Day 56–Hargus RV Park, Clinton, Oklahoma

 

The winds were so bad last night that the cover over the bedroom slide was banging so hard that we had to close the slide in order to get any sleep. We left the CG around 10:30 am heading into what we didn’t realize was a miserable rain and windstorm. On the bright side, because of the rain there were no dust storms to render I-40 impassable.

The wind was holding at a pretty consistent 25 MPH with wind gusts that would cause some concern when the MH was being pushed across the road. Ron was in a constant battle to keep the MH steady and was driving at no more then 60 MPH and less at times. It was very cold (48 degrees) and for the first time we were wearing jackets in the MH.

Driving and battling the wind  was very tiring for him so I began looking for a CG around 3 pm. I did find one just off the highway. Ron was not convinced that we should stop because we had only traveled around 177 miles. What really convinced him was the tractor –trailer on its side over the embankment. Did I mention the wind and wind gusts were getting worse?????

Hargus RV Park was easy on and off of I-40. It had a really bad Wi-fi connection and cable TV was so fuzzy you really couldn’t watch the TV and at full price we expected something better. They had no available pull- through sites so we had to disconnect the car.

The young lady recommended that since we had to disconnect the car we should try out the local Chinese Restaurant. She promoted it as being the “BEST” Chinese food ever!!!! I did some research and all the reviews were excellent so off we went.

We were once again on a section of Historic Route 66 so were not surprised to see that the restaurant was once a part of a motel that is now boarded up and  shut down.

The restaurant was packed and there were many people picking up take-out so we had high hopes.

The food was OK and very bland so we were a little bit disappointed. Traveling around the country we have come to realize that New England has  really got great food!!!

Back at the CG we prepared ourselves for another night of high winds and a rocking coach. We will be heading to Clinton, Missouri to see my brother. He had a partial foot amputation two days ago and is feeling very depressed. Our original plan was to head home on a more southerly route but now will head up to Missouri. Hopefully,  we will not run into the type of weather I fear the most – tornados. They do live in tornado alley so I am a little apprehensive but we will go to see him anyway.

Day 55–Wonderland RV Park, Cadillac Ranch, Jack Sisemore RV Museum

 

It was very quiet at the Kiva RV Park – Thank You Very Much. After hearing bout the guy next door we weren’t sure if we were back in the wild west and were going hear or see a shoot-out! LOL

After yesterday’s record 408 mile drive, today is only a little over 100 miles. Our plan is to stop at the Cadillac Ranch and the Jack Sisemore RV Museum. On the web site they recommended their CG with an easy on – easy off highway access. Well, if you call going around Robin Hood’s barn easy on and off then I guess it was. But our interpretation was that driving through downtown Amarillo was not easy on and off the highway.

We finally found the place but since there were no really good signs leading the way into the park we ended up coming in the out gate!! We pulled into a site across from the office and went in. The woman was very nice and allowed us to stay in the site we were in, albeit we were parked going the wrong way. Sometimes we can’t be left to our own devices. LOL

After a light lunch we headed out to the Museum. Did I mention that the highway system here in Texas is quite different then at home. There is the main highway then one-way access roads that run parallel to the highway. So now we are looking for the Museum heading the wrong way on the access road on the opposite side of the highway from where we need to be. Then they have these lovely left hand turns with three options. OK then, which one do we want. Once you get to the three options there are no signs so if not familiar  with the area you end up where you do NOT want to be. After some thought we figured it out and finally got to our destination. And to think we travel around this country without a chaperone!

The museum is behind Jack Sisemore RV Sales and is his own private collection of vintage RV’s.

LINK:

http://www.rvmuseum.net/

  

                                   

                                     

                              

Ron loves that bus!!!!

The Itasca has only 6000 original miles on it and the interior is like brand new.

It was a small museum so we were in and out in about 30 minutes. After a quick stop at Wal Mart for some staples we headed out to the Cadillac Ranch to take some pictures. Not sure if I mentioned this but the winds have picked up considerably and are non-stop. They call them the “Spring Winds” and I guess can be pretty brutal. So brutal, they kick up severe dust storms that can result in I-40 being shut down.

LINK to Cadillac Ranch:

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2220

The Cadillac's had once been painted pink but now have graffiti all over them. People bring in cans of spray paint and have at it. There is a dumpster outside of the ranch but people just throw the empty cans on the ground. There must have been thousands of cans rolling around the field. Cannot and will never understand why people are such slobs and have no respect for other peoples’ property.

