ALBUQUERQUE NM TO ASH FORK ARIZONA….ANOTHER FINE TRAVELING DAY & WE’RE ALMOST HOME :))

Dag Nabbit!!  Just after saying in Thursday’s post we probably would not be in another Cracker Barrel for 6 months there we were this morning in Gallup New Mexico less than 21 hours later seated for breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  Well, ya just don’t know do ya…………….

HAVE ALWAYS LIKED CRACKER BARREL’S AMBIENCE
Rained most of the night but quit about a half hour before we headed out about 6:40 a.m.  Nice to not have freezing cold morning temperatures for a change.  And did I mention we had our A/C on a couple days ago.  Yep, we’re on the desert floor now & it’s getting warmer.  Supposed to reach 88F in Congress Saturday.

So nice to see big storm clouds moving by in the opposite direction we were going.  Watched another great sunrise in my driver’s side mirror.  I-40 remained wet all the way to Gallup as we passed through intermittent rain showers.  Low fog in some far away areas & distant mountains were wrapped in sinewy Angel Hair.  Remember that’s the stuff we used to put on Christmas trees.  Watched for but never did see any rainbows as we passed through sunlit rain showers.  By the time we reached Gallup for breakfast we were in full sunshine with big white puffy clouds.  Nice:))
 
SUNRISE IN MY DRIVER’S SIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR
It was Kelly this time who mentioned there was a Cracker Barrel ahead of us in Gallup & that is how we ended up there.  Big breakfast which we later finished off for supper.  Around the corner from Cracker Barrel was a Walmart so popped in their for some groceries to take on home to Congress.  Turns out this is the same Walmart parking lot we stayed in last year on Halloween night.  The next morning we made the last leg of the journey down through the Chino Valley, Prescott, Yarnell, & home.  But not today………………….

BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THIS IS HOW THEY MAKE THOSE BIG CLOUDS OUT HERE:))


Our Ford E450 sure had another work-out today with all the moderate hills & grades as we I-40’d our way Westward.  Just love all the western scenery going by & the long 40 & 50 mile views to distant horizons & mountain tops.  And we are back in the land of long seemingly endless trains.  We can see them stretching & winding their miles long serpent like chain of train cars across the desert floor.  This is the land of big.  Big skies, sweeping panoramic desert landscapes, towering mountains, pine forests, & views in all directions that stretch eyeballs & imaginations to their fullest.  There may be those who do not like this kind of terrain & then there are those of us who just love it:))

 
AT LAST………….ARIZONA:))
By the time we reached Flagstaff around 3:30 this afternoon I was beginning to feel a  bit ker-pooped.  Knew we could push it & make Congress but it was going to be late afternoon & maybe even early evening.  That was just too late after a long day on the road to have to get water turned on in the house etc. etc.  And besides, morning light would be nicer.  Last year we arrived in late morning & I remember how nice that felt to be relaxed when we reached our house.  So today by the time we reached our I-40/Chino Valley turn off at Ash Fork we had made our decision.  We would stay in Ash Fork for the night & head for Congress at first light in a refreshed state of mind.

I THINK I CAN SEE ARIZONA
 
FIND THE LIZARD

A REST STOP AREA EAST OF FLAGSTAFF ARIZONA
Ash Fork has been nothing more to us than the place we either get on or off I-40 so we knew nothing about the little settlement here.  Kind of a dusty little western town with a short main street, a museum, & a tourist info stop.  We were looking for a quiet little hideaway without much luck when we spotted a small RV Park tucked away down a stretch of road that I believe was part of the original Route 66.  Awwww, what the heck, let’s just do it.  

FLAGSTAFF AZ AHEAD & THOSE ARE THE SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS
 
EAST OF ASH FORK ON I-40
The I-40 GRAND CANYON RV PARK was a former KOA that had fallen on hard times.  Visible on the north side of I-40 traffic noise is minimal.  We are parked on gravel under a swatch of shady Utah Juniper trees.  It’s a short pull through site & would not be conducive to anything longer than what we are with our 26’ rig & Jeep.  I like this park because it is not fancy, at least not where we are.  And I like the fact we are the only transients here.  A few other travel trailers & 5’vers look a little more permanent.  Good Verizon signal but no antennae TV channels.  30 amp & water.  Central dump station.  The off season rate was $25 for the night.

