September 15, 2019

September 5, 2019

 We had a good stay while at Travis the past few days.  On Tuesday morning we had breakfast with Joe Martin at Mel’s Diner in Vacaville.  Later in the day Bill Fordyce drove up from Oakley, CA for a short visit.  Bill was a Loadmaster with the 708th Airlift Squadron, he flew with Joyce back in the day.

 Yesterday we hooked up and headed to Naval Air Station Fallon, NV.  The drive up the hills on I-80 was uneventful although slow since for a lot of the time we were in the truck lanes and down to 30-35 MPH.  After getting to the south gate maneuvering on the base was a tad difficult but we got it done.

 We had made the reservation here before changing our trip so we actually should have cancelled this stay and booked an RV park near Reno. It probably cost us 2-3 gallons of fuel from I-80 and back.

 On the 5th our good friends Jerry and Marilyn Howlett made a two hour drive from Gardnerville for a short visit.  We had a delicious meal at the Courtyard Cafe and Bakery in Fallon.  Thank you so much for taking the time to drive all that way to spend time with us.  We love y’all.

September 9, 2019

 We left NAS Fallon on the 6th headed for Wells, NV for one night.  The drive was easy,  especially when we got on I-80 so at a rest area we stirred the pot and decided to go all the way to West Wendover, NV and the Nugget Casino’s RV Park.  Not the worse place we have stayed but very close.  http://www.campgroundreviews.com/regions/nevada/wendover/wendover-nugget-rv-park-6921

 After leaving West Wendover we made the run to Spanish Fork, NV in good time.  We did have some issues with getting fuel.  We finally found a Maverick station in Pro, UT and got diesel for $2.86 a gallon.

 After getting fuel we got back on I-15 and headed down to the Canyon View RV Park.  Canyon View is a city owned park that offers all back in sites with shared 30 amp electrical and water hookups.

 After getting set up in our site we drove over to Ron and Katie Cutler’s home in Payson.  Joyce and I first met Ron and Katie in Temecula, CA when we were volunteering at Vail Lake RV Resort (now Temecula/Vail Lake KOA) and have become life-long friends.  Thank you Ron and Katie for all your hospitality and friendship.  We love y’all!

September 11, 2019

 Yesterday morning we left Spanish Fork and headed to the OK RV Park in Moab, UT.  We have been here before when we toured all of the national parks in southern Utah so this time it was just a stop over.  However when checking in the receptionist recommended we take a drive up UT Highway 128 that winds its way up through the red rock canyon following the Colorado River.  So after setting up in our site we did just that.

 If you have never been to Moab before, Joyce and I highly recommend you visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and to put this drive on your “must-do” list.  We drove eleven miles to the Sorrel River Ranch Resort and turned around.  Later we found out there is a loop we could have done in the same amount of time.  The pictures we took hardly represent the beauty of this area.

 We left Moab this morning, jumped on US 491 south headed to Gallup, NM.  Going through a canyon shortly after leaving Moab there were ominous looking clouds out to the west and all of a sudden we heard a very, very loud CRACK!  Holy Moly, I though I had blown a tire or had a backfire.  I immediately scanned the instruments and saw nothing out of the ordinary.  Whew!!!!

 Although the crosswinds were high the drive was fairly easy.  We stopped in Cortez, Co at a Maverick station and filled up with diesel fuel for $2.86 a gallon.  The winds picked up shortly after leaving Cortez with some pretty high gusts from the west/north west.  Everything changed when we crossed into New Mexico.  Not only were we getting a lot of winds but the highway was horrendous.  Numerous frost heaves caused me to slow down to 20 to 25 MPH to keep the coach on the road.  To add to all the fun there were numerous places that had repairs done in, I think maybe 1945.

 We pulled into the USA RV Park here in Gallup about 3:00 PM, tired and a tad frazzled and darned glad to be off the road.  The good news is they have supper here in the park so Joyce doesn’t have to cook and we can leave to CRV hooked up for the night.  Hoping for tailwinds and easier driving tomorrow.

September 13, 2019

 Yesterday morning we left Gallup and made the 147 mile drive to Kirtland AFB, NM where we plan to spend four nights.  After getting setup we went over to the base exchange and had some lunch and then went to the Joann’s store in Albuquerque, where Joyce picked up a few things to help here with a quilt project she is working on.

September 14, 2019

 This morning we stirred the travel pot again and changed some things,  Instead of staying at Kirtland AFB four nights we are going to leave tomorrow morning.  We plan to spend one night at the Elks Lodge in Tucumcari, NM and then on into Amarillo, TX on Monday.  This will shorten the driving days and get us to Amarillo at a more decent hour.

 We had hoped to visit Chuck and Oretha Souder who live in Gilmer, TX.  Well, that ain’t gonna work out so good since they have a trip to Branson, MO.  Maybe next time.

 So, what is the best way to get to Shreveport Elks Lodge from Amarillo.  I really want to avoid the Dallas/Fort Worth if I can so with Chuck’s directions we’re going to go south through Wichita Falls, spend one night near Henrietta then another night in Mineola.  Might be the slower root but I will do just about anything to stay away from Dallas.

Until next time,

Barry & Joyce