Been Awhile

 Not sure what happened, but I stopped blogging for the summer.  Not going to promise anything but do want to catch everyone up with what has happened.

I brought Teddy home with me and I have to say, Yuma has never gotten over his jealousy.  

This has caused a lot of troubles in the household.  I know it is mostly my fault, but I just can't ignore poor Teddy's pleas for attention.

And Dolly has her new baby poodle, Freddie.

Evan and Kristi's daughter, Erin graduated from high school in May and applied to several prestigious universities.  She decided to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in the Fall.  I'm sure she will love the weather.

Dolly and I went to the Bloomington Zoo with Jim and Keaton.

Ant Eater

In November, Steve, Nick, Mollie (Nick's GF) and Lane ran at Indianapolis.  Steve and Nick ran the Marathon.  It was Steve's 17th consecutive run.  He has run it since the inauguration run.

Lane, Steve, Nick and Mollie

As Fall arrived, I decided to travel to Merritt Island, Florida to visit my brother Richard and his wife, Paxti, and their son, Jonathan and his family.

Took me four days to get to their home.  The eastern states are much more crowded than the western states.  It was not a fun trip.

Richard and Paxti pool side

Richard has recently moved to a one floor home to save on going up and down stairs.  They have a beautiful home.

Jonathan has a 40-acre lot nearby and that is where I stayed for the two weeks.

Luna Lake

The lot has not been cleared and looks much like Florida did before being inhabited.  The lake is named after Jonathan's daughter Luna.  It only sprinkled once while there and the weather was warm and sunny for the rest of my time there.

Another neighbor

They grow them big around here

Jonathan did have four lawn mowers to keep up with the undergrowth.  A daddy, momma and two baby goats.  Luckily, they were quiet at night because they stayed in a cage right near my motorhome.

I was staying about three miles from Cape Canaveral and there were rocket lift-offs going up almost every day, but this is as close as I got to getting a picture.  I ran inside to grab my phone and this all I got.  The rocket was out of sight.

I have always wanted to go back to Melrose, Florida where my grandfather retired to back in the forties.  We lived there several time in those years when Richard and I were around six or seven years old when my Dad was between jobs and we needed a place to stay.  This place had a lasting effect on the two of us.

Granddad and Grandmom

Entrance to unincorporated village of Melrose off the state highway.

Always loved the large oaks and hanging moss over the sand roads. Still the same after all these decades.

This used to be a lake house.  The main house is a big Victorian house behind it.  The rich from Lakeland and up north have winter homes around Melrose Bay.  Not sure how my Granddad ended up with it, but it looks almost the same as when my family stayed there.

This is the walkway to the dock on Melrose Bay.  Looks like it is the same boards we walked on, but old now.

Our swimming hole is exactly the same.  Beyond Melrose Bay outside that row of Cypress trees is the huge Lake Santa Fe.

I wanted to travel to Yuma after my two weeks visiting my brother, but after nine years of visiting the southwest, most of it with only Yuma, I just couldn't get up the interest to travel five or more days across country, so I turned north toward home and family.  I have decided to stay home this winter and see how I feel next Fall.

I lost a long time friend this week.  Al (Travel With The Bayfield Bunch) lost his wife, Kelly this week after a long illness.

Dolly, Fergie and I stopped at their home in Congress on January, 9, 2014.  I had been following Al's blog for awhile and when I bought my Class C Motorhome and Jeep, Dolly, Fergie and I headed west.  I just had to meet, Al, Kelly and Pheebe.  They were doing the exact same traveling I wanted to do, but I had never boondocked before.

I called them and they said to stop on by, so we did.  I followed in their footsteps for the next nine years, traveling to the same beautiful places they did.  I ran into them many times over those years.  May Kelly rest in peace and Al carry on her legacy.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Day 5 Home at last

 Had a nice quiet night and slept well.  We got up early and on the road by 8 o'clock with home as our destination.  It was a 430-mile drive and we did it in 7 hours.  

We were home at 3 o'clock and there was not a hitch the whole day.  A little windy driving north on I-55 the last 120 miles from St. Louis to home.

Our neighbors gave Dolly a lighted sign with letters, numbers and emojis.  Dolly made a sign for our homecoming.

Yuma is happy to be in the chair with his dad and Teddy has already fell in love with Dolly.

