It was April, spring was beautiful in Arlington this year and it was hard to leave, especially as French friends were stopping by and we would not be there to see them.  But leave we did, as we had commitments in the south and to be honest, it would be nice to be warm after the winter we had experienced.  It had been one of the chillier ones in the Northeast and it was not made any warmer by visits to New York State and Maine with multiple feet of snow on the ground.  (Diesel heat in the Tiger is a wonderful thing!) So, we set off in fine form except for Denise who had sprained her ankle!

First stop was South Carolina, where we spent a morning at Tiger getting a couple of quick adjustments made, and then visited friends in Taylors, SC, a suburb of Greenville.  We had a wonderful visit (even Blue enjoyed visiting a new house and seeing a new dog!) and enjoyed a stroll down by the river in Greenville, followed by lunch with a view of the river.  The stroll was short as Denise’s ankle was still bothering her but it was a beautiful day and much too nice to be inside.

Then onto Savannah, GA where we visited a friend from Panamá and Liberia and discovered the Skidaway Island Campsite, where we camped in a wonderful shady spot.  (http://gastateparks.org/SkidawayIsland) The weather was kind, sunny and not too hot, and knowing nothing about Savannah, we signed up for the hop on hop off bus ride.  We barely scratched the surface of what Savannah had to offer but we did get a feel for the history and the charm of the city so it is on our “must return” list. Preview for the history buffs, Savannah was established as an English military colony to protect the rich plantations of South Carolina from the Spanish. Savannah’s old downtown is famed for its many lovely parks, each dedicated to an historic personage or theme.

We then headed into Florida with rain and storms predicted for the day and night.  And storm it did, but despite downpours we made it safely to our campsite in the Ocala National Forest at Lake Delancy.  A charming Forestry Commission site, we were the only people there!  We dutifully paid our fee and dropped it in the box.  (http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ocala/recarea/?recid=32360) It was soggy and humid all night but we were comfortable and headed south the next day to St. Petersburg, FL where we had reservations at Fort DeSoto Park campground for three nights.  Ft. DeSoto is on Mullet Key, a barrier island at the mouth of Tampa Bay and we had lovely views of the bay and a chorus line of mullets jumping out of the water for us and providing hours of entertainment as we sat by our camper and enjoyed the view.  (http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/05_ft_desoto.htm)

Despite calling St. Petersburg home for decades, Fred had rarely visited the park. Denise’s ankle was improving so we were able to do couple of shortish walks, one on the beach and one in a nature trail, and also to visit the fort.  Fred was fascinated by one inlet which had hundreds of fiddler crabs all moving in unison.  We also saw multiple nesting ospreys with young in the nest.

Then, on to Orlando and our son’s MBA graduation.  We enjoyed a lovely family weekend, some excellent meals and the presence of both our children (and our son-in-law) as well as friends of our son’s.  Again the weather was determined to charm us with balmy temperatures and sunshine.

Our last stop in Florida was at a Harvest Host site, Golden Acres, where we camped for the night.  Golden Acres is a small farm which specializes in goats and sheep, though there are an assortment of chickens and guinea fowl running around the yard.  All the animals are guarded by big white fluffy Pyrenean dogs, who apparently excel at that and keep away other dogs, coyotes etc.  We bought some Mayhaw jelly, made from the wild may haw trees in the lake and look forward to enjoying it. (http://www.goldenacresranchflorida.com)

N.B. Any camper owner likes wine and is not a member of Harvest Hosts is missing a trick. (http://harvesthosts.com)

So what are the 60 to 80’s? That is the temperature range, in Fahrenheit, for some lovely camping weather. Warm enough to go out without a coat (a nice change from this winter) and cool enough overnight to be comfortable without air conditioning.

Fall Frolics began this year in early October. Ndeke Luka had been left at Provan for some upgrades during our trip to the UK (see “The Sonne in Splendour”) so we began our trip by packing a rental car with the usual “stuff” including the cat and cat box and heading south. To our surprise, the cat did not like riding in a car, though he likes his camper! Which is just as well! Upon arrival in Columbia, SC and having reacquired Ndeke Luka, we headed off to Asheville for the first East Coast Overland Expo. http://www.overlandexpo.com/east/

As before, we camped at the Provan site and Fred also gave presentations and led panel discussions. Denise showed Ndeke Luka to interested buyers and those who were just generally interested, which proved to be a steady stream of folks. As part of the ever evolving life in a camper, we had some annoying issues with our composting toilet, which we have since solved. And yes, it is working perfectly again. Its quite amazing what one becomes expert in, from time to time!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Expo both catching up with old friends and making new ones. We even managed to leave without acquiring a puppy from the Animal Shelter stall across the way. It was a close call at one point, but reality reared its head!

