Trip #33 (1): Ft. Lauderdale, FL - 25-Foot Safari "The Foot Long"

2006 Airstream Safari 25 FB SE LS

February 4 – 23, 2011

2,400 miles east, and 2,400 miles west

GOING EAST --

  

We got an early start out of a very cold Durango -- as low as -4 on Wildcat -- and headed south to NM, thru Albuquerque, catching Hwy 84 at Klines Korners. Then south through wide open land, old abandoned towns, and not a whole lot (the way I like it) until we hit  Roswell. No sign of alien activity, but lots of alien signs.

Finally, a shop that has it ALL.

Our first night was a stay in Ft. Stockton, TX. Didn't see much of it in the dark, but I sure remember driving into that early morning sun upon departure. That was blinding. Then came the wind turbines, or wind farms, or whatever they call those ugly things. Not a pretty sight on the landscape. As luck would have it, we stopped for fuel (the caffeine kind) in Ozona, and what do I see but a big sign calling to me: OZONA MOHAIR & WOOL. First important stop of the trip (a pound of white mohair, oh yes). Bill knew there would be no escaping; not even putting up a fight, he did the obligatory pull in and waited my victorious return. 

There's not a whole lot to tell on this leg of the journey, we drove as if our hair was on fire, stopping to sleep and eat when necessary. In San Antonio, I did get a drive-by view of the Alamo -- snap snap GO! I have so much practice in drive-by shooting I impressed myself with this shot of the famous landmark. And off we went.

My birthday found us in Vidor, TX, east side of Beaumont. A DRY city! NO WAY! way. So having no way to celebrate properly I remained 48 until Saturday where we could properly toast me in Orlando. And so we did, at Bahama Breeze. 

In Alabama, this battleship sits on the horizon. That would be interesting to tour someday. Sorry I don't know the history of how it got here, but what a ship.

The one bright spot on the long I-10 drive is Baton Rouge's Coffee Call. Cafe aulait and beignets, the BEST! I'd say even rivaling Cafe DuMonde (and we would do several experiments just to make sure).

Louisiana's Bridge to the Beignets, Baton Rouge just ahead. But of course, Saturday afternoon accident traffic.

And then it rained. Boy it rained from our night in Fla's DeFuniak Springs (super bowl night), past Tallahassee, and on down past Gainesville. I think we didn't see clear skies until Wildwood. That was a miserable half-day's drive. But finally we arrived in Orlando Monday afternoon to make the deal the next morning. It was kinda cool here, and windy too.

Making the deal. Learning about that Hensley hitch. Quite the apparatus.

Now that's a hitch.

Tuesday afternoon we took quite a while to learn all about this 25-foot 2006 FB Safari, then after business being done, first things first -- go get new tires all around. Then back to a meeting spot to pick up all the manuals, and by 8pm, in the dark, we're heading toward Lake Wales and the crossing of Fla on 60 (eliminating one wandering raccoon in the process. sorry). We made it to Pompano at midnight. What day, and all I had to do was sit in the passenger seat. Bill did all the driving -- even PASSING a semi, on 2-lane rural highway 60, in the dark, running out of passing lane... nuff said. Oh boy, are we there yet??

Neighbors were kind enough to let us use their driveway during our 5-day stay in Pompano. Got to see family and friends, visit old haunts, and even attend an orchid show. But best of all I was able to hand-deliver the stained glass piece I'd made for my mother. All in one piece, whew.

There goes the neighborhood. I'm sure many feared it might stay.

Is there a better place for this to be? Notice all the bloomers out by the pool. and beyond.

Winter's bloom

The Orchid Ho's Reunited: Robin, Betty, Vic and me (the only one in a jacket. what the...?)

A look inside. We spent a morning cleaning, but there wasn't that much to do, fortunately.

Still kicking myself that I failed to get a group shot, but I managed to get in a few shots here and there. Below is my cousin and his girlfriend, ready for a coup, as one neighbor put it. With the Trailer and Truck, the people of Pompano might very well have been asking themselves....who ARE these people? It's a 1962 Power Truck, so they tell me.

Chris & Kelly. This truck made it on the blog because Bill & I did a preview of it in Glendale, AZ on Trip #32.

And then before we knew it, it was time to hit the road again. It was quite damp there in Florida (surprise). I was colder there than here in Durango! 

One last photo before we all head out of town.

GOING WEST --

While still in Pompano we find the furnace quit working, so after an overnight visit with friends in Vero, our first night will be in High Springs, after the Alachua dealer fixes the heater. (goody, I can see Gainesville one more last time). As luck would have it, there was an accident on I-75, detouring all traffic off the interstate and right into GAINESVILLE

So many memories. So few about higher learning.

Can you see why we couldn't wait to get out of the Florida Panhandle?

