Cottonwood and Jerome Arizona

Wednesday September 26 2018

Most of the road (SR260) from I-17 to Cottonwood is in the final stages of reconstruction. It appears the locals are planning this route as a major redevelopment area. For now it’s very nice with four lanes and traffic circles at nearly every intersection.

Cottonwood has a population of 12,000 and seems to be a normal town with most every type store you would need, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, etc. It has no high end mall or anything like that but is just your average town, middle class with some lower and a few upper.

The climate here is called semi arid, which means pretty damned near desert like. Millie and I were discussing the difference between the western dry heat and our eastern hot humid summers. I came up with this simple comparison. When the temperatures rise above say 95 degrees in the east, it makes you uncomfortably hot and sweaty. That same 95 degrees out here will blister your skin as it dehydrates you and reduces you to a small leather figurine. 

Old mining town of Jerome Arizona

From Cottonwood we traveled up and up a mountain to the old mining town of Jerome. At one time, when the mines were active it had a population of near 10,000. I would guess that now most of the locals just work here, while very few actually live in town. The old mostly derelict buildings are somehow tenaciously clinging to the mountainside, IMHO one good shake could be the end of old Jerome.

After a while all these tourist traps start to look the same

It has somehow become a tourist attraction of sorts. Bus loads (literally) of daring tourists browse the gift shops and taverns, all the while hoping they aren’t here when the whole town goes cascading down the mountain.

My attempt at ill-humor towards Jerome is of course an exaggeration…but not by much.

Millie relaxing in our campground

Flagstaff Arizona to Cottonwood Thousand Trails

Flagstaff Arizona to Cottonwood (about 80 miles)

Tuesday September 25 2018

Flagstaff is the gateway to the Grand Canyon which is about 70 miles north. It is a fair sized town/city and is the last fully equipped place to get outfitted before venturing into the northern National Parks. We are going south to the area around Sedona.

Before departing Flagstaff this morning we unhooked the truck and drove to Walmart. I don’t remember what we needed but we left with the normal compliment of Milk, bread, stuff. We weren’t in a hurry this morning as it was only had about 80 miles to our destination.

Cottonwood Thousand Trails Campground pool area

We are camped in a Thousand Trails Campground just outside Cottonwood Arizona. Upon arrival we were most pleasantly surprised at how nice the park is. TT is a timeshare type membership campground with RV parks all over the US. My membership gives us access to 80 parks and we have been to quite a few of them. Some of them are old, tired and neglected, some are ok and a few are nice. This is one of the best TT parks we have been in. I was told the manager has been at this park for 25 years, he’s doing a good job.

Our campsite, this is probably the only grass within a hundred miles!

From our location we plan to visit the surrounding terrain and its towns and cities. We will go as far west as Prescott and northeast to Sedona. They call northern Arizona the high country, I don’t know what they call this region. We traveled an eighteen mile downgrade on I-17 to get here and the terrain is still mountainous, but there are some large valleys here too.

Places we will visit while camped here

Leaving Los Alamos

Los Alamos New Mexico to Flagstaff Arizona (415 miles)

Monday September 24 2018

We were on track for our traditional 9AM departure from Los Alamos. Goodbyes were said, hugs given and we pulled out of Kamp Kolman. On the other side of town we stopped to empty the holding tanks and hook the truck to the motorhome. 

Thats the pump during the install, right behind the battery

The first thing that went wrong was the less than one year old $1600.00, yes I typed that correctly, the one thousand six hundred dollar transmission pump once again would not run. Once again I had to resort to tapping on it with a hammer handle to start it spinning. 

Although frustrated, I shook it off and we resumed our departure ritual. Again the gremlins went to work, this time the dash 12 volt receptacles had no power. The transmission pump is a no/go item, we had to fix that, the receptacles I could have run without but chose to fix them here. They power the truck braking monitor, the dash camera, and the Amy (aim me) the GPS.

The brake monitor lets me know the auxiliary braking unit in the truck is working properly, the dash cam is a recording witness in case of an accident, both nice to have but not essential. You may think the GPS would be an important instrument for me. Not so, in fact the relationship between Amy and I is headed for divorce court. I’m trying, but Amy is impossible! I still follow route notes I made the night before.

After spending at least a ½ hour trouble shooting the circuit I discovered the dash receptacles are not powered thru the Ford chassis wiring. They are instead connected to the house wiring. That’s the wiring installed at the Winnebago factory. Next to the doorway there is a master disconnect switch. Its location is a poor one and the slightest tap on the rocker switch will disconnect the power. The power was off at the switch, I’m going to have to make a cover for the rocker switch.

My memesis, Amy the GPS

Finally everything was working and we strapped in and started down the hill. Twenty five miles down the road, Amy and I had our first argument. She wanted me to drive through Santa Fe to merge onto I-25; I wanted to take the relief route around the city. Amy and I may have to go to couples therapy! Millie scolded me, “you do realize it’s just a machine!”