After Expo, we headed north up the Blue Ridge Parkway heading indirectly for the Hudson Valley and our granddaughter’s 4^th birthday party. The fall color was just beginning at the middle elevations but was quite noticeable at the higher elevations. I must confess that the best color we saw was in Pennsylvania near Scranton, but our drive up the Parkway was pleasant. We camped at National Park Service Campsites, where it seemed to rain every night and we were so thankful for a warm, dry Malayan and that we were not trying to keep dry in a tent as we saw some bicyclists doing. We took advantage of a couple of the walking trails and decided that we would most certainly be back.

The highlight of this section of the Parkway was a visit to the Blue Ridge Music Center at mile 213. The Center has a most interesting museum explaining the development of music in the Blue Ridge as well as different instruments and local musicians. We were fortunate enough to be there for a live performance by Willard Gapheart and Bobby Patterson, which we enjoyed very much. We even bought a CD! Guitar geeks will love the song about “playing mountain music on my Henderson guitar.” (Hendersons, hand made in the area, are very highly sought after.)

On our way up 1-81 we stopped at a National Park Service Historic Site called Steamtown. We had seen the sign many times on our way up to the Hudson Valley and decided that this time we would finally stop and see what it was. Steamtown has a huge selection of various steam locomotives, both big and small, with outstanding historical and technical displays about how the railroads of the region developed. Quite fascinating; Fred was in seventh heaven.

While in the Hudson Valley, we always walk on the Wallkill Rail Trail when the weather permits. This trip we discovered a 940-foot long truss bridge, built in the mid 1800’s as a railway trestle bridge. It has been renovated and opened to the public in June 2013 to link parts of the Rail Trail. Apparently, there were always concerns of its sturdiness and ability to support trains but we enjoyed our walk and the views from the bridge without mishap!

We now turn to Midwinter Madness. Another trip to the Hudson Valley began in early December when the weather was considerably less pleasant than in October.

Our first overnight was at a lovely Delaware State Park called Lums Pond. Plans to walk around the actual “pond” were thwarted by sheeting rain but, as it is quite close to home, we will be back. The next day we headed to Winterthur, former home of Henry Francis Dupont. We had tickets to visit the mansion decked out in its Christmas finery with many Christmas trees and decorations and also to visit the Downtown Abbey exhibit. The latter was very interesting as it included costumes from the BBC series and the history of the various fabrics. We have visited a lot of stately homes in the UK and particularly enjoyed that the exhibit discussed parallels and contrasts of life and customs between British stately homes and the mansions of the era in the US. It felt like a very British day being very ”misty and moisty”. So cold and soggy that we passed on the garden tour. http://www.winterthur.org

We discovered that it is hard to find much open in December so we camped that night in a private campsite. The next day we visited and took a tour of the Martin Guitar Factory. Another fascinating spot, with an extensive museum that described the history of the Martin company and Martin guitars owned by the famous. The tour likewise showed us how handmade Martin is made, and why some cost as, little or as much, as they do. http://www.martinguitar.com

We have since made two more family trips to the Hudson Valley in Ndeke Luka. Temperatures were down in the lower teens during our last visit. We were parked on a sheet of ice and at least 6 inches of snow fell during our stay. The Malayan remained warm and cozy though we did have to run the heat day and night. The cat does like to be warm! We did have to break down and hook up the electricity towards the end of our stay. In cloudy and cold weather, the solar panels can only achieve so much when it is overcast and we were not driving. But we were pleased with Ndeke Luka’s performance; truly a four season camper!

It is going to feel very strange when we finally do come down the mountain(s); we have been at anywhere from 6,000 to 12,000 feet in altitude for the last couple of weeks. We are actually used to it now! Memories of life in La Paz, Bolivia.