The very first night camping. Guess what? The furnace still doesn't work. THANKS A HEAP ALACHUA.

Yeah, finally heading west! So, no heater, but since we're going to New Orleans for two nights, we can get away with it. Yes, believe it or not, there is an RV park in the French Quarter -- right under I-10. Hey, at least you can walk to the action, which by that I mean food -- beignets! There truly is no other place like New Orleans.

ah, wilderness.

(apologies, I know this is cruel treatment of my readers.)

Almost lost Bill to an official beignet ho! Wait, or is HE the ho?

Then of course, lunch...

Just a man and his guitar, and the mighty Mississippi. and a pigeon. and a basket and a flowery bag.

Just in case you were wondering.

So we're sitting on some steps watching a Dixieland Jazz band play out on the closed-off street, behind us is the building in which the Louisiana Purchase was signed, and in zooms a group on seguays right through it all. Seemed such an odd situation; ok, maybe you had to be there.

excuse me, coming through, make way

Jackson Square. The band was playing behind all this.

This place must be the place to be for parades. Don't even want to know what goes on up here.

Bourbon Street by day. Very loud by night.

Leif Erikson, mascot of the yarn shop.

Two of maybe 8 cat mascots of the weaving shop.

I knew we'd had our fill of New Orleans when I saw the trailer windows in the damp am. It was time to go -- straight to Baton Rouge and COFFEE CALL!

time to go

Bowlegs

After that we stayed a night outside Houston -- guess what, another interstate accident and another detour, which put us somewhere near Katy, TX, in another more permanent RV trailer park; it was close and we were done driving. Get in and get out. There was a HUGE outlet mall, but of course, we didn't go near that. But I'll remember....The only cool thing about this "campground" was a kitty! I just called him Bowlegs. camp cat I guess. He's really smiling on the inside.

From there we head north to Fredericksburg, which has grown tremendously and unrecognizeably. But we did some shopping (hey look, plastic flamingos!) and next camped in a nice quiet state park in Junction, TX. Saw some deer and moved on. Next stop: Lubbock, and another Airstream dealer who will really fix the furnace this time (we hope). Getting to Lubbock required driving past miles and miles of cotton farms, never saw so many, oh yeah, this is Texas where everything is big. A drive thru San Angelo showed us their painted sheep parade around town.

What are the chances you know someone in Lubbock? Well, fortunately we know some lovely people there who were kind enough to share an evening and vittles with us and let us park out front for the night. In the morning we were at the dealer pronto and after a few hours (and many dollars), the thing was fixed, finally and for good. Once again Bill's hair began to catch fire, and we lit out of town faster than you can say "where the stained glass store at?"

Camping at Fort Smith

Will this trip ever end? I think not. Our next port of call would be Portales, NM, home of Bill's lost college years at ENMU. A small campus, a little rough around the edges. Here he is, captured in my haunting, LIFE magazine-type photographic essay, "You can't go back (& you wouldn't want to)."

His dorm building still stands behind him, while his new digs are in the background, to the right.

So what kind of torturous vending machine is this??? Glad I wasn't dying of thirst upon entering the student union. We did a short walkabout (ahem, did we walkabout in Gainesville? noooooo) and drove around the area as Bill marveled at the changes  ---  hellooooo, we're talking 43 years, what the hell do you expect??? How many generations is that?? The best part was that a drive around the corner revealed his old frat house is now a Lutheran Church.

Portales is also a peanut capital, which is good news for my Pinon Jay friends. I got a bag of raw ones just for them. Ok, two. I also discovered a deep new addiction at this little store: Cherry Butter for toast. OMGosh was that good. Need to find that again quick; I've licked grooves into the glass jar already. Well worth the price of gas to get to this little shop by the railroad tracks. Dead camera batteries prevented a photograph.

So one last night in civilization: Albuquerque. Wanted to do some shopping and eating the NM way. Not a lot of parks to camp there, but we found this one place, after poor Bill had to make the drive west into the city into the setting sun. I tell you, I don't know how he did it, I had to keep my head down. Blinding. Anyway, we made it and rolled into this big place in the dark and stayed for 2 nights. He wished it was one, but I didn't want to be backing this thing down the driveway in the dark  in Durango.

Silver in a sea of white...

The famous Bosque Redondo, the Long Walk of the Navajo. I just like to say it. Bosque Redondo... This is also near Fort Sumner, final resting place of Billy the Kid.

This is Bosque de Car Wash, final destination of The Long Drive.

The End. Or should I say, The Beginning of Part II.

 

Say Bye Bye to Bambi

March 19, 2011

 

The times they are a-changin'... After four amazingly interesting years traveling as far and wide as we dared in the 19-foot Bambi, the time has come to upsize. A suitable replacement being found in, of all places, Orlando, Fla, it was time to set the Armored Hot Dog free. Billy takes one last look....