The wind was relentless and it was getting very cold. The woman at the CG recommended a local Mexican Restaurant to us so we decided to stop for dinner on the way home. The  food, prices and margaritas were great!

Back at the CG we settled in for the night. The wind intensified and the MH was rocking like we were on a boat. Not sure where we will end up on Wednesday, because again we have no plans. Only time will tell.

Day 54–Travel Day–Kiva RV Park, Tucumcari, New Mexico

 

We have no definitive plans for today except driving. As I said before Ron did a lot of research and was unable to find anything for us to do in New Mexico except hiking. We have been to New Mexico before and had covered it quite extensively.

Ron was in a driving mood, the weather was great and traffic  light so we were on the road for a very long time – in fact- for 408 miles. That had been an all time record for this trip.

As we all know Ron likes to get CG bargains so he researched the Passport America and found to CG’s in Tucumcari on the old Route 66. They were side by side – Kiva RV Park -  had great reviews – nice people, really friendly, yada, yada !!! The other, Cactus RV Park,  not so much, cranky, unfriendly with a lot of rules.

We have been traveling quite a bit along and on the old route 66 – not so much by design but by chance. It has been amazing to see how many of the towns along Historic 66 have turned into literal ghost towns with remnants of what used to be still visible.

Anyway, we pulled up to the Kiva RV Park and were somewhat taken aback by the place. Although the old buildings and motel appeared to have been recently painted Ron was hesitant to pull in. It looked like there was no where to park, turn around or anything for that matter. It was do or die so we pulled in and at first thought we should just pull out. Although the buildings had a fresh coat of paint they were definitely in the troughs of dying and the people milling about looked the same!!!

We looked at each other and because all of the other CGs we passed in the area looked similar we got out to get a true feel for the place and not rely just on our first impression. We’ve stayed in worse places and did not have any problems.

As we walked around the MH we were greeted by a really friendly, albeit unkempt, man who was one of the proprietors of the property. He was quite scruffy and dirty but was wearing a security hat and was very congenially. He asked us if we would like to stay  - maybe more then one night  perhaps 2 days , a week or a month. After we  cordially declined he assured us he had several people staying for extended stays. He also told us he was 24 hour security and we could contact him at anytime in the security  MH he lived in on property.

Then, into the office came Tom, the man who would be escorting us to our site. He was also very friendly and quite entertaining. He escorted us to our site on a Vespa. Thank goodness, because the circuitous way he took us we would have never found it.

Once at the site, he began chatting with us and  was absolutely animated and had us laughing through his entire diatribe about his Cactus RV Park neighbor. The relationship is like the Hatfield's and McCoy's with a constant battle for RVers and the like. Tom told us that the owner of Cactus RV ran over one of Kiva’s customers because he was walking his dog on the other man’s property. They had to call the police and the owner of Cactus was arrested. Another time the Cactus owner shot at one of his own customers’ for taking a towel out of his hotel!!!!! HMMMMM!!!! I guess we made the right decision to stay at Kiva’s with the friendly guys! LOL However, since our site was clearly only about 100 feet from Cactus , we didn’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling being so close to Cactus.

Tom is the artistic one in the group and is trying to revive some of the Route 66 history so has the place done up in style.

                            

Tom, we assumed, is also painting a mural that is quite good.

 

Tom told us that they have their own radio station, (98.7 – one degree above normal as Tom stated) without commercials, and a web site that more then explains their relationship with the Cactus people. Some very interesting reading. Tom had just finished 6 months of chemo for throat cancer so felt he had nothing to lose and let loose on his web site about his Cactus neighbors!!!!!

LINKS:

www.kivarvpark.com

www.cactusrvpark.com

RT 66

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66

Again, we took our chances and got to meet some very nice, quirky people who are working at making an honest living in a very depressed area of the country.

In the evening the the park was lit up like a Christmas tree with flashing lights every where. We did see our 24-hour security person checking out the grounds on his tike bike,  so felt very safe!!!!

Tomorrow we will be heading for Amarillo, Texas. Ron has found a couple of things for us to do there, so looking forward to another  new adventure.