We went my way and soon we were at Albuquerque. After an uncomplicated convergence with I-40 we were whisking our way west. After crossing into Arizona we took one small detour in the town of Holbrook. We drove through town on the old route 66. Many of the old motels have been restored to their former glory and now cater to visitors from all over the world who come by this way as they drive the remnants of the Mother Road.

I have no idea why they call route 66 the Mother Road, I'll have to google that.

In Flagstaff Arizona we stopped for the night in a KOA campground. KOA is Franchise Company, kind of like the Holiday Inn of the camper world.

Oh, I haven’t told you where we’re going. Next stop is Sedona Arizona.

Los Alamos, New Mexico

Millie, Rae Anne, Marcus (L) Evan (R)

September 15 to 23^rd 2018. 

As I said at the end of the last post, we are camped in Kolman’s driveway. It’s actually allowed here for up to 30 days, I guess because there’s not a lot of tourist accommodations in town.  Their driveway is below the level of the street, is heavily wooded and borders the Los Alamos National Forest. It’s a very nice rustic spot.

Ray Anne and Dave both work and Marcus and Evan are 2^nd graders so we extended our stay over two weekends so we could spend more time with them. The Kids knocked on the door of the bus every morning at 7:30 for a visit before school and came back every evening to watch DVD’s with us. 

Marcus's eighth birthday party at the aquatics center in Los Alamos

 We tried to blend into their busy weekday schedule. We sat on the sidelines of Evans soccer practice, went to Marcus’s birthday party at the town aquatic center, shared a few meals together, and helped whenever we could. Millie and the boys made cookies and fruit smoothies.

Larry's Hot Tub Repair Service!

I’m fortunate that they let me stay busy during the week by doing a few small projects around the house. This year Millie and I dismantled an unused 8 person hot tub and hauled it to the trash transfer station. Afterward, Millie pressure cleaned their deck and I got to do some electric work installing lights in a closet and kitchen pantry. 

The cleanup crew

All too soon our visit was over and we were prepping for a Monday morning departure. We’re excited because we’re going into uncharted (by us) territory.

The highways of America: our final frontier. These are the voyages of the Bus, our 18 year old Winnebago. Our mission: to explore new places, to seek out new experiences and too enjoy ourselves along the way, to boldly go where no motorhome has gone before.

From Branson to Los Alamos

Branson MO to Amarillo Texas

Wednesday September 12^th 2018.  Plans often change when traveling by RV and they should. Altering course and just winging it is part of the adventure out here on the road. Our next destination is Amarillo Texas where we will pick up Rae Anne, Millie’s daughter who is there on business. Her conference is ending a day early so we departed Branson and made the 580 mile drive to Amarillo in one day instead of the originally planned two. The trip was all interstate and turnpike so it was an easy run. Our overnight destination, Oasis RV Resort had a site for us and we settled in late in the afternoon.

Amarillo Texas to Los Alamos New Mexico

Thursday September 13^th 2018.  In the morning I picked up Rae Anne at her rental car return while Millie prepped the motorhome for departure. We were soon seated in the bus and pulling out of the park, I looked at the clock, it was exactly 9AM. I don’t know how we do it, but it seems like nine times out of ten, when we go thru our departure routine and pull out on the highway, it will be 9AM.

I-40 west of Amarillo

I-40 west from Amarillo is a long series of crests. As the road passes over each one you can see the road laid out to the horizon. It seems nearly flat but each crest is higher than the last. You climb almost 2000 feet in about 250 miles.

About 50 miles shy of Albuquerque we left I-40 for RT 285 and we started another climb in elevation. We would top out at 7320 feet in Los Alamos, New Mexico. We had to pass thru Santa Fe and it was lunch time so we stopped at our favorite Tex/Mex restaurant called Wecks. Only open for breakfast and lunch it’s not to be missed if you’re ever out this way.

After lunch it was a short 35+/- miles to the mountain top town of Los Alamos, but it may as well be a world away. Home of one of our country’s nuclear research facilities this site was chosen for its remoteness during the Manhattan project. 

View from the road as you go up the hill to Los Alamos

Still an important part of our nuclear program, the town has grown, but it is still a small exclusive community. Duped Atomic City, it has per capita, more doctorate degrees than any other municipality in the US. So there’s like a whole bunch of Einstein’s running around.

As for the nuclear research facility or The Lab, as it’s called here, there’s not much to see, I think most of it is underground.  They do have a small museum in town for the visiting tourist.

Los Alamos perched on Mesa'a in the remote mountains

Los Alamos is a small place geographically, with an eclectic mix of house designs, all perched on mesas with rugged gorges between them. Many of them where built during the Manhattan project and look the same as they did in the 1940’s, but just down the street may be a contemporary design or a log cabin.

