Last Day on the Road!

 We had plans for today... but they fell through.  Carlsbad Caverns was booked up for the day.

We opted to just head for the hacienda. It's  a  loooong day of driving... then we have to unpack and clean the camper. We have four households to divvy up supplies for, sort laundry and souvenirs.  I will drive Ruby to Dallas, then back to Northeastern Oklahoma for me. 

I will be adding lots of pictures to the blog once I am home.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Nearby the Four Corners

 The kids have heard about Four Corners for much of the trip. We made it a point to go by...  which h was all we did! An entry fee of $8. Per Person was a bit out of budget for a few moments stop. Our bunch would  have been $80, with Katie being "free". We pulled to the roadside and pointed the site out to the children. At least those who were paying attention.  (Later in the day, the eldest child asked us when we were getting to Four Corners).

We headed for a place to do laundry and camp near Mesa Verde.  Once again, the rains came down, along with a beautiful rainbow afterwards. We missed lunch, so had a decent supper at a Hunan restaurant. It was my turn for quiet time to do laundry, so I  was dropped off at the laundromat with Mt. Washmore  while Becky, Ruby, and the troop got settled into a motel.  (Can I  just say how much I love commercial sized washing machines? )

Meanwhile... Daniel has made it through Kansas. I  live near the border of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. Sam drove up and brought his twin home overnight.  Daniel's  dog Dante was very glad to see him! Daniel's over halfway through the USA!

We are meandering our way back towards Texas... where the trailer will be cleaned out, loot divided, and the cousins go their own ways once again. 

The Grand Canyon

 I had really hoped to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. This was not to be... it was raining when we arrived in the area, accompanied by wind, lightning, and 40* temperatures.  We stayed at Jacob Lake Inn... with rooms every bit as far apart as we have been in most of the campgrounds. 

I was awake early... but when I  tried to rouse the rest of the room, was met with resistance.  "Do we HAVE  TO GO?" "I just want to stay in bed and sleep!" Becky had her room up, dressed, and in the gift shop before our room was out of bed.

It was after 10 by the time we reached the Grand Canyon  National  Park. The Ranger who manned the gate dead-panned... " Twelve  miles ahead to the Visitor Center. The Grand Canyon will be on the left."

It's  just as well she told us. And just as well the girls dragged their heels and slept in. Our first glimpse of TGC was just fog. We walked out to Angel's  Point, and the fog began clearing. It was off and on rain the entire day, but it was so amazing! (It seems that half my pictures  didn't  take).

We still need to see a Kaibab squirrel.  The kids, once more, were all about the gift shops. That's  about normal for kids... they don't  realize the fun in a journey of itself.  We're  in dire need of a laundromat... and reorganizing the trailer. Our travel day may be short today.

PS  Nobody fell into the canyon. Though they did give Granny more silver hairs.

Arizona!

 Later this afternoon  we crossed into Arizona. We had thunderstorms  all around us... but not overhead! and those stormclouds produced ... Rainbows! We saw several very intensely vivid rainbows.... It was as if Arizona rolled out her very best for us!

We did get rained on. And decided on an Inn for the night. The kids had an art competition at supper as we awaited our meal. It was the Inn restaurant, which  Becky remembers  eating there 20 years ago. The kids are good when we eat out, which hasn't  been terribly  often on this trip. (Two are fairly  predictable.  One always wants a grilled cheese, the other a hamburger.)

There is very little  cell service  here. The pictures  in this  post took 15 minutes each to load.

I hope you're  having as blessed a day as we are!

Bryce Canyon and Zion!

 Bryce Canyon camp was reached after dark. Our adventure kept us out beyond when our planned supper  should  have been started. It was every bit of 10 pm before we got our campers fed!

Our intention was to get everyone  up early, and watch the sunrise in Bryce Canyon. I woke at 5:45.. looked at Becky and our exhausted  kids... and decided there will be other sunrises.

We drove past a Coddiwomple Bed and Breakfast!

As much as I loved Moab, and Arches... I am currently enamored  with Zion National  Park. 

The kids are pretty  much tired  of the trip. We must remind them to look out the windows. It's  astounding  how quickly the scenery  changes!