 
OUR I-40 GRAND CANYON RV PART SPOT FOR THE NIGHT

We will roll out in the morning, cross over I-40 & begin our descent down through the Chino Valley.  We’ll slide quietly around the northwest side of Prescott & slip our way down through Skull Valley’s twisting & winding roads to Kirkland & sleepy little Yarnell.  We will gleefully tumble ourselves down the infamously steep & winding Yarnell Hill to our dusty little Adobe house tucked away somewhere on Congress’s Ghost Town Rode near some old western cemeteries & a century+ old semi-abandoned Gold Mine.  Part’s of our house were built from old lumber scrounged from that mine site years ago.  It will be soooooooo nice to be back to our South West home once again.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh:))
 
IN THE MORNING WE WILL TRAVEL THROUGH THE CHINO VALLEY AHEAD  

OUR FIRST CACTUS SIGHTING OF THE SEASON
GROANER’S CORNER:((  
And, in the word’s of Rodney Dangerfield…….

• I was such an ugly kid...When I played in the sandbox, the cat kept covering me up.
• I could tell my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.
• I was such an ugly baby...My mother never breast fed me. She told me that she only liked me as a friend.
• I'm so ugly...My father carries around a picture of the kid who came with his wallet.
• When I was born, the doctor came into the waiting room and said to my father, "I'm sorry. We did everything we could, but he pulled through."
• I'm so ugly...My mother had morning sickness, after I was born.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

RATON NM TO ALBUQUERQUE NM AND WE EVEN GOT TO MEET RETIRED ROD ALONG THE WAY:))

GREAT TO MEET RETIRED ROD & BISCUIT TODAY:))

We were up well before the sun again but decided to drag ourselves around as slow as we could until first light.  Now that we are in the South West we don’t want to miss any of the scenery we sit around 6 months waiting to see.  No need to check weather maps anymore because weather is always the same.  Clear sunny skies, warm days, & cold nights. (Update: I spoke too soon & we got nailed with gusty winds, rain, thunder & lightning tonight)

OUR LAST FEW MOMENTS AT THE RATON KOA

On the road at 8 a.m. & really enjoyed the drive south on I-25.  Sun was already up a bit & into it’s latter sunrise phase.  Traffic was light as we made our way through huge rolling hills & grassland.  Really liked the stretch between Las Vegas New Mexico & Santa Fe with it’s sweeping valley views, twists & turns.  Our Ford V-10 was working overtime hauling us up long grades & dumping us down the other side.  It’s those long view vistas we miss in Ontario.  It’s nothing here to top a rise & see clearly 10, 20, or 30 miles off into the distance clear across a valley from one side to the other.  High plateaus & mesas covered in Pinion Pine.  Again, Autumn Cottonwoods were peaking their yellow majesty along valley floors for miles.   

A LATE SUNRISE FROM MY DRIVER’S WINDOW

  

CRUISING DOWN I-25 THROUGH NEW MEXICO GRASSLANDS

Santa Fe New Mexico sprawls it’s way along one of those large valleys.  We could overlook it to the west as we passed by on I-25.  Looked different than what I had imagined.  Did not see any tall buildings anywhere like in the core of a downtown one might expect.

 

ROLLING BY SANTA FE NEW MEXICO

I hadn’t had any breakfast & I had Cracker Barrel on the brain.  Kelly checked her sources & found one at the northern edge of Albuquerque right on I-25.  We had us a plan & we had us a destination.  Exit 231 wound us off the Interstate & minutes later we were in Cracker Barrels parking lot.  It was high noon.  Not often we order the same thing but today’s luncheon special for $5.99 was turkey & dressing with mashed potatoes & gravy plus a side order of cole slaw, a couple corn bread muffins & 2 biscuits.  We pretty much wolfed the whole works down in a matter of minutes.  It was just that yummy.  We both had to be wheeled out on fridge carts & dumped into our Motorhome. 

POSSIBLY OUR LAST TIME AT CRACKER BARREL FOR ANOTHER 6 MONTHS

From reading Retired Rod’s post this morning we knew he was also somewhere in Albuquerque staying at a place called the American RV Park.  For some reason we thought it was close to downtown so knew we wouldn’t be heading down there.  Traffic through Albuquerque was already hectic & with our Garmin Gerti GPS yelling directions at me again we just kept rolling.  Figured we would get in touch with Rod through his blog later & suggest he come on up to Congress this winter for a nice ride on his bike.  Or even better, bring Biscuit along in the car.

ROLLING WEST THROUGH ALBUQUERQUE

Figured we would head for a familiar overnight spot just west of Albuequerque.  A spot we have stayed at while in transit 3 times before.  It’s the easy to find Route 66 Casino right on I-40.  We also knew of another familiar spot just a few miles before the Casino.  Camping World.  All RV’ers love Camping World & we are no exception.  It was while exiting off I-40 that we spotted the American RV Park on the east side of the Interstate.  Aha, so that’s where Retired Rod is hiding out for a few days on his way to Phoenix.  But first, Camping World.

STORM A COMIN TONIGHT METHINKS

 

GETTING SLEEPY……OOOOPS, ALL GONE:))

I seriously wonder if there any RV’ers out there who have gone into Camping World & not come out without having their wallets lighter by a hundred dollars+ or so.  Yep, happened to us again.  Last year it was a new BBQ.  Today it was 2 new Gravity chairs for our Congress home.  And another Isotonic foam pad for my over the cab bunk.  I have not been sleeping well on Winnies too firm mattress pad.

 

YEP, OUR STORAGE BIN IS FULL NOW:))

The afternoon was getting on so we slipped over to see if we could find us a RETIRED ROD on the other side of I-40.  Well, he wasn’t hard to find.  Right up near the road, Motorcycle parked out front & a bike trailer on the back of his Allegro Bay.  Kelly went to the door & Rod recognized her right away.  Now here’s a fella it’s easy to keep a conversation going with.  Right up front & friendly as heck.  Got to meet the charming little Biscuit too & of course her & Pheebs got along just fine.  Rod & I have been keeping track of each other’s blogs for a fair few years now & it was nice to meet the fella behind all the words today.  Said he might just swing on by Congress this winter sometime:))

ROD WAS JUST BACK FROM A RIDE TO THE MEDICAL CENTER

 

 

TRYING TO GET THE GUYS LINED UP FOR A PICTURE

 

It was only another 5 or 6 miles west up I-40 to the Route 66 Casino.  Grabbed a tank of gas at the 66 Gas Bar & headed on over to a large parking area where RV’ers generally congregate for the night.  Only a couple other rigs in here.  Looks like we could be driving in some rain tomorrow.  Sky is cloudy & dark to the west & our radar map shows rain headed our way.

 

STORMY CLOUDS A GATHERIN 

WHEWWWWW, CLOSE CALL FOR THAT WHITE PICK-UP TRUCK

 

We are close enough to our home in Congress now to make it by Friday afternoon sometime.  We may do that or break it up into a couple days.  We’ll see how it goes.  Want to thank folks for suggesting some camping spots in the area plus a tram ride in Sandia.  That Sandia idea & seeing the lights of Albuquerque is now on our Bucket List for next time in the area.  Thanks Moonfly13:))

TONIGHT’S SUNSET HERALDS A COMING STORM

GROANER’S CORNER:((    Three old timers chatting at restaurant! They sat down at a table while waiting to be served. One of them said; Hay Jake! Isn’t this your 50th anniversary? Jake replies! Yep. Well, the old timer asked, what are you planning on doing? Jake replies, well! I remember taking my wife to Arizona on our 25th anniversary. The other old timer asked, Oh ya, so what are your plans for your 50th anniversary? Jake replies, I’m going back to pick her up!!!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.