It’s an interesting place that’s for sure.

We are parked at Kamp Kolman, that’s Rae Anne's driveway. We will be here for ten days. The boys are happy to have grandma visiting.

Kamp Kolman

Branson Missouri

Paducah Kentucky to Branson Missouri

Saturday September 8 2018. The rain was over by 10am and we pulled out by 10:30 and drove about 330 miles to Shenanigan’s RV Park in Branson Missouri. It’s a small RV Park right in the heart of music row, but you’d never know it once you enter the park. It is wooded with sites that are carved into a hillside. Very little outside noise enters the park even though we are just a stones throw from route 76.

Our home for four days in Branson

The rest of the day did not go so well. I accidentally ate some beef meatballs that I thought were made from turkey. I am allergic to red meat, specifically a compound within all warm blooded mammals called Galactose Alpha. I paced the floor for several hours that evening and well into the night with hives and intense itching.

Sunday September 9 2018. My day started out groggy from all the Benadryl I took yesterday. I’m getting a script for an epi-pen as soon as we get home. We had to go to Walmart in West Branson later in the morning. By then I was starting to feel better so we ate lunch at a local Mexican Restaurant. It was very good.

Great show!

I took a three hour nap in the afternoon and was completely recovered afterwards. It’s a good thing our theater tickets were for an evening performance or I would have missed it. We saw a show called Raiding the Country Vault. It featured classic country hits performed by song writers, back up singers and musicians who were somehow connected to the songs. My description may make it sound strange, but it was a first class show presented by professionals in the music industry.

I think we fully weaponized now!

Monday September 10 2018. We went to Pro Bass Shop in downtown Branson today to buy a salt gun. It shoots table salt and is used to kill houseflies and other small critters. So far, I am less than impressed with it, we’re going to try a coarser brand of salt. We were also less than impressed with our lunch spot. Hint: Never eat in a restaurant with a giant chicken statue in the front of the building.

How could we resist eating in a restaurant with a giant chicken!

Our show selection for the day was a matinee; we saw a tribute show to the Temptations and enjoyed it very much.  Classic Motown from the 60’s preformed by seasoned professionals; it doesn’t get any better than that.

Another great Motown show!

Tuesday September 11 2018. The show we selected for our final day in Branson was at 8pm so we had all day to wander around Branson. We drove downtown and walked the length of the waterfront river landing, a round trip of three miles. We ate lunch in a pizza shop called Pie-five. They made personal size pizza’s using ingredients of your choosing and cooked surprisingly fast. The result was a really good pizza.

Living the good life

We saw the Presley’s Variety Show that evening. Presleys Theater is the oldest in Branson and has been in the same spot for 51 years. It’s a combination of music and slap stick comedy. I hate to say it but we were disappointed, we just didn’t think it was that good.

Three generations of Presleys

The Fall Roadtrip begins

We’re on the road again! This is day five and we are 800 miles from home.

Day one, September 4^th 2018. Our departure was delayed for a couple hours due to a problem with our towed vehicle. The lubrication pump for the pickup’s transmission would not work. It circulates transmission fluid while we are towing the truck behind the motorhome. After I checked the electrical circuits, I got the pump running by connecting a temporary jumper directly from the battery to the motor and at the same time hitting it with a hammer! Crude but it worked.

                                                                                                             

We drove to Reidsville North Carolina where we parked the motorhome at the city campground at Reidsville Lake. We spent the rest of the day on some Bray family cemetery business and visiting with Millie’s brother and one of her sisters.

Day two, September 5^th 2018. We drove to the south western corner of Virginia to the Jefferson National Forest. We camped in Grindstone Campground. We stopped here to visit with another of Millie’s sisters. 

Our site at the Jefferson National Forest

Day three, September 6^th 2018. In the morning we drove the pickup back to Independence Virginia. On the drive to Grindstone yesterday we had seen some RV’s on waterfront lots along the New River. We looked at a couple lots for sale and stopped at a local realtor for more information about them. They are indeed deeded waterfront lots for recreational vehicles, but they aren’t cheap. 

Spring fed pool built by the CCC's during the Great Depression.

In the afternoon we returned to Paul and Betty’s for a meal and more visiting. I practiced my dog whispering skill’s on their pooch. I think he’s starting to like me.

Day four, September 7^th 2018. Long driving day today, Grindstone CG in Virginia to Paducah Kentucky. A driving distance of 450 miles. Overnighting in a KOA campground about 20 miles south of Paducah.

Day Five, September 8^th 2018. There’s a wave of rain coming thru the area this morning. We have decided to delay our departure for a couple hours and let the rain pass.

Waiting for the rain to pass.