Another "adventure "

 Oh beautiful  Utah!

The stark, vast beauty. Miles and miles of emptiness.   The van pulling the camper uses a LOT of gas. The GPS chooses weird routes at times.

Lincoln, our hero!

Fallen Peace Officer Trail near Moab, Utah

Sometimes, the weird route, coupled with the vastness, and the fuel sucking-ness of towing a trailer up and down mountains can lead to an adventure.  I was driving.  Yes, me! Pulling a trailer for the second time on this trip. (Also, ever in my life). 

When the fuel gage needle slipped to barely below half a tank, I started looking for a place to fuel up. We cheered as we coasted into a station in a wide spot on the map... only to discover that  the station was out of business.  The fuel light was on... we had to keep going.... and going... and going...

There were NO fuel stations.  None. Zero. ZILCH!

Here I am, pulling a trailer up and down mountains! Making left and right turns.... like I knew what I was doing.  The twisty winding mountain roads (8% grade) are no place to run out of gas. We finally  hit a s-tr--aigh---t stretch. Praying that the GPS was wrong about 27 more miles to a town.

It wasn't. 

We ran out of gas. The long long long straight road ahead was good, as we could see for miles and miles that there was nothing in sight. The shoulders dropped  off, I coasted to a stop on the roadway. We were  easily avoided by the 10-12 cars that passed by over the next hour and a half.

No one was stopping.  Becky and Tyrel set out for town... or a cell phone signal. Ahead, I  saw what I thought  was an intersecting  road. I saw a red truck turn that direction from ahead of us. About half an hour  later, a red truck came from that "road" ( which turned out to be the driveway of a ranch)... and headed our way. Becky and Ty were just out of view, some three miles or so up the road. A young man was driving . Lincoln was his name. He asked if we needed help. I explained  we were out of gas, and that my daughter and grandson were walking in the direction ahead of us. Lincoln  turned around. He drove back and got Becky and Tyrel, and drove them the 20+ miles to town... and back. Intermittent cell   signal allowed text messages to go out from time to time.... enough to worry our family. 

Becky was able to text her fiancé, who called the local sheriff. Sheriff knew our rescuer! During the 1.75 hours we sat in the roadway... fewer than a dozen vehicles went by in either direction. From the moment we could perceive  headlights until the vehicle drove past us at 80ish mph... we had three to four and a half minutes. We could see a LOOONG WAY.

Becky returned with 4 gallons of gas in 3 plastic gas cans. Lincoln stayed until we were up and running, before  returning  to his ranch-hand job. We had the gas light on again before the van reached the nearest town! We're  snug and safe once again, in a former KOA until the morrow. Then off again  early  to see more of our beautiful  country. 

The Moms  ( Becky and I) struck camp in the dark this morning.  We were pleased at having the tent packed in the dark, in less time than the AHG girls  have yet managed  in daylight. We were temporarily  consternated when our early arrival  at Arches National  Park required a reservation! Fortunately, there was an available  slot..

We saw deer, which practically  let us pet them. ( We made no attempt!) And, a raven in the parking lot chatted with us for quite awhile!!

Definitely  a memorable  day.

Eugene

 One of our early  "adventures" was accidentally  locking the keys inside the van, at a scenic overlook north of Tillamook, OR.

While we awaited a locksmith, a bicyclist stopped to admire the view.  As we had only  just dropped  Daniel off a couple of days  before, I approached the laden bike. The fellow was biking  the Pacific Coast Highway. He had an accent that bespoke German, but I  didn't ask him where he was from. His name was Eugene.  He continued his ride.

Our van was unlocked, we loaded up and soon overtook and passed Eugene. We rolled down the window and chanted: Eu-gene! Eu-gene! Eugene! as we carefully  went by. We soon came to our very first west coast beach access. We stopped and the kids got filthy wet and sandy. While we were there, Eugene got ahead of us once more!

Passing him again, the entire van chanted Eu-gene! Eu-gene! Eu-gene!

And so.... every bicyclist  we have passed along g the way gets cheered. Eu-gene! Eu-gene! Eu-gene!