When I arrived home, I told Dolly I wasn't tired, but the 5 days of driving finally hit me.  I am happy to be home and ready to have a long rest in my own bed. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Day 4 on the road and pictures of the Natural Bridges National Monument

Got a quiet night's sleep last night and we slept in till 8 o'clock Central Time.  It was a cool sunny 46 degrees with a pretty good 20 mph breeze out of the north making it feel downright cold.

We were on our way at 9 o'clock and as the day went along it became warmer and there were no gusts like yesterday, so it was a much better drive day.

Didn't know where I was going to end up for the night, but time told the tail.  We reached the Missouri Welcome Center at 4:30 and called it a night or so I thought!

I was parked way out in the corner hoping the trucks would stay away.  I had just fed the doggies and put the grill out to cook some potato slices and a steak when a big black semi pulled right next to my grill.  He shut off his engine, but of course it was a refrigerated truck so there was a very noisy engine sound right next to my bedroom.

As I was stepping out to put the potatoes on the grill, he was coming out of the rig.  He had the most humongous male Pitbull on a leash.  I stopped immediately on the step and the dogs started barking at him.  As he tried to contain his dog, he yelled "Don't let your dog out!"  I immediately shut my door till he walked of with the dog.

With all the parking places he could have selected next to his semi buddies he parked right next to my rig.  I went ahead and cooked and ate my dinner, but he wasn't leaving.  Two can play this game; I left!

There was a Walmart 17 miles further down the road I had stayed at before and that's where we ended up, hopefully for the night.  Security pointed out where to park and we're good with them.  Of course, this is Friday night, so there will be some noise, I'm sure.

We drove 406 miles and Google said in 6 hours.  We made it in 12 hours.  Next, I will provide pictures of the Natural Bridges National Monument we visited on the 15th.

April 15, 2024

I learned that the Natural Bridges National Monument is only 45 miles from here and because they are calling for a very cool, windy and cloudy day, I decided this was an addition to the agenda.

The kids had me up at 7, but after a quick walk we nestled back in till 8 o'clock.  Those last minutes of rest are crucial.  We got up and had breakfast and I even made a pot of coffee for the first time in days. The mornings haven't been too leisurely for me lately.

My plan was to go there and see what there was to see and get back.  Got everything ready and threw the dogs and stuff in the Jeep and we were off at 10:30. As we reached hwy 261, I realized my hot cup of coffee was on the counter, so I guess there won't be a morning coffee.

The drive is approximately 45 miles north, so not more than an hour's drive.  As I drove north, I noticed there is a very long plateau ahead of us and I wondered how it was going to be 45 minutes when that monster went for miles in both directions.

Guess what, no going around.  We went straight up!  Not exactly! It was a dirt road that zigzagged to the top.

I'm at the top and it doesn't look good!

Guess what greeted us as we reached the top of the plateau?  A snow showers!

It was another 25 miles, and we were at the entrance.

There are three natural bridges along a 7-mile loop.  I stopped at the first one and tried to hike to the bottom to get a better picture than at the viewpoint, but it was almost a mile straight down the gorge to the river bottom and I pooped out quickly and returned.  

A couple pictures below of the drive.

The second one I couldn't really see, but I took a couple of pictures from the viewpoint.

I think it is in the center of the picture.

and moved on to the third and last one.

Now this one had a great view from the viewpoint, and it was only a quarter of a mile down to it.  I can do that!  It was the best of the three and I was the only person down there.  I laid on the dry riverbed and took pictures looking straight up.

Couple of pictures of the path I took.

Time to head home.

We're flying like the birds.

We made it home at 3 o'clock.  It turned out to be partly cloudy and I was able to get great pictures.  I really enjoyed the Jeep climb to the top of the plateau.  It was an unexpected surprise.  The hike down to the last bridge was great too.  There was hardly anyone on the Monument Loop, so I practically had the place to myself.  For a younger person, the hiking in this area would be a lot of fun.

After resting for a while and eating 12 Ritz crackers with peanut butter and a cheese topping, I was ready to get the Jeep hooked up and be ready for a much longer loop tomorrow.  Lots more pictures to come.  It is just unfortunate that there is not a strong internet service anywhere around here, but there will be a catch-up soon.

Thanks for stopping by.