen and Juliet, at Panera while David took the van to get inspected for its license renewal. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass the safety inspection and we had to get new tires. It’s done now and ready to sit, unused, in front of the Gately’s house until we find that perfect spot to call home and one of us flies back to retrieve it. (I’m lobbying for that to be me. The gals and I have a lot more coffee drinking/stamping/bowling/knitting to do!)
After our sad farewells, we’re off again, headed south towards Smithfield, North Carolina. We’re going to check out the Raleigh/Chapel Hills area, then head west towards Asheville. See y’all later.


Link to more Pics from the 4th:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.bqbkv69j&Uy=e4ygsl&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

And here's a 2 minute video of the Montclair VA fireworks on the 4th:

Out of the Black

We're back in VA for the 4th! We’ve been incommunicado for a few days; apparently Connecticut should really be called not-Connected-cut. But we’ll get to that later. First, let me catch you up on everything since last you read.
On the drive down from Vermont, we stopped at what my good friend Nancy calls Mecca—the King Arthur Flour company store in Norwich, VT. It’s like walking right into the catalog. If you haven’t seen the King Arthur catalog, you’re really missing out. Well, if you’re a baker, that is. They’ve got anything and everything you could ever want to make cookies, cakes, pies, bread…including ingredients, pans, cookie cutters, rolling pins, even mixes if you don’t want to bake from scratch. There’s even a bakery right there in the store if you don’t feel like making your own. We picked up a few mixes that we wouldn’t normally buy (the catalog doesn’t list all the ingredients, and you know how I obsess about what the kids eat!) and some cookies for eating on the spot. Yum-Mee!

We pretty much blew through Massachusetts. I’d love to go see Boston and Cape Cod and Lexington and Concord and all that, but we just didn’t have time to see all that and get back to Virginia in time for the Fourth of July. So we’ll have to do another trip to BeanTown some day.
We spent two nights at the Nelson Family Campground in East Hampton, CT. They had a pool and pond for swimming and fishing (no fishing in the pool) and a lot of “seasonal” visitors. This means folks who bring in their trailer and leave it hooked up all summer. In fact, all three of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at in the North East have had a lot of seasonal campers. This is something I’ve never seen on the West coast or mid-West when camping as a kid. I talked to one older couple who kept dog biscuits on hand just in case a dog walker happened by. I guess that’s their way of luring people in to chat. They’ve been coming to the Nelson Family Campground for 19 years now. The funny thing is, they only live 12 miles away. They said they stay at the campground for 4 or 5 days, then drive home to check the mail and do the laundry. I don’t get it—must be an East Coast thing.
I can see why they drive home to do the laundry, however. The Laundromat in the campground had very nice high-efficiency washers, but charged $2.00 a load to use them! That’s about twice the usual rate. Those high efficiency-washers are great if you get the savings on water and electric, but don’t do much for you if you’re paying extra for them.
But anyway. Tonight’s big adventure is Wal*Mart camping,. I think David just wants to be able to say we’ve done it. In case you’ve never heard of this, apparently most Wal*Marts allow, and some even encourage, overnight camping in their parking lots. They consider it a good business practice. Just think how many people stumble in the front door at 0530, after being waked by the shift change, in search of coffee. I guess some people do most of their camping at Wal*Marts. I read on-line that some folks will stay for a week at a time, just moving their rig out of the parking lot during the day, and coming back each night. Me, I’d rather pay for a water/electric hook-up and a place for the kids to play.
We stopped at the WalMart in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but that is one that doesn’t allow overnight parking. We asked the manager at the Sam’s club if we could stay there and she said yes, and we should just tell the police we had permission if they happened to stop by….. Needless to say, we’re back on the road. We plan to stop at the Chambersburg, PA, WalMart, which, according to the Free Camping web site is camper-friendly. Don’t know if we’ll get a chance to post this before we hit Virginia, but I’ll sign off for now…J.

You can see more pics from this New England Leg of the trip at the following link:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=3x70wrv.1j7v1347&Uy=-1hzi27&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0