Day 53 Winslow Arizona, Root 66 RV Park, Petrified Forest

 

We were up early and on the way by 9 am. Our first stop was in Winslow, Arizona a town made famous by the Eagles and their song “Take it Easy.”  Our first chore was to find a place to park the rig. Luckily it is Sunday so there were lots of areas for us to park.

                                                   

 

 

                            

As we walked around town we were taken in by the time warp feel of the place and its claim to fame by being mentioned in a song.

      

           

                                                    

It was recommended that we stop by the historic  La Posada Hotel just to experience the old time beauty of the place. It was about two blocks down the road so we were on our way.

 

              

Inside was quite impressive with carved woods and intriguing  art pieces.

    

 

      

   

                                             

Outside the back door is a place to sit and relax and watch the trains pass by on the tracks adjacent to the hotel. Literally adjacent to the hotel!!!

 

On the way back to the MH we passed the smallest church in the world!

    

      

                               

The spot made famous by the Eagles is now just a façade with the original JC Penny knocked down many years ago.

Back on the road our goal was to get to the Petrified Forest National Park. Ron found us yet another “fine” CG in 1/2 price Passport America for us to spend the night. The Root 66 RV Park  right off I-40. Yes, I did spell it as the CG owners spell it.  In the RV Reviews it was recommended to bypass this lovely spot because it was a little scary with the “Bates Motel”  adjacent to the sites, but not us. We drove right in and booked  a site!!!

We are in Navajo Nation and so many of the people here are just barely eking out a living. The woman that showed us our site was very nice and informed us that she lived on the grounds with her family if we should need anything.

We actually thought about leaving but since we had already paid, opted to stay. We secured the MH with Jewel inside and headed out to the Petrified Forest National Park. The park has an interesting history explained in the link below.

LINK:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/petrified-forest-national-park/

We entered through the north gate at the Painted Desert Visitor Center where we watched a 20 minute orientation film to the park. The park road is a  28 mile road with many overlooks and beautiful long-distance vistas.

Our first stop was at  the Tawa Point and the Painted Desert Rim Trail that is a one-mile round trip between Tawa and Kachina points. The views of the painted Desert does not even look real.

                                             

                        

We then stopped at the Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark that is a Pueblo Revival style structure with cultural history exhibits.

Both the exterior and interior were completely refurbished by the CCC’s in the 30’s.

                                     

             

                                 

The murals were done by Hopi artist Fred Kabotie.

Before heading south through the park we stopped at Nizhoni, Whipple and Lacey Points and took in views and changing landscape.

  Next was the stop at the only portion of Route 66 that remains in the park.

                             

                                    

                  

Next we stopped at  Puerco Pueblo a partially stabilized 100 room village built between 1250 and 1380 that may have housed  nearly 200 people. 

                            

Next it was on to the Newspaper Rock where hundreds of petroglyphs are etched into stone. Of course we did not take our binoculars with us so we could barely see any markings in the rocks below.

Down the road we were treated to more incredible landscape changes and stood in awe of the Tepees layered in blues, purples and grays created by iron, carbon ,manganese and other minerals that stand in cone –shaped formations. They are incredible to see and the picture below captured them the best.

Next we stopped at the Blue Mesa and Blue Mesa Trail that overlooks the  badlands, log falls and pedestal logs. Unfortunately, I was unable to hike the three-mile loop but we were able to admire the area from above.

 

                                 

Back on the road we stopped at an area called Jasper Forest  where the erosion of the high rocky bluff has left hundreds of petrified  logs that once held glassy amethyst and quartz crystals.

Next it was on to the Crystal Forest and Trail that took us through a landscape of exquisitely  colorful petrified logs.

It is hard to believe that an act of nature was responsible for turning wood into stone, but we were surrounded by magnificent proof of just that! There were several logs that looked exactly like normal wood but were also stone!!!!

The 0.8 mile “easy”  hike turned out to be  a little more of a challenge then I expected so when it was time to do a steep hike up to see  “Old Faithful” the  park’s most massive log, I opted out and waited for Ron in the car.

It took us five hours to traverse the 28 mile park road and we enjoyed every minute of our time there. Back at the Root 66 RV Park we were happy to see that there were two other big rigs parked next to us. Safety in Numbers!!!!!

We settled in for the night and have no specific plan as we head out in the morning. Ron researched New Mexico and he couldn’t find anything for us to do that didn’t involve some type of tough hike. So I guess we will just be driving through New Mexico.