But lucky for her, she will now be living in Los Angeles, CA, with Michelle & Max and their three matching dogs: Bruno, Darwin and... I forget the other one's name. But I think they're all going to like it.

Michelle & Max hitch her up and ride off into the sunset.

...while the dogs smile with delight.

 And so, all we can say is:

Trip #32: Phoenix, AZ - Last Trip of 2010

November 3 – 7, 2010

PETRIFIED FOREST, PAINTED DESERT, PHOENIX & PAYSON

Low: not very  Hi: at least high 80s, quite warm using a/c in the Valley of the Sun

969 miles

With Colorado's weather cooling off as it does about now, the only direction to go is south, so we took a leisurely drive to Phoenix, hitting lots of stops along the way.

Petrified raven

First stop was the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest, and it was every bit as exciting as it was 33 years ago when I last saw it (yawn). Such unusual landscape with its colorful petrified logs laying around here and there just as they fell over millions of years ago when the dinos were around, or something like that. Not sure which came first, should have read the sign. And then came the water, and today the erosion. Or something like that. Incredible. And incredible that there is any left -- aside from present day visitors, they used to pack out loads of it by train car back in the 1880s. I saw a HUGE slice hanging on the wall at, of all places, the butterfly museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The stuff gets around. And it's all over this area, shops, the La Posada, embedded in building walls, in front yard gardens. But it will cost ya by the pound these days.

The Painted Desert

Petroglyphs at the Petrified Forest

A petrified log juts out of a cliff. Erosion at its best.

Of course we had to stop and see what might make a good fountain in the courtyard. Guess we'll wait until we hit the lottery.

 

Wish I remembered the weight and price tag on this baby, but I don't. Imagine the shipping. Then installation.

This area with dinos is like Orlando with a mouse.

Just outside the Petrified Forest is a very life-like natural history display, by the rock shop.

Next stop: Meteor Crater. This proved to be far more interesting that I had imagined. Really. This is a private operation, and it had quite a good museum. We pooped out on the rim hike but saw enough to satisfy our curiosities. Here's the story of the crater:

And the Lord said, "This looks like a good place for a meteor strike." And it was good. (That slight rise on the left horizon is IMPACT: GROUND ZERO.)

The crater was formed approximately 50,000 years ago when an iron mass, weighing over 60,000 tons entered the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the formation which is about 4,000 feet wide and 570 feet deep.

Now that's a crater.

(Who knew there'd be so many points of interest in a big hole in the ground?)

We stayed at a campground just a few miles from the crater (absolutely nothing else around as you can see). By the way, this area was where the movie Starman with Jeff Bridges was filmed. Same building as in the movie is still there, though updated. So's driving back from the crater I noticed ruins out in the distance. I asked the campground peeps about it and was told  it's the ruins of the old crater museum from (guessing) the 1930s or so. "Drive on out and see it," she said. That's all we needed to hear.

Old crater "observatory" ruins.

During the hey days of Route 66 a man named D.M. Barringer built an observatory just off of the Mother Road so that the many travelers passing by the area could see the crater without having to travel the additional six or so miles to the site. For just 25 cents, travelers could stand from the observation tower and see the crater through a telescope.

Before we hit the crater we made another quick whizz thru Winslow. I like this little town. We were there long enough to take some pics and have dinner at a little Mexican dive that turned out to be very good. But then I haven't met much Mexican food I didn't like.

Excuse me, pardon me, coming thru...

Next Stop: Cave Creek

We camped quite a ways from Phoenix "proper", out in the sticks, near Carefree and am I the only one who remembers the Dick Van Dyke show that was filmed there? Dick and Hope Lange, walking thru the desert when the ending credits were rolling? Am I alone here? Must have made quite an impression 'cuz to me, Carefree says Dick VD. Below is a real sunset; ok, maybe the camera was set for vivid, but it's the real deal.

So we shopped and shopped, sat in traffic, and drove around, visited Bill's friends, went to the Heard Museum for more indian stuff, and then....

Score!

Last Stop: Payson. There we were, enjoying a nice campfire as the sun was setting, when we hear the bushes moving and out pops the first of many of these: Javalina! wild pigs! They scared the bee-jeebers out of me so out goes my arm and splash goes the Cosmo. dang pigs.

Here a pig, there a pig, everywhere a pig pig. There musta been a dozen come snorting thru, bold as brass, headed for our picnic table, looking for food. GROSS, I ran for cover while Bill held his ground in defiance. Finding no scraps or human flesh they continued their march of destruction. From here we headed home, after the pig roast.

 In closing, I leave you with half a message of wisdom from La Posada's back doors: