Frontier Movietown Movie Set Museum & Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

The North Rim round trip and hiking at 9.000 feet wore us out so we stayed around Kanab. First we toured the Frontier Movietown Movie Set Museum. Kanab has been called Little Hollywood because a lot of western movies and television series have been filmed in the area. To name a few; Daniel Boone, Gunsmoke, Windrunner: A Spirited Journey, Planet of the Apes, El Dorado, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Lone Ranger, Sergeants 3, and Stagecoach. Sergeants 3 and Oceans 11 were the only two films that starred the entire Rat Pack (Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford).

Here is the entrance:














Here are some of the movie sets.






























Next we journeyed to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, which are the only sand dunes on the Colorado Plateau. One of the unique features is the color of the sand. The sand originates from Navajo Sandstone beds in the area. The color results from a high concentration of iron oxides. Although this type of sand is widespread in southern Utah, no where else has the wind piled the sand into the majestic dunes found here.

Here is a picture of the dunes:

















Here is a picture of the consistently fine texture of the sand. The wind is amplified through a nearby gap in the Vermilion Cliffs. The wind is extremely selective; if the particles are too small they blow away as dust, while particles too large cannot be moved the distance from the gap to the resulting dunes.


















Photos from this sightseeing day have been added to the Kanab Set on Flickr.


A side note is that we have posted info on Ron's Mobile Service on the Carriage Yahoo Group, Escapees, RV.net and disputed the credit card charge. We have requested assistance from the 'RV Action Line' from Trailer Life magazine. Thanks to tips we will be notifying the park, Norcold and the BBB.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Mobile Service horror story

And this close to Halloween :-)

Sorry this post is so long. The Executive Summary is that Ron's Mobile RV Service in Colorado Springs CO is unprofessional, rude, overcharges and should be avoided at all costs.

We have utilized RV mobile service companies a number of times and have found all of them to be professional and courteous except one, Ron's Mobile RV Service in Colorado Springs CO. To date the standard practice has been one service call fee per event. If multiple trips are needed there has only been the single service fee and we settle up at the end. Our cooling unit in our Norcold refrigerator failed while in Colorado Springs and Ron's was recommended by the park. Ron himself came out and diagnosed the problem and we were charged a $75 service fee and one hour labor totaling $170 which he said was the minimum charge. Since it was the weekend Norcold could not be contacted.

Bright and early Monday morning we called Norcold to inquire about the warranty since there is a lot of confusion on the length of the warranty. In 2009 Norcold went from a 3 year warranty to a 1 year warranty but since we own a Carriage Cameo that has a two year warranty Norcold gives a 2 year warranty on refrigerators installed in a Carriage. We were less than two weeks past the warranty date. Norcold indicted that they would "probably" provide the cooling unit since it was so close to the end of the warranty but they weren't sure if they would cover the labor. Norcold needed to confirm the diagnosis with Ron's Mobile Service so they asked me to have Ron's call them. Which we did so we talked to Norcold before Ron's ever did.

Norcold did provide the cooling unit free and shipped the unit and Ron's came out and installed it. As they were leaving we were charged another $75 fee which we weren't sure was service or labor. At the time were were not sure if Norcold was going to pay for the labor so we thought it was a reasonable charge of $245 total to install the cooling unit since it took them about 2 hours. Later when we were looking over the Norcold paperwork it indicated that Norcold would cover 4 hours of labor. A lot of times with mobile service companies we pay the provider and then we get reimbursed so we made copies of the receipts and mailed it to Norcold. A few days later Norcold called back and said they already paid Ron's 4 hours labor.

Thinking we were due a partial refund we called Ron's and was treated to the most rude, unprofessional conduct we have ever encountered. First of all according to Ron we should have been happy with Ron forcing Norcold (his words) to give us a free cooling unit, which they already told us that they would do anyway but Ron did not know this. Also since it was a very expensive cooling unit "we got because of him" we should just forget about what money we paid them. He does not know us very well, do he?

We are going to pursue a partial refund from Ron's and make sure that this behavior is made known to the RV'ng community.

Wish us luck,

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Our first sightseeing adventure from Kanab was the North Rim of the Grand Canyon located in Arizona about 90 miles away. With the winding roads it took us almost 2 and a half hours but the drive was scenic. We made one stop on the way at the Le Fevre overlook on Highway 89A. Most of the park offices were closed except for the Visitors Information Center and Bookstore but the roads, trails, and scenic overviews were accessible. The weather was perfect, in the mid 60's with sunny, clear skies.

We drove first to the Visitors Information Center and walked on the trail to Bright Angel Point which is a one mile paved trail. But let us tell you that hiking at 9000 ft. is not fun, even the paved trails seemed uphill both ways and this trail was way uphill on the way back. Here are a couple of photos along this trail.





























We next drove to Cape Royal stopping at scenic overlooks along the way. We took the paved trail to Angel's Window and Cape Royal. Here are a couple of photos for this portion.




























































We have to be honest in that we think we liked the Utah National Parks (Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef) just as much or better than the North Rim. It's not that the North Rim was not beautiful, which it was, it is just that Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef were so amazing and much more than we expected.

Photos have been uploaded to the Kanab Utah set on Flickr.com

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Torrey Utah

Now that we have left Torrey Utah we can reflect on the location which is remote and you may not have heard of Torrey but it is a great place to visit. Located on Highway 24 which is a scenic byway so just getting there is neat. Torrey is the starting point for great tours of the Capitol Reef National Park and Highway 12 scenic byway which was just completed in 1985 turning a 200 mile journey from Boulder to 37 miles. We got great pies at the Gifford House in the park and great food at Capitol Reef Inn and Café (not to be confused with the Capitol Reef Restaurant in the Best Western). We wanted to try the Café Diablo which only serves lunch and supper since it was always busy when we drove by but we never did, oh well, have to save something for next time.

Like we said a very small remote town so no grocery stores, closest is 18 miles away, Chuck Wagon General Store has enough to get you thru the week. The area has better cell phone reception than some areas we have been but still very remote so spotty.

We enjoyed our stay in Torrey and the surrounding area so put this on your list of places to see.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Almost made it to Arizona

We drove from Torrey to Kanab Utah on Wednesday October 19th. Kanab is very near the Utah-Arizona border. Kanab is convenient to three National Parks but unconvenient to any one of them as it is about 90 minutes to 2 hours to a park.

It was another beautiful scenic drive, we chose not to take Highway 12 which was a little longer and mountain driving but took 24 to 62 to 89 which was more of a gradual change in elevation. We are at the Kanab RV Corral in a 50a FHU site with a great line of sight for our satellite dish and a scenic location even though in the heart of the city. Although it is a nice park we have gotten used to having a little more space between sites or having the park mostly to ourselves. It is kind of neat that we are parked next to another Carriage Cameo.

Here is a couple of views of the Cameo in the park with the scenery all around us.






























While here we plan on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Although a lot of the stuff at the North Rim closes in mid-October the roads to the scenic overlooks are still open so we are heading there today.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Utah National Park Tour: Capitol Reef National Park

Capitol Reef National Park was established to protect the grand and colorful geologic feature, the Waterpocket Fold, a nearly 100-mile long warp in the Earth’s crust. The most scenic portion of the Fold, found near the Fremont River, is known as Capitol Reef: capitol for the white domes of Navajo sandstone that resemble building domes, and reef for the rocky cliffs which are a barrier to travel. When we drove thru Capitol Reef National Park on our way from Moab and did not see many cars and when we had the RV park mostly to ourselves we thought we pretty much would have Capitol Reef National Park all to ourselves as well. So Thursday we did chores.

Friday we went to the visitors center and although there were more cars we thought it wouldn't be too bad. We toured the visitors center and then watched the film. At the start of the film we were among two couples that were there. By the end of the film the theater was full and the visitors center was jam packed and the parking lot was too. We changed our minds and did the short day on Saturday and the long day on Monday.

One thing you notice here is how far you can see, the air is so clear that there is 267 mile visibility on a clear day. That contributes to the awesome scenery being able to see up close then the rocky cliffs and then the mountains in the distance all so very clear.

Here are some photos from our tours. The first is our drive from Torrey to the Park.

Panorama Point on the way to the Park



 










Cassidy Arch on the Grand Wash unpaved road.



 











Hiking in the Capitol Gorge



 















Another arch, the Hickman Natural Bridge at the end of a 1 mile moderate trail



 












Here is our Highway 12 Scenic Byway tour where you can see the clarity and part of the Waterpocket Fold in the left part of the photo.



 












Photos have been uploaded to the Torrey Utah set on Flickr.com

This park is remote and has not gotten the visibility of other parks but it is sure worth a visit.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Full-timing with 3 cats - life on the road with an OCD cat

Every once in a while we blog on how it is full-timing in a 359 sq. ft. 5th Wheel with 3 cats.

We suspect that all cats are a little OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) but Tiger is full blown OCD. It took us a while to realize this but once we did and once Bob started doing the same going to bed routine it has gotten easier to live with Tiger. A couple of recent events just highlight Tiger's OCD condition. Every night Bob gives Tiger dental and hairball treats, giving the dental treats first because Tiger likes the hairball treats best. One night Bob put the hairball treats in first and Tiger gave him quite a look. Luckily she didn't make Bob take the hairball treats out and ate both treats after the dental ones were added.

















The other event concerns the closet doors. Even though Tiger may not want in the closet if the two doors are not in the middle she will paw and cry at the door that is too close after eating her treats. Once it is slid to the middle she is OK with it and jumps up on the bed to go to sleep.


















Life is sure interesting with 3 cats on the road but we frequently make comments as to how nice it is to have them with us, wait we have to go break up a fight, darn cats!!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Canyonlands National Park

While in Utah we visited Canyonlands National Park near Moab. If you do not have much time the trip to the visitor center and the views within walking distance of the visitor center are worth the drive.

You know you are in a remote National Park when you see a sign as you are entering says "No Gas, No Lodging, No Groceries" among other things. All the toilets in the park are of the outhouse variety even at the Visitor Center. The remoteness just adds to the scenic beauty. Even though close to Arches National Park the scenery is vastly different. Canyonlands was formed by the workings of the better known Colorado River and the lesser known Green River.

Canyonlands preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes. Although this is a primitive desert the landscape has been shaped by water.

















The colors of the canyon are amazing







 







Canyonlands also has an arch called the Mesa Arch.



 












Looking through the arch you can see the canyon below and the snow capped mountains in the distance.



 












We did not know much about Canyonlands when we started our Utah National Parks Tour so were were pleasantly surprised how scenic and how different from Arches National Park that it was.

Photos from Canyonlands have been uploaded to the Moab Utah set on Flickr.com.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Moab Utah dining

The first thing you notice about Moab dining is that the "Moab Dining Guide" is everywhere. This free publication lists most of the restaurants with menus which helped us a lot in deciding where to eat. We wish that more places would offer this type of publication.

The second thing you notice about Moab dining is that there are a lot of breakfast only places and a lot of places that are open only at 5 p.m. This is due to the vast amount of recreation activities in the area with 2 National Parks, countless 4x4 trails, mountain climbing and bicycling. There was a bike race while we were in Moab so there were bikers everywhere.

The hit of Moab dining had to be the Jailhouse Café, which is in the historic Moab Jailhouse. Open only for breakfast until 1 p.m. the Jailhouse Café serves excellent food including old fashioned ginger pancakes which were to die for. Soul food bacon and a spinach and mushroom and feta omelet were also good. Try this place out if you are ever in Moab except on Tuesdays because it is closed.

You know we like our Diners so we had to try the Moab Diner which is open all day and serves breakfast all day. Outside of New Mexico Bob had one of the best green chile omelets he has had. Jo had great blueberry pancakes so add this place to your list if in the area. We also ate at the Pancake Haus which is another breakfast only place that is good and got carryout pizza from Paradox Pizza which we also recommend.

Moab is a great place for scenery and for places to eat.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Yet another scenic campground

We left Moab yesterday and journeyed to Torrey Utah. The drive started out near the colors of Arches National Park then we hit the rugged desert and then the beauty of Capitol Reef National Park as we drove through the park on Scenic Byway Utah 24 to get to Torrey.

We are at Sand Creek RV Park (50a FHU sites) and it sure is scenic. The parks out west are some of the most scenic that we have stayed at and the drives between parks are very scenic also. One thing that we have noticed in our travels in Utah is that we have seen more rental RVs than at any other location that we have been in a little over 2 years of full-timing.

We plan to visit Capitol Reef National Park while here but we also plan to catch up on some housecleaning and laundry and some relaxing. Even folks that full-time need a vacation now and then. The weather forecast looks promising with sunny skies and highs in the low 70's and lows in the low 40's so we can pick and choose which days to go to Capitol Reef carefully avoiding the weekend.

Here are a couple of photos of the Cameo at Sand Creek RV Park.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Arches National Park

Our first stop on our National Parks tour took us to Arches National Park near Moab Utah. Arches is known for over 2000 natural sandstone arches including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to vibrant and varying sandstone colors and formations. Delicate Arch is the most photographed arch in the world and is Utah's State Symbol.
















This is a living park as 43 arches have collapsed since 1970. The most fragile arch is probably Landscape Arch, which since 1991 three slabs of sandstone measuring 30, 47, and 70 feet long have fallen from the thinnest section prompting the Park Service to close the trail that once passed beneath it. The Visitors Center has an introductory film that includes amateur footage taken when the 70' section collapsed. Landscape Arch is one of the world's longest arches.









Just entering the park at the Visitors Center is scenic and incidentally the lowest elevation of the park. As we drive along the many paved roads and walk the trails to the many arches two thoughts came to mind; all Politicians should be required to view our beautiful country at least once a year so maybe they wouldn't screw things up so much, and gazing upon these wonders the only conclusion that you can make is that there has to be a creator to come up with this amazing landscape. We generally try to avoid Politics and Religion in our blog and hope we have not offended anyone but we also try to report on what we see and what we were thinking (and on food of course!!).














Along the way you will see the Windows area






















Balanced Rock















And other arches
















Photos from Arches National Park have been uploaded to the Moab Utah set on Flickr.com

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Another scenic campground

We are currently at the OK RV Park in Moab Utah. While here we have visited Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park which were wonderful and which we will blog about shortly. The next National Parks that we will be visiting; Capitol Reef, Zion, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon have there work cut out for them as Arches and Canyonlands have been amazing.

Here are some photos of the campground we are staying at. This is the view from our back window.
















This is the view from the front of our RV.

















Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Rifle Falls State Park near Rifle CO

WOW what a neat area! Besides sitting outside and enjoying the scenery and reading and trips into Rifle for shopping and eating we also did some sightseeing while in western Colorado. Just a short drive from our campsite in the Rifle Gap State Park is Rifle Falls State Park. Rifle Falls is a triple falls that is about 70' tall.
















There is an easy trail to the top of the falls that takes you past some caves.

















The view from the top of the water cascading over the falls and the valley below is breathtaking.

















Even though it was a cloudy day and we got sprinkled on at first and then rained on at the end it was still incredible scenery. We are now in Utah to see the five National Parks there which we have never seen and understand has great scenery but it will be tough to beat what we have seen here in western Colorado.

The trail takes your right over the falls and then you can take a steeper trail back to the parking lot. The tip is to go see the falls first and then take the easy trail up and the steep trail down.

Before we conclude our blogging on western Colorado we have to mention the Creekbend Bistro in Rifle. We had one lunch and one breakfast there and wish we had eaten more times. The food was fresh and tasty and we highly recommend this place. We are already talking about our return visit in two years to Colorado and how we must visit this area again.

Photos from Rifle Falls have been uploaded to the Rifle Gap State Park set on Flickr.com

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Rifle Gap State Park near Rifle CO

We already have blogged on how Rifle Gap State Park is a dead zone for phone, internet and even local television but it is worth it. The drive from Denver is very scenic, maybe the most scenic we have been on so far. The aspens were in full fall glory and the other colors were tremendous. The highlight of the drive though had to be Glenwood Canyon which was amazing. We do have to say that the rest stops west of Denver are not very big rig friendly, there was even one that stated no trucks allowed. The two that we stopped at were doable but barely enough room to get in and out but not comfortably.

Once we got close to the destination our GPS took us on some back roads off of the Interstate; when you see 'livestock on road' signs you know you are probably off the beaten path. This path was shorter that is for certain but not sure if it was faster since it was narrow county roads with lots of intersections and 15 mph curves.

Rifle Gap State Park is very scenic with a reservoir nestled near mountains. We had a spot backed in with a view out our back window of both.
















We had a great patio area with great views of the gap, reservoir, and mountains while we were outside reading.

















The interior of the park is asphalt roads with a concrete pad at each site. There is lots of room between sites and our satellite dish got a signal so for us this is a great park and one we will definitely visit again. The only downer is that the water pressure was a little low.

Photos from this area and more from Colorado Springs have been uploaded to Flickr.com

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We are now in Utah

About 200 miles from Rifle Gap State Park is Moab Utah which we drove on Wednesday October 5th. The scenery on this drive in Colorado was beautiful. With ragged cliffs and the Colorado River darting in and out of sight it was another great drive. Not only have we added another state to our 'States Visited' map but we are also in another picturesque campground, the OK RV Park in Moab, it is raining now so we cannot take a picture.

We wondered if western Colorado's scenery would carry over into Utah and it did not. Eastern Utah along I-70 was rugged desert terrain but then we started seeing the colorful mountains which have drawn us to Utah.

We don't appear to be in a dead zone so will be catching up on our blogging and phone calls and email while we are here along with seeing Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We are in a dead zone

We traveled on Thursday the 29th to Rifle Gap State Park and we are in the worst dead zone we have encountered in our more than 2 years of full-timing. We have Verizon and usually have some service no matter where we go but here we mostly have no bars on phone service but sometimes better, our internet is also very spotty. Every once in awhile Bob gets an email on his phone but by the time he picks up the phone there is no connectivity. We raised the TV antenna last night just to check and see if there was any local televisions and there were none. So there will be no more blog entries for a week or so or email or phone or local television. Luckily we have our GPS for whats that worth and a road atlas so we could at least navigate to town : - )

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Touring Colorado Springs

At first when something goes wrong with the RV we tend to overreact. When we realize that in our old sticks and bricks the refrigerator broke or we needed new tires we get over it pretty quickly, maybe it is because the size of the RV compared to the house and the closeness of everything.

Most of the time when you are in Colorado Springs it is mostly clear and the mountains dominate the view. Pikes Peak is a good navigation tool as you always know which direction is west.

While Jo's brother and sister-in-law were visiting we toured the Olympic Training Center, which is at the former home of ENT Air Force Base and the headquarters of the North American Defense Command, Jo's brother was in the Air Force in the 60's and he reported to ENT for his time at Cheyenne Mountain. In July 1978 this site officially became USOC administrative headquarters and provides housing, dining, recreational facilities and other services for up to 557 coaches and athletes at one time on the complex.

Entering the complex there is an  interesting sculpture. We first toured the Visitors Center and the Hall of Fame while waiting for our free tour to begin. The tour began with an inspiring 12 minute film about the Olympics.and then a 45 minute walking tour where you tour the grounds and see some of the training facilities. After the tour we of course walked through the gift shop but being full-timers with no space to spare we were able to avoid buying anything.















Next we visited the Air Force Academy concentrating on the Visitors Center and Chapel. We have not toured the other military academies but we cannot imagine a more scenic location than this one. The drive from the gate to the Visitors Center is picturesque and enjoyable. The Barry Goldwater Visitors Center had displays on the history of the academy which was opened in 1958. Construction began in 1955 and a temporary location at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver was utilized until 1958.

From the Visitors Center you can take a 1/3 mile trail to the Chapel which houses 4 Chapels; Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish and Protestant. The Chapel is near the dorms and although we never saw formations we saw a lot of cadets heading for athletics and other activities while we were there. The Academy houses 4,000 cadets and upon graduation they become First Lieutenants in the United States Air Force.









We have good news on the refrigerator, the cooling unit has been delivered and it will be installed today but we did not let not having a refrigerator stop us from enjoying the beautiful Colorado Springs area.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Update on our refrigerator

After a weekend of troubleshooting it was determined that our cooling unit was the culprit for the problems on our Norcold 1210 refrigerator. Over the weekend Bob researched the length of the warranty and it was confusing; Good Sam's Extended Service Plan believes it is 3 years, while our paperwork showed 1 year. When Monday morning rolled around Bob called Norcold and asked about the warranty. Norcold said that any units built after 2009 had the 1 year warranty while prior to 2009 had 3 years but since it was a Carriage Cameo the warranty was 2 years to match the Carriage warranty.

So the good news is that it is a 2 year warranty but the bad news is that our 2 year warranty expired 2 weeks before. The great news is that since we were so close to being under warranty Norcold will provide the cooling unit at no charge we just have to pay for labor. The part has been ordered and has shipped. In the meantime we are enjoying the Colorado Springs area while our refrigerated stuff is in Styrofoam coolers and our frozen stuff in the freezer with dry ice. A side effect of this is that we are eating at home more often as we eat the stuff we had on hand.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Why does it always happen on weekends?

We have had a string of adventures from the tires to the ladder and now our refrigerator has quit working. Here it is Saturday and we cannot call Norcold the refrigerator manufacturer or Good Sams for our extended warranty. We won't say it always happens on a weekend or when you can't call anybody but it seems that it happens more often than not.

We are now in Colorado Springs and hopefully we will be here long enough to get the refrigrator fixed but we won't find that out until Monday. We plan to visit Jo's aunt and cousins while we are here. An unexpected treat is that Jo's brother and sister-in-law drove from Overland Park KS to see her and her aunt. We also need to deliver a printer and other supplies to Jo's great niece and her family that we picked up in Joliet from Jo's nephew.

A little bit of dry ice and some food lost and even the trauma of a possible expensive refrigerator repair cannot dampen our enthusiasm for the scenery, family, and great food that we expect in Colorado. We are thankful that we just signed up for an extended warranty.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

South Dakota in our rear view mirror

We did not do much blogging in South Dakota as we were on the go so much so this is intended to catch up on our South Dakota fun.

Our first stop was Chamberlain which was really a brief stopover. There is a can't miss sight to see nonetheless, the Rest Stop near Chamberlain which houses a free museum to Lewis and Clark who camped here on the way west and the way home. This is a very good museum and would be worth an admission fee. We had a very good burger and pie at Al's Oasis while in the area.

We next journeyed to Custer which gave us a good locale to visit both Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. We camped at a really nice park, Broken Arrow Campground and Horse Camp, which is outside of Custer. With the remoteness and the views of the Black Hills and the horses this is one of our favorite campgrounds.

We were so excited to see Mount Rushmore which has been a wish for us for years but we were a little nervous thinking that no way could it live up to our expectations. Not to worry Mount Rushmore was amazing. From Custer we took the Iron Mountain Road through Custer State Park. The Iron Mountain road is known for single lane tunnels cut into the rock that provide dramatic views of Mount Rushmore.
















Entering Mount Rushmore is breathtaking.


















The visitors center had a film and the exhibits were neat. We walked on the Presidents Trail which took you to the base where you  look right up George's nose.

















We next visited the Crazy Horse Memorial. The scale of which is amazing, the four Presidents could fit on what will be Crazy Horse's hair just to the left of the finished face.
















When finished Crazy Horse will be taller than the Washington Monument. It is interesting to see the sculpture of what it will look like when finished.

















Another interesting fact is that this is all private funding, no government funding has been accepted or ever will be accepted. Korczak Ziolkowski who started sculpting in 1948 had previously worked on Mount Rushmore. A lot of people may not know that Mount Rushmore is an unfinished work since government funding ended and Korczak did not want that fate for the Crazy Horse Memorial. Since his death his wife and children have continued the work and have maintained that philosophy. There is more than just a mountain carving as the site has a great visitors center and museums and sculptors studio, etc.

We took a bus tour which allowed us to get even closer. Plan on spending a whole day here as this site is amazing.

















Custer also has some great places to eat; Our Place and the Baker's Bakery and Cafe were excellent for breakfast. The highlight eating wise though had to be the Purple Pie Place which has the best Strawberry Rhubarb pie we have ever had, this may be the best pie place ever.

After much to short a time in South Dakota we are now in Wyoming, adding yet another state to our states visited map.

Photos have been uploaded to the Chamberlain and Custer photo sets on http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

We will definitely have to return to South Dakota and the Black Hills. With such a short time we barely scratched the surface of things to see. Someone told us that you could spend a month in the Black Hills and still not see everything and we now believe that.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Excited to be in South Dakota

We drove yesterday from Minnesota to South Dakota and have added another state to our map. We are heading towards Mount Rushmore tomorrow and with that will add another time zone moving into Mountain Time. On this trip we will have one more time change and that will be when we get back to Arizona since they do not observe Daylight Savings Time.

Mount Rushmore has been at the top of both of our lists since before we got married so we are excited to finally get to see the Presidents. We plan to see Crazy Horse while there but this is a short stay as we are hotfooting it to Denver for Bob's tests later this month. We will not be able to see all that we want to see n the area so we will just have to come back. We were talking with another couple recently who have been fulltiming about the same time we have and we agreed that there really has not been a place that we would not want to go back to if we get the chance. This country is so amazing from the little towns to the big cities, to the scenery and the historical places you can visit, and the food which has been incredible.

We plan to bum around Chamberlain SD today which is a Missour River community that looks neat and we will explore that today and then it is off to Mount Rushmore tomorrow. Traveling this much we always keep an eye on the weather and try to travel on good weather days but a sunny forecast turns rainy and a rainy forecast turns sunny so you just can't trust the forecasts. We swear the only folks that can be wrong as often as they are and keep their jobs are the weather forecasters and politicians :-)

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Hotfooting it (another State, another Time Zone)

A little bit of housekeeping, we lost 2 days from our planned schedule due to the new tires and then 3 days due the ladder damage so we decided to hotfoot for a few trips to make up some time. Well hotfooting at least for us which is about 250 miles and staying one night. Doing this we added another State for a stopover in Joliet Illinois which put us in the Central Time Zone after being in the Eastern Time Zone since early July.

After one night stops in IL, IA and then the next day to our current location of Welcome MN we know why we don't particularly like that type of travel. We like to take it easy traveling and if Bob did not have medical tests in Denver scheduled later in September we would be taking this a lot easier.

With that type of traveling we have not had time for sightseeing, we will save that for when we have a few days near Mount Rushmore. We did add a few photos from our trip to the RV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart IN to Flickr.com. Studebaker fans should take note of the 1 ton Studebaker truck on display. We forgot our camera in the mad dash to be ready at 7a for Carriage to pick up our Cameo so Bob took photos with his new Droid3, and yes we said 7a :-(

Till next time,

Bob and Jo