Although our goal when leaving Utah was Durango, Colorado, we allowed ourselves to succumb to temptation and stopped at Mesa Verde National Park.  Although we had already visited Bandelier National Monument and also Chaco, the ruins at Mesa Verde are on a much larger scale and we felt that this visit would complete the experience. So, we stopped at the Visitor Center and both acquired all the information we needed and checked out the excellent displays, before heading to check in at the campground. We then headed to the museum up the mountain. It was a longish drive, about 15 miles, and the views were quite wonderful. Canyons below, cliffs above and snow capped peaks in the distance – plus various outlooks where these could all be photographed. The museum was interesting with a selection of dioramas of Puebloan life at different times and stages of occupation at Mesa Verde and we watched the excellent movie, which gave a good background on the life and history of the pueblo, as far as it is known.

We then headed down to the “Spruce Tree House”. This house did not require the purchase of tickets for a ranger tour, though we did buy a self-guide booklet. We had a good idea of what we would see and indeed, the site was bigger and much more complete but we were able to recognize the various features.  There was a rebuilt kiva complete with entrance, so of course, Fred had to go down to take photos. The rebuilt kiva really brought the other ruins we had seen to life.

After hearing so much about “kivas” at other sites, we finally had some reconstructed ones.

The kiva interior was quite spectacular.

After our visit, we drove the Mesa Top Loop.  This had a number of overlooks where we could see a pit house, visit the sun temple and also see across the valley to various sites including the Cliff Palace. This is probably the most famous of the sites at Mesa Verde and requires a ticket for a ranger led tour. We decided that the view from across the valley would be enough, especially when we saw the hordes of tourists milling around.    For scale, zoom in on the people on the right.

The highlight of the evening was a number of mule deer grazing around the campsite. They seemed to have reserved their favorite site.

They did not seem to need any “hookups.” 

So much to see and so little time has led us to leave our explorations of Utah for the next trip west. However, we did enjoy the short time we spent there and will look forward to  next time.

After leaving Monument Valley, we headed into the Valley of the Gods, in the rain, to camp. We did stop at Mexican Hat to take a picture of the namesake rock. We were a little underwhelmed, it was quite small and, especially in the rain, looked rather bleak.

Ndeke Luka quickly got covered in a nice layer of red mud, which makes it look rather macho! Jesting aside, we found a lovely campsite near some buttes in the Valley of the Gods and spent a relaxing day there. (https://www.utah.com/monumentvalley/ValleyOfTheGods.htm) N.B., The Valley of the Gods was used to film parts of the TV shows “Airwolf” and “Dr. Who.” Thanks to Tiger owner Jack Arnold for the suggestion that we go to the Garden: http://www.jackarnoldphoto.com

 Battleship Rock

 Pretty Balancing Rocks (Several hundred feet high.)

We took a walk in the afternoon, after the rain stopped, and Denise saw at least two new types of spring flowers. One of the joys of this trip, has been the number and variety of spring flowers that we have seen blooming in the desert. We do not always know what they are but we do enjoy seeing them.

As we were so close, we went to see the Natural Bridges National Monument. Our road led us out of the Valley of the Gods, up an amazing road to Cedar Mesa, via the Moki Dugway. The road was a series of steep and sharp curves, as we climbed up and the views back towards the Valley of the Gods were amazing, especially as the rain had cleared any dust or smoke. Quite spectacular. The link from “Dangerous Roads.org” sets the right tone:  http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/783-mokee-dugway-usa.html

There are three natural bridges at the Monument; Sipapu, Kachina and Owachomo.  (http://www.nps.gov/nabr/index.htm) There are trails to the bases of all three, the first two being a little rougher and more challenging than the third. We descended Sipapu to a marvelous oak grove at the stream under the bridge, via a series of paths, rocks, steps, ladders, and hand rails for great views and a little much needed exercise! We also climbed down to Owachomo, which proved somewhat easier and less strenuous (at least going down!) but also was well worth it.

The primitive campground at Natural Bridges was full, so we camped in the forest outside.

Sipapu from the overlook. Hard to see the bridge at first, then you see the hole and can see how the water originally went around the pier of rock to the left of the photo.

Sipapu from 3/4 of the way down. Note the beautiful green trees.

Sipapu, seen from the bottom.

 Denise at Owachomo.

And on to Colorado. Utah we hardly knew you, but we’ll be back!

(With apologies to the the band, “Chicago.”)

We have never been in a state that made it so difficult to tell the time! Most of Arizona is NOT on Daylight Savings Time, but much of Arizona is on Navajo Reservations and they ARE on Daylight Savings Time. Just to make it more interesting, the Hopi reservations are on Arizona time. But fortunately, we have not been seriously early or late despite the challenges!  This is of course, one of the advantages of camping! One morning we left the campsite in Utah, drove four miles down the road back into Arizona and gained an hour and then lost it again on our return to the campsite! Endless opportunities for confusion.

En route to Flagstaff, we made a stop at the Painted Desert and Petrified Desert National Park. The colors of the desert were a bit muted due to the dust, stirred up by the howling gale, which was exceptionally strong that day, close to 50 mph. Talk about blowing a hoolie! We did brave the wind to see some wonderful petrified wood with its incredible colors, but I cannot say it was a pleasant experience.

 Nifty custom built camper on an Iveco “Daily” 4×4. Owned by a charming French couple whom we met again at Sunset Crater.

Dust blowing in the wind.

You can really see the wood on the outside of this log.

On the last leg of our trip to Flagstaff, we made a little detour, to Meteor Crater. When Fred was a child, he crossed the United States twice by car, and both times drove right by the crater without stopping. This time, he was DETERMINED to see the thing. And from the south side. (Which requires a small scramble over the rocks to an old mine site.)

Looking north towards the visitor center.

 Looking west towards the San Francisco mountains, over Flagstaff.

Once in Flagstaff, we needed to prepare both ourselves and Ndeke Luka for the Overland Expo, so we headed to the KOA campsite which was in a good location. We found it full of various campers and off road vehicles heading to Overland Expo, including Robinson Fuso and its owners, Jon and Emily Turner, with whom Fred had corresponded but had never met. So, it was fun to have company while we organized laundry and cleaned the Tiger. We went first to a car wash with large bays, then cleaned inside to make Ndeke Luka presentable. We did spend a day in Flagstaff learning both the local history by visiting the Riordan Historic Mansion, built by a local family who owned the lumber mill, and the geological history by visiting the Sunset Crater, a cinder cone just outside town. Flagstaff sits on the slopes of the San Francisco mountains, the remnants of a mega volcano that blew in prehistory and the whole area is a mass of lava and tuff and contains many craters. None are active, for now.

As we travel it is fun to meet and re-meet acquaintances. We met a French couple at Painted Desert and again at the Sunset Crater, where they were staying in the campsite. They too were impressed with the crater.

We also made a day trip to Sedona. The town was highly touristy, as we expected, but we did get a great pizza and salad for lunch. The drive up and down the Oak Canyon road was fun and the views from the top were great.

(Right after we left the Flagstaff area, there was a terrible fire in the Oak Canyon area. We saw the smoke from the Grand Canyon.)

With a clean camper and a larder full of food (not to mention the fridge), we set off for Mormon Lake Lodge, site of the Overland Expo.  This year’s event was very successful with several thousand attendees. We parked in the Provan Tiger section, along with a Bengal that Mark Guild had brought and a Malayan LT.  Fred gave four presentations and was also took part in two roundtables, so Denise was responsible for showing our Malayan HT.  Each day produced a steady stream of interested persons, so it was a busy time and quite hard work!  However, all the visitors seemed to like the vehicles and were appreciative.

Tigers, old style and new.

Norlina Bleu, handing out Tiger literature. We had to explain that the cat was NOT included in the price.

Along with Robinson Fuso (and Jon and Emily) we then headed north to the Grand Canyon. (http://robinsonfuso.com/) We could not get a reservation for the North Rim Campsite, nor Point Sublime, but after a little research, we went into the Kaibab National Forest and camped on two of the Points on the Rainbow Rim Trail, overlooking the Canyon. With chairs placed in full view of the Canyon, it proved very pleasant to sit and enjoy an evening glass of wine. Our first campsite on North Timp Point was great. Our second, at Parissawampitts was a little more challenging but worked after Emily found a wonderful campsite. We enjoyed some great dirt roads, some walking and lots of great company. Denise also thoroughly enjoyed a one hour mule ride along the canyon rim on a greedy mule called Fancy.

Our last stop, barely in Arizona, was Monument Valley.  We set off to drive the circuit road, advertised as being unpaved and rough, for the full 17 miles and were soon exceedingly pleased that the Malayan drives so well off road. The road is indeed rough and reminded us of roads we have known and loved in Africa. Bleu, on the other hand, was not thrilled. He has decided he is not in favor of being an off road cat! He likes to ride on the dashboard when we are on unpaved roads as it bounces less but he keeps changing the settings on the GPS! But the drive was certainly worth it. It took us about 5 hours to make the tour and we loved every minute. The buttes and peaks are spectacular! We had a great day from a photography point of view with lots of amazing clouds as well as plenty of sunshine.

Rain at Monument Valley.

Obligatory portraits at the Mittens. Dog, selling jewelry.

Iconic shot, from John Ford’s Point.

 Ndeke Luka, with the dancers and the totem pole.

You could really make a Western here …

Tourists, calling it a day.

Dramatic clouds.

We regretfully left Santa Fe and headed to the Frijole Canyon of Bandelier National Monument, a site occupied until the 1400’s by the Ancestral Pueblo.  (http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm) There are remains of a pueblo village, Tyuonyi, which includes a circle of homes, plus several kivas (underground meeting rooms), two of which had been rebuilt, while the others appeared simply as dips in the ground and had not been touched. We also climbed up to view the cliff dwellings, including the Alcove House with its reconstructed kiva and ruins of cliff houses.  The views along the cavern were quite green, at least in comparison to the barrenness around it, due to the stream running through it. The views of the canyon itself, with the mesa behind it were spectacular.  We camped at a very nice campsite at the National Monument, though by the evening, the weather had changed and it was windy and cold.  It reminded us what a joy it is to have a warm Tiger in which to retreat!  The cliffs, where the houses were built, were formed by volcanic ash hardening after a massive eruption and we next went to see the caldera, at Valle Grande, which resulted from the eruption.  The caldera formed a huge grassland area at 10,000 feet, with occasional small “hills”, where the volcanic action continues.  The purported elk herds were absent without leave, though perhaps that was because it was snowing!  The weather on this trip seems to swing from one extreme to another with gay abandon.

 Reconstructed kiva called the “Alcove House.”

The Alcove House from the valley floor.

We then headed to the Chaco Cultural National Park. (http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm)  En route, in additional to snow, it hailed and rained on us, though never enough to do any good and wash any of the dust off!  Our trip to Chaco proved remarkably easy and the Tiger acquitted itself well on the dirt roads. Denise loved driving!  Upon arrival, we purchased our camping spot but were told we could only stay one night.  A pity, but we decided to make the most of our time and set off to take photos of Fajada Butte, an amazing structure all on its own and of great significance to the Chacoan peoples who lived there for more than 400 years.  Near the campsite were also some petroglyphs, hard to see, but worth it for the ambience.  How many campsites have ancient rock art?

Next day, we were able to talk our way into a second night’s camping (someone had left early), so we signed up for that and then set out to view the sites.  There are five in total and we only saw three before exhaustion set in.  We began by hiking in a ranger guided tour to Una Vida, a small great house, most of which was under our feet as it has not been excavated.  The ranger was informative and we learned a lot about the sites as a whole.  We then climbed the cliff to view the petroglyphs (and take photos of course).  We then saw Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito, both large sites with multiple buildings with many rooms and kivas, both the large Great Kivas and small kivas and round rooms.

It was a much warmer evening and Fred had energy to hike up to take evening photos of Fajada Butte.  I stayed behind to keep Blue company!  Blue is thriving as a camper cat and becoming more adventuresome all the time.  His leaps from the couch to the bed are quite amazing.

We left Chaco via dirt road, (this time with Fred driving) and were pleased again with Ndeke Luka’s stability.  We are headed to Arizona but stopped for the afternoon (and chores) in Gallup, NM at a very pleasant RV park on a Route 66 theme.  This is our first RV park for a week and we remain impressed with our constant solar power.  We have only plugged into RV park electrics on the three days in San Antonio when the temperature hit the upper 90’s. The air conditioning felt wonderful for sleeping!

 How often can you camp right next to ancient ruins?

Denise admires an ancestral Puebloan building sheltered by the rocks at the Chaco campground.

 Defaced rock carvings.

 The carvings are up on the the cliff.

 Sunset in the campground.

 Beautiful stonework.

 The massive ruins of Pueblo Bonito rise four stories tall.

 An excavated “great” kiva. All of these structures would have been underground.

 The next great rock that will fall.

 Unusual diagonal connection between rooms.

 Original roof/floor beams, hundreds of years old.

 Fajada (belted or sash) butte at sunset.