Summer 2018, Day 22: Mines and Spaceships, Cesar Chavez NM

Posted on July 29, 2018 by Ben

It was 117 degrees here over Shabbos, but with all three air conditioners running, we made it through.

It was windy this morning, so Ryan and I didn’t break out the PPGs:

Trish and I went for a ride:

We poked around this abandoned mine:

It’s a hardrock mine, so we went in a little ways:

On the way back, we visited China Ranch:

We packed up the RV and drove west. Our next stop was Legacy Park at Mojave Air and Space Port:

The park houses the Roton Rotary Rocket:

…as well as a replica of SpaceShipOne:

We continued west through the Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm:

We next visited Cesar E. Chavez National Monument. It was closed by the time we arrived, unfortunately:

We continued on to overnight at Sequoia Field. See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 17: Cedar Breaks NM

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Ben

This morning we continued northwest into Utah:

We dropped the RV and drove up the steep, winding climb to Cedar Breaks National Monument:

It was over 100 down below, but up here at 10,400 feet, it was rainy and in the 60s. We never visited here before because the roads are only open in the summer. It’s similar to Bryce Canyon National Park:

With the lower air pressure, the potato chips bag was really inflated:

We stopped at a number of overlooks:

Thanks, fellow tourist!

We drove back to the RV, hitched up and continued southwest through the Virgin River Gorge towards Las Vegas:

We arrived in Las Vegas:

It’s a little warm out there. And in here:

See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 16: Two Guns, Grand Canyon NP

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Ben

We woke up to a nice morning at Two Guns:

I intended to fly to Meteor Crater this morning, but the forecast for winds aloft didn’t look good, so I drove the motorcycle around:

I poked around Two Guns. This abandoned tourist attraction went out of business once Route 66 was closed:

The old Route 66 bridge:

Part of the old zoo:

I rode to the edge of Diablo Canyon:

We found a dead bison near the RV:

We continued west to Flagstaff, then north to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our first stop was an overlook of the Little Colorado River on the Navajo Reservation:

Next we stopped at Desert View on the South Rim. We were last here in 2011, so I thought we should see it again to compare it to North Rim, which we’re going to visit for the first time later today:

We drove back to the highway, then north to the river crossing at Marble Canyon, then west towards the North Rim. Nice views along the way:

After a steep climb, we arrived at Jacob Lake at 7,925 feet above sea level:

We unhitched the RV at the gas station and drove the truck towards the North Rim:

Our first stop at the North Rim was Point Imperial:

Bison along the road:

Our next stop was Cape Royal:

We drove back to the RV and overnighted there at the gas station. See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 9: Ozark NSR, Wilson’s Creek NB, Pea Ridge NMP, Walmart Museum

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Ben

We started our day by visiting Ozark National Scenic Riverways:

We drove down to visit Big Spring:

Big Spring releases over 3,400 gallons per second. The flow dissolves 175 tons of limestone per day, which colors the water blue-green:

Back at the RV, I discovered a bubble in one of the RV tires:

I swapped in the spare:

We continued west to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield:

The site preserves the failed attempt of the Confederacy to secure Missouri for the South:

After the failure at Wilson’s Creek, Southern forces retreated to Arkansas, where they were finally defeated at our next stop, Pea Ridge National Military Park:

The battlefield:

Decades before the Civil War battle here, Native Americans were forced from the Southeast to Oklahoma along what became known as the Trail of Tears:

We continued to Bentonville, Arkansas:

It was here that Sam Walton opened his first variety store. The store is now the Walmart Museum:

We think of Walmart as a free campground that happens to sell stuff. Turns out housing RVers is not Walmart’s primary mission:

The museum was really interesting:

We continued west to overnight at Appalachia Bay Recreation Area, home of Motorcycle Island. Fun is scheduled for tomorrow!

See the alternating yellow line on the trip map for today’s drive.

Summer 2018, Day 8: Ft Donnelson NB, Land Between the Lakes NRA

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Ben

We had a warm but restful Shabbos at Ralph’s house. Oreo is ready to hit the road:

We said goodbye to Ralph and his family and drove west to our first stop, Fort Donelson National Battlefield. The visitor center has some interesting displays: