Monday Oct 21, 2024 White Spar Campground (Prescott AZ) to Las Vegas

Very quiet campground given we are so close to Prescott. Coffee and then a quick stop at McD’s for the breakfast sandwich we were cheated out of yesterday. Today we go to Las Vegas, where Deb has not been and I was last there at a trade show 30 years ago. I also met our daughter there in 2015 and we rented a Harley and rode around for a week.

Before leaving town we went to Watson Lake / The Dells which is a beautiful lake with odd round rock formations. One or two people there. The campground is closed for the season but the boat launch and park are open. Nice to have the place to ourselves.

Rt 89 took us directly north until we hit I-40 at Ash Fork. This road is pretty remote so you have to watch your gas. I-40 was busy but quick and we did a quick side loop to Seligman, AZ which is an old Rt 66 town. Lots of 1950-60 Americana there.

Then back on the I-40 since we wanted to get to Las Vegas in time to go into the city and see the sights.

We got to the Las Vegas RV Resort around 2:00 and checked in. A friend recommended it and it is indeed very nice. Our van was the smallest thing here.

We got an Uber to the Sphere, which we decided not to do since we hadn’t planned on it and also were too cheap to pay the $100+ a head. Better done at a later trip. Then we walked “the strip”.

First stop was The Venetian where they have boats with singing drivers that will take you in and out of the compound. All the shops were new and the casino was full, like all of the casinos.

Next stop was The Paris where they have a really big Eiffel Tower. Looked pretty new and well done. Then the Flamingo which was a little run down, but still busy. Then we tried to stop at Caesars Palace where I had spent a week at 30 years ago but it was hard to tell how you even got in. Then the Bellagio and watched one of the fountain shows. We decided to get some dinner and then walk the strip again after dark. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp on the third floor balcony which was a great place to watch all the action down on the strip.

After dinner we went back to the Ballagio and watched the fountain show again with all the lights. Pretty spectacular. The crowds were double what they had been earlier today and it was fun to see all the crazy people on the streets at night.

We ended up back at the Venetian where we called an Uber and rode back to the RV park.

At our quiet spot back at the park we realized that Las Vegas is meant to max out all of your senses. Sight, sound, smell, vision, the whole works. Contrast that to where we hope to end up tomorrow night, somewhere on Rt-50, the loneliest road in America.

Sunday Oct 20, 2024 Bisbee to Prescott

 

It’s been a while since our last camping trip, Colorado in July. I took the van out for a ride, which I try to do once a month or so. The heater likes to be run every month or so but I forgot that it also likes more than a quarter tank of gas in the tank. I tried to run the heater but it locked me out. This happened a couple of years ago and I had to cycle the power on it but it didn’t work this time, so I found and pulled the fuses for the heater to cycle power and magically the heater worked. I also filled the tank up before running it of course.

We are going to Sacramento to see the grand kids and will go via Prescott and Las Vegas since Deb has never been there. Then we’ill take the “loneliest road in America”, Rt 50 all the way across Nevada.

We packed up everything, clothes and food, toothbrush etc., loaded the van at the end of the driveway, put everything away down on the street and then we were off.

It felt good to be on the road again and today we are all highway, which is fine because Phoenix is really busy. We were going to get breakfast sandwiches and coffee at McD’s but they stopped breakfast 10 minutes before we got there so we got a Subway sub since it was 11:00 already. It’s Sunday so Tucson traffic was easy, and then the long stretch on I-10 to Phoenix. Google re-routed us a couple of times and we did not see any slowdowns all the way through Phoenix. Thanks again Google!

Then north on I-17 to Prescott. It was only in the 70’s in Phoenix and Tucson and the temperature dropped another 10-15 degrees as we climbed to Prescott that’s at 5300 ft elevation.

The road into Prescott is really really busy. They have all the chain stores out here which must be their “strip”. We had heard that it was exploding in population and that appears to be the case. We went to the downtown where the old city is and it was less commercial. Prescott is the county seat of Yavapi County (twice the population of our Cochise County}, and their courthouse is indeed twice the size of ours, at least. We walked up the famous Whiskey Row and checked out all the shops. Gave a dollar to a Santa that claims he makes Xmas stockings for Vets (looked legit) so maybe he does and maybe he had enough to buy a bottle. Nice guy either away.

Prescott has two colleges, Yavapi Community College and Prescott College so the town had a lot of younger folks wandering around. We were told to go to Bill’s Pizza place (Santa disagreed) and we split a large salad and a small pizza.

Then we drove the three miles to White Spar Campground which was ⅔ full with pit toilets for $14. A nice quiet night. Tomorrow Las Vegas!

Sunday Sept 8, 2024 Rainy day in Pernes

At last, a down day. Forecast was for drizzle to downpour throughout the day so we finally get a day to read those books we brought, sip coffee and tea all day, and relax. This little town Deb found, Pernes-les-Fontaines is small enough and yet big enough at the same time. Our house is a 10 minute walk from town so no car required. And there are enough services in town that you don’t need to go anywhere. Kind of like our hometown of Bisbee. Of course the buildings are mostly 700 years old with city gates and towers and narrow streets to get lost in. Sunday is quiet in town but there is a small grocery we can walk to open on Sunday morning. Our new bar is closed and there are only two restaurants open. Only one bakery is open.

After the rain stopped around 5pm, we decided to walk around the city a bit. Very quiet with a small mist now and then (we brought raincoats). We checked out the restaurant in the old train station (gare) and it looked promising for dinner but of course did not open until 7pm, like everything. We walked across town and got totally lost and finally made it back to the Bistrot de la Gare and got a table and had burgers. Every restaurant seems to have burgers here. And fries. And there are not many Americans here so I guess American cuisine has arrived.

We walked home across town and went to bed. A very nice down day. And we still got 8,000 steps in!!

Saturday Sept. 7, 2024 Pernes–les-Fontaines

Deb here and yes, another blue sky day. Our weather luck’s supposed to turn tomorrow, but we’ll take the blue skies when we can! 

Today is market day in Pernes. We learned that most Provencal towns have large markets, and there’s one every day of the week in one town or another. Since this was our “hometown” market, we decided to walk to town and check it out.

We weren’t disappointed. So many vendors with all kinds of food items, along with lots of clothing booths. Everything just looks so delicious, from fresh fish and meats to baked goods to produce, etc. After buying melon, a tomato, a baguette and some beautiful olives we returned home. Our landlady, Estelle, passed us on her bike returning from the market and stopped to chat with us for a minute.

Later in the morning we hopped in the car to drive to the summit of Mont Ventoux. At 6,270 feet Mont Ventoux is the highest mountain in the region and is nicknamed the “Giant of Provence”. It gained fame when it was included in the Tour de France route. Now keep in mind that our Untours rep, Anne, warned us on Thursday night to not make the drive when it’s windy. Of course it was sunny, and we didn’t think too much about the wind.

We started the drive and wow, it’s a steep and narrow paved road to the top. Since it was a Saturday, there were scores of bike riders, probably many of them with dreams of being in the Tour de France, which made for challenging driving on John’s part. It was a constant dodge and weave, slowing down and getting around the bikers.

Once on top the clouds came in and the temperature dropped drastically. We started the climb at 84 degrees and by the time we were at the summit it was only 62 degrees. And the wind was howling… we opened our doors and got out for a minute and were practically blown over. Needless to say, we didn’t linger on top!

Back down the other side, equally challenging since a bike race was going up that side, and back into warmer weather. Once off of the mountain we stopped at a cafe for coffee and tea and enjoyed watching the bikers come down. 

Then it was on through a few small towns (thought Bedoin was particularly charming) and on to Plan d’Eau des Salettes, a lake with a beach that was on our way. We stopped at the lake and ate our picnic lunch (a baguette and cheese, of course, along with olives from the market and an apple), then walked on the path over to the main part of the lake. Lots of action going on, with many locals taking advantage of the sunny Saturday and water. A large group of teenage boys were having a grand time. There was a nice cafe at the beach (of course) and we bought ice cream cones, a treat since the temperature had climbed into the high 80’s by this point.

By 3:15 we were back at the house for our afternoon downtime. 

At 5:15 we ventured out by car to visit L’Isle sur la Sorgue, a town only 15 minutes away that’s known as the “Venice of Provence”. I’d read that there’s a walk around town labeled as the “Waterwheel Walk”, since there are 14 historic waterwheels, so we wanted to visit the Tourist Info center and pick up a map before they closed at 6. We had a few minutes of white knuckled driving (John) and riding (me) when we accidentally turned into the narrow streets looking for parking. Note to self, steer clear of any driving through ancient villages!

Once parked safely at the train station parking lot we hustled to the Tourist Info office in time to pick up a map. We followed the map as best we could, which took us on a nice route through some of the less touristy (aka no shopping) parts of town. The central streets were flooded with people wandering through the streets and shopping, which is always a bit much for us country bumpkins to handle.

At about 7 we visited a restaurant (Bistrot L’Auchineur) and had a great meal. We were seated at a tiny table outside right on the street, so awesome people watching. We both chose salads for dinner and once again they were beautifully presented and delicious. 

After dinner it was back to the car and home by 9:15. Another great day!

Friday Sept. 6, 2024 Pernes-les-Fontaines

Deb here. We woke up to a blue sky day. We have been so blessed by the weather gods for our entire travels so far.

After breakfast at the apartment we struck out for a driving tour of 3 of the nearby villages that are included in the “prettiest towns in France” list. They were recommended by both Anne, our Untours guide, last evening and the local tourist office gal in the morning, so we thought they’d be worth a visit.

We first traveled to Venasque, a hill town north of where we’re staying. It was (no surprise) a beautiful town with not many tourists there. We walked around the streets, ogling the alleyways and buildings. So much to take in everywhere you look! Parking was free and easy, albeit a long walk into town. Sorting out the history of these villages is daunting, since there is layer upon layer of historical events.

After Venasque, we headed to Gordes, a hill town with an imposing chateau. Gordes is clearly a popular tourist destination, with a humongous parking lot (and parking machine that was too slow) and lots and lots of businesses catering to tourists. We stopped in the Tourist Info office and picked up a wonderful brochure that highlighted a walking tour of town. We opted for the longer (1 hour) walking route and set off on our way. Along the way we actually ran into some English speakers, a family from Rhode Island and New York (complete with grandparents and two adorable kids) and a mother/daughter combo from New Zealand. We’re finding that it’s rare to hear English spoken in these parts. Gordes is absolutely gorgeous, with different architecture than Venasque, and just as much history represented. 

At the end of our walking tour we decided to stop for lunch at Le Jardin, a lovely garden cafe, and had delicious lunches of pesto and tomato pasta (John) and a melon and prosciutto plate (me), along with a peach melba dessert to share. Yum all the way around. Food is presented so beautifully here.

After Gordes, it was off to Rousillon, our final town of the day. Rousillon is known for its ochre, which is used for paint pigment. The entire town is orange-hued (think Sedona, AZ) and spectacular. Another paid parking lot and lots of people, but we managed to score a spot.

We walked up and down, admiring the vistas and looking inside the ancient church. After seeing all 3 towns, we decided that our favorite was Venasque, partly because it felt undiscovered compared to the others, but they were all wonderful in their own way.

By 3:15 we were back “home” and ready for some down time. John napped, I read, and we enjoyed chilling for a while. 

Around 6 p.m. we decided to walk into town and find the brewery, La Mousse Gourmande. Anne had mentioned last night that it was worth checking out, so we wanted to find it. We had a great chat with the owner and his righthand guy. The owner is Dutch, and has been in this area for 30 years now, with this business in existence for 10 years. John had an excellent IPA and I had a glass of rose wine, and we decided to move to the outdoor patio for dinner. The place filled up with locals (no English spoken at all) as the evening wore on, and we had tasty fish and chips with salad. The owner came outside to chat with us a bit more and it was all so pleasant.

After dinner we walked back home. Another wonderful day!

Thursday Sept 5, 2024 Pernes-les-Fontaines

 

Lazy morning, well deserved. I made a pot of coffee and Deb made tea. The laundry we hung on a broom between two chairs with a fan blowing on them are dry enough to wear. Clean bodies and clean clothes and nothing scheduled is feeling pretty good.

We had breakfast here, moved some more clothes around. Things don’t dry very quickly after the big thunderstorm last night.

The weather forecast called for rain yesterday but the gods decided we deserved a nice day so a little overcast but no rain all day.

We walked into town and talked to the nice lady in the tourist office. She spoke perfect English (did a foreign exchange to Ohio when she was 15) and we got some ideas on what to see. There is a walking tour route that takes you around the entire city (small city) inside the fortress walls. Along the route are numerous fountains, lots of artisans in tiny workshops, some bakeries and restaurants, four museums (we saw them all) and narrow little streets that remind me of a mouse maze. We got lost a few times but that was half the fun. It’s bizarre to be in a city that is 1000 years old. Except for the modern cars you see here and there (the streets are either pedestrian only or too narrow to park in) you would not guess what time period you were in.

We found the Battu Patisserie and got a baguette and a pastry to split. Half the locals here are walking around with a baguette under their arm so we fit right in. We saw our landlord walking back home with a baguette under his arm.

There are three or four gates to the city, each built at a different time starting in 1100 or so. We stopped for coffee at a small cafe near one of them. We found the bicycle museum before it closed for the mid-day two hour break (everything closes mid day for a couple hours). The guy that invented the derailleur was born and lived here and he got mad that someone passed him on a faster bike and figured out how to put second gear on his bike. That of course led to a third and fourth and now we have 21 or something. He died in 1930 crossing a road, when he was hit by a tram. He has a statue somewhere nearby and a museum named after him. On that note we saw about 20 police cars and motorcycles roaring by outside the city walls and it turned out to be a bicycle race going through.  

We got off the walking route and decided to walk home, have lunch and take a midday break like everybody else does here. “When in Rome…”.

We later went back inside the walls and resumed the trail we started this morning. We saw the Resistance Museum which dealt with what happened during WW2, The costume museum, which had beautiful handmade period clothes, and a another museums of some rich man’s. All the museums are free and simple and in beautiful condition. Unfortunately, there is no English so you kind of have to guess what’s going on. Deb figured a lot of it out since she did learn French way back when.

We met the Untours leader, Anne, on one of the back streets on her way to the dinner we were having with the other Untours couple from North Carolina, Roger & Ann. Untours does an orientation to get you acquainted with driving rules and what to watch out for. We had a nice dinner and a couple of drinks and got to know the other couple a bit. We may see them next Tuesday when we play Petanque.

We walked home in the dark down our little side street and Deb started planning tomorrow. Looks like we will do a short driving loop around the other small towns in the area. Maybe we will have clean dry clothes again tomorrow!!

Wednesday Sept 4, 2024 Lyon to Pernes-Les-Fontaines (France)

Breakfast at the hostel and a nice mix of people. Reminds me of the hostel our daughter Hannah worked at in New Brunswick years ago. Mixed age interesting people “wandering”.

We walked the three blocks to the station and caught the TGV train with reserved seats. We are down to our last clothes and are ready to settle a while after all the adventuring. The French crew was very friendly and having a good time themselves. They told us the top speed of the train was 320 kph (199 mph) but they only go that fast when they have a good straight track and they are running late. We got to Avignon and went to the rental car company at the station and got an Opal car with manual transmission. It’s good to drive a stick shift again. The town we will be staying in for the next week is called Pernes-Les-Fontaines. The town used to be called Pernes and when they discovered a regular source of water in the 18th century added 4 large fountains around town. They renamed the town in 1936 and by then had 40 or so fountains around town.

We were early so we got lunch at a roadside place (Marie Blachere) just outside of town. Food here seems much cheaper than at home.

We got to the place we are renting a little after 2pm and Yves and Estelle were there to greet us and show us our place. It is big with three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room and living room and a big gated yard to park the car. It is an easy walking distance to town which is perfect. We are ready to park it for a while.

First thing was to get the washing machine going since we are down to greasy rags to wear. Next stop showers and then next stop a walk into town to get some groceries and stop at the farmers market which was going on this evening in town. Yves and Estelel had provided enough food for our first day or two but we were eager to get some fresh local fruits and veggies, which we did. The farmers market had around 10 vendors so it was pretty small, but the whole town is pretty small (10,000 people). We made dinner of eggs and cheese (of course) with fresh bread (of course) and jam. Can’t wait to explore the ancient town.

Tuesday Sept 3, 2024 Lesin to Lyon

We had to be at the train station by 10 am so we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, packed and had to decide which train station to go to. The town is pretty small (population 3800) and there are 3 stops or stations in town. “Station” is kind of an exaggeration as is “train” since the cog railroad only has a couple of cars that crawl up and down the mountain, and “station” is a four foot wide by 15 ft area with kind of flat spots to stand with your luggage. We chose the Vermont “station” and there were two other people standing for the “train”. It was right on time (this is Switzerland). It leaves the upper “station” at 9:58, gets to the Vermont “station” at 10:00 and the Leysin Village station was probably a couple minutes after that. Of course you need to understand there are three stations because the whole town is built on a side hill, excuse me, mountain side and you decide which station to get off depending on which direction is downhill to your destination. We chose the Vermont station and guessed wrong and still had an uphill hike to get to the station.

The ride down the mountain on the cog train (there is a gear under the train that turns on a gear on the tracks, a third rail kind of) is beautiful with vistas overlooking the vineyards in the valley below. Halfway down the mountain we are met with the cog train going up the mountain to Leysin and the driver is waiting by the switch waiting for us to pass him so he can proceed. Likewise our driver stopped, walked down the tracks and threw her switch so we could proceed down the hill. Pretty quaint.

Whatever was broken two days ago was fixed this morning so the cog train made it all the way to the station in Aigle (instead of taking the short bus ride). Our train to Geneva came right on time and even though it was not a high speed train it was very comfortable and got us to Geneva right on time. We enjoyed sitting near three older folks who spoke English and were having a reunion of some kind from when they were in the Peace Corps back in the 70’s. One had been a diplomat of some kind and they rehashed a lot of the U.S. politics and foreign affairs things from the last 40 years they had seen.

Next train was a medium speed train from Geneva to Lyon. No reserved seats so you sit anywhere. We were joined a few stops along by an older couple who had all kinds of bags piled all around us and began making sandwiches and eating them with what few teeth they had. They were a little rough around the edges but very friendly as they gnawed away at their baguettes. They spoke no English but Deb was able to keep a bit of conversation going with him. He was a very funny guy and his wife and I were enjoying seeing Deb and her husband try to carry on a conversation. She actually may have spoken better English. A very colorful couple for sure.

We arrived right on time in Lyon and walked to the hostel (Yasi) which was only a few blocks from the station. The hostel was small and basic and had maybe a dozen rooms. We had a private room so we had our own bathroom. Then off to explore Lyon. 

Lyon is the second largest city in France after Paris so it’s pretty big. They have all kinds of public transportation so Google maps to the rescue. We went to the beautiful Basilica at the high part of town (Funicular) and then next door to the Roman coliseum next door. This city is old. We had dinner outdoors in front of the beautiful St Jean church, so good people watching and good food.

We got lost and almost got scammed by an over-friendly young woman and her friend “helping” us get back to the train station, but  we finally did get back and walked to the hostel.

Monday, Sept 2, 2024 - Leysin

Deb here. Woke up to a beautiful clear sky. I had lots of plans for today, chasing down places from my family’s stay here in 1970! We started our day with breakfast at the hotel, which was quite delicious. Once again, fresh breads and jams, yogurt, a stellar coffee machine (with hot chocolate options), cheeses, meats and fruit.

Since the day was clear we decided to first take the gondola up to the top of La Berneuse, the ski bowl I skied in way back when. It was so stunning at the top, although things have changed in 54 years. There’s now a revolving restaurant on top (built in the 1980’s), along with huge letters that spell Leysin. Otherwise, the look of the ski area is just as I remembered it.

After views, pictures, and a walk around we returned down on the gondola. The next project was to find the house we lived in that year, Chalet Pollux. I had the map from Monsieur DuBois, and we walked in the direction where we thought it might be. In all these years things have changed, and if it hadn’t been for John’s sharp eyes we would have missed it, but he saw the “Pollux” sign on the side of the house. And then we located the “Castor” sign on the side of the neighboring home. Upon a further look, it appears that both of the modest chalets are still intact, although engulfed by two large homes right next to them. Wow, memory lane indeed!

We then headed past Chalet Pollux to Nid d’Aigle, the walk I remembered. It was a lovely walk without a lot of elevation gain out to a lookout at the end. The lookout would have been quite dramatic, but by the time we made it there, midday, the clouds had rolled in. Still a nice walk.

Back into town to swing by La Fromagerie and talk with Monsieur DuBois. He wasn’t in, so we walked on to a coffee shop in the village, Cafe la Farandole. We split a rosti with ham and cheese that was delicious. It was a Swiss sandwich of sorts with something like pressed hash browns for the top and bottom layer.

A bit of souvenir shopping, then back to the hotel for blog writing and down time. The skies looked like rain, but nothing materialized. At 5:30 pm we walked back to La Fromagerie but no Monsieur DuBois, so we sat and had a drink (aperol spritz for me and beer for John). We then walked to Restaurant la Lorraine for dinner, sharing a great pizza and coffee and tea. People here have all been oh so very friendly and welcoming to us, even with my limited French and their limited English.

By 7:30 pm the skies were clearing nicely and it was back to the hotel.

Sunday Sept. 1,2024 - Trains to Leysin, Switzerland

Deb here again. We had a delicious breakfast at the hotel, with croissants, yogurt, cereals, fruit and good hot drinks. We made the 20 minute walk back to the train station and of course arrived with plenty of time to spare (that’s the way we like to roll). Our train arrived on time, so at 10:12 we boarded and by 11:29 we were in Geneva. The terrain switched to beautiful rolling hills on the way to Geneva, with lots of green and agriculture.

In Geneva we found our way to our next train, which left at 12:29, bound for Aigle. I was so very excited to be returning to Leysin, the Swiss town that I lived in when I was 13 years old in 1970! It was a beautiful ride, along the north shore of Lake Geneva, stopping in Lausanne and Montreux along with several smaller stops.

We got off the train in Aigle, with only 4 minutes to catch our next train to Leysin. The attendant had assured us it was an easy connection since the Aigle train station is small, and we quickly found the train we thought would take us there. We got on the train and sat down, only to realize that we were the only folks on the train while at the same time John spotted a bus heading to Leysin across the way. We hopped off the train and boarded the crowded bus, where we learned that a couple of days ago there was a track issue and everyone needs to take a bus to the train to Leysin. All very confusing but we made it!

On the small cog railway type train up to Leysin we sat near a nice Swedish young man who was heading to Leysin to start his senior school year at the American High School. He gave us a bunch of info, including telling us what stop we should get off at. The ride up to Leysin is pretty thrilling, going up the mountains at a steep incline.

Once in Leysin we walked to our hotel, which although downhill involved a lot of steps with our suitcases and backpacks. We were dripping sweat when we checked in at the Alpine Classic Hotel!

This village is just as gorgeous as I remembered from 54 years ago. We were hungry, so we walked to La Fromagerie, a restaurant the hotel manager recommended and that Tom and Kim had liked when they visited. We ate outside under a table umbrella until a driving rain started around 5 pm. Everything was absolutely delicious, splitting a cheese and herb fondue and a large country salad, followed by a shared creme brulee at the end. 

The waitress spoke very little English, but I told her I’d lived in the village in 1970, and she had us talk with the restaurant owner, Monsieur DuBois. He was delightful, and it turns out he was born in 1970 and has lived in Leysin his entire life. He pulled out a village map and circled the spot where our chalet was (we were in Chalet Pollux, and the identical home next door was Chalet Castor) and he also told me how to reach Nid d'Aigle (Eagle’s Nest Walk) which I remembered from my time here. He then even circled the spot of the village school I attended. Apparently a new school has been built, but the old school is still used by 4 grades. He was as excited as I was to talk about old times in his broken English and my broken French. 

We also visited the museum up above the restaurant, which was filled with all kinds of old artifacts, along with a photo display through the years. Much has changed in 54 years, but much is still the same.

By the time we left La Fromagerie it was time to walk back (up) to the hotel and crash for the night.

Saturday Aug. 31 - Train to Bourg-en-Bresse, France

Deb here. Saturday morning we packed up, said our goodbyes to the crew and then walked our luggage to the ferry back to Central Station. Teri, Ralph, Nancy and Greg were all flying home on the same 2:30 pm flight to Boston, so their plan was to stash their luggage on the boat for a while and walk to a nearby farmers market. We said our goodbyes to the gang at the ferry dock and made our way across the water
to the train station. We quickly found which platform we’d be leaving from, and decided to sit in a coffee shop until closer to our departure time.

Our train left like clockwork at 11:08 am, bound for Paris, where we had to switch train stations to catch our next train to Bourg-en-Bresse. All was going well until the train had a couple of delays, meaning that instead of 1.5 hours to find our next train in Paris we’d only have less than an hour. Our train from Amsterdam made several stops along the way and was packed, with people standing in the aisles, by the time we reached Paris.

We hustled off our train and quickly found the metro we needed to board to transfer from Gare Paris Nord (where we arrived) to Gare de Lyon (where we needed to go). There was quite a queue to buy metro tickets, but thankfully each self-serve ticket station had a helper next to it, taking charge of what we needed.

We jumped on the metro and made it to Gare de Lyon with 15 minutes to spare. This train was much less crowded and had a great cafe car. It was another double decker train and achieved a speed of close to 200 mph. Very comfortable.

By 6:15 we were in Bourg-en-Bresse, where I’d made a hotel reservation to split up our journey to Leysin. It was super hot when we arrived, and with a 20 minute walk to our hotel (Logis de Brou) we were drenched in sweat by the time we checked in! It was a lovely hotel and we enjoyed the AC in our room. We later walked to dinner and had a wonderful meal at Restaurant L’Authentique, with a croque monsieur and salad for me and a burger and salad for John. 

After dinner we walked back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Sunday Aug. 25 thru Saturday Aug 31, 2024 One week Boat Bike Tour

I’ll try to summarize the entire week since each day had the same schedule of breakfast, riding the bikes all day, evening meeting about the next day's ride, dinner and sleep. And man did we sleep well!

Each evening before dinner, each of the three groups (English, German, Dutch) had a meeting to go over the next day's ride. The first day everything was new. The bikes, the traffic rules, etc. We got to meet the entire crew the first night. They do this week after week and they see a new batch of 50-60 people each week. Olga was our boss and if anything needed attention, Olga could help out. Every day we rode about 50km. Nancy added it all up and we rode the bikes 201 miles over the 6 days we rode, about 33.5 miles per day. The Netherlands treats bike riders with immense respect and bikes usually have the right of way. They have bike specific trails all over the country and most citizens really use their bikes. And year round especially with the climate warming. They all said there really was no snow any more and the canals no longer freeze for skating. So you can bike all year. The bike lanes are wide enough for bikes to whiz by each other and some allow cars and scooters if they are wide enough, with the bikes having priority and a low speed limit. And every age group could be seen riding their bikes. A lot of retired age folks ride their bikes everywhere. And ⅔ of the bikes you see are e-bikes with battery assist.

Each night after the three group meetings we all sit at tables with folks that speak the same language. Most everyone was pretty tired each night so after dinner (6-7pm) we went below and collapsed, except for the nights when we ventured in to explore the towns.

Each morning breakfast was at 7:30 and they left bread and sandwich fixings out so you could pack a lunch. Big buffet layout with several breads, cheeses, meat, eggs, sausage, fruit, yogurt, cereal and pots of coffee and tea water. After breakfast you get on the bikes and turn on the Ride with GPS app and it gives you turn by turn instructions and a map so it is very hard to get lost, although we did get misplaced on a few occasions. While we are biking, the boat gets moved to the next evening's stop where we will meet it.

There are several ferry crossings, many very old small towns where we stop for coffee, tea or the occasional herring. Some museums some days, or windmills or old pumping stations. Fortunately, most people here speak very good English. One fellow told us that their English is so good because “Dutch is not a very popular language”.

And everything is very old. Buildings from the 1600’s are not uncommon to find in the small towns we pedal through. Our cell phones work everywhere, and you use your credit card to pay for almost everything. They are very modern compared to the USA in that regard.

We would get to the boat around 3-4 pm, grab a coffee and a small cake treat of some kind and relax on the deck until the evening meeting. Eat dinner and collapse.

The last day we overlap with the incoming group and we put our bags on deck before breakfast so the crew can clean the rooms.

After breakfast we get our bags, say our goodbyes and then leave the boat.

Saturday Aug 24, 2024 To the boat

Our last breakfast at the Element Amsterdam and headed for Central station. We have gotten pretty good at using Google Maps and the transit system. And the buses, trams and metro all run like clockwork. The boat folks (De Nassau) let us leave our luggage on the boat, then back across the free ferry and found the tulip museum. Tulips actually originated in Turkey and somewhere along the way the Dutch decided they were going to grow all the tulips in the world. It is big ag with lots of big equipment planting and harvesting the tulip bulbs. The bulbs are what it’s all about, not so much the tulips, since they chop the flowers off to ensure bigger stronger bulbs.

We walked through the Saturday farmers market and picked up some food for lunch, and then back to the boat where we got checked in. A woman named Olga is our fearless leader. She is 67 and very athletic. She rides every day on the bikes and is a native of Holland. This is her 6th week in a row doing this and we saw her a few times a day checking in to make sure that nobody gets too lost or has any bike issues. She’s a lot of fun and the perfect person to do this job. 

We had three basic groups. Americans, which was us and a couple from Boulder, Colorado, the Canadians, which was a group of 4 siblings and their partners, and then the Germans and Dutch, which was the largest group. We got to know the Canadians over the weeks but not so much the Germans and Dutch, mostly due to the language thing. There were 60-65 people in all and I counted 56-58 bikes going out every day. A few people brought their own bikes but most of us used the Azor bikes which are good solid Netherland bikes. Ralph and Nancy decided not to get the e-bike version and the rest of us did. They are all identical with Shimano brand gears and electronics. We had no problems with the bikes all week. Nancy, who is fairly short, upgraded to a normal sized bike later in the week from the smaller one they fitted her with. 

Friday Aug 23, 2024 Amsterdam museums part two

Friday morning it was breakfast at the hotel and then off on a long tram and bus trip to a working windmill and museum called the Molten Van Stolen Windmill. It was a real pumping windmill with a screw that augered water from a lower level to a higher level. They used these all over Holland to keep their feet dry. They were eventually replaced by steam powered and then electric pumps, but these windmills were the workhorses for a long long time.

Next stop was to find some herring. Ralph and I bought raw herring samdwiches (hot dog rolls with a fish in it and pickles and onions) which is a local delicacy. The less brave got deep fried codfish bites. Ralph and I had cat breath the rest of the day.

We next bumped into the flower market where you can buy flowers, but mostly you can buy bulbs. They advertise the ones you can ship to Canada and the US so I guess they keep a careful eye on what gets shipped where.

Next stop was the Nemo Science Center which is a 5 story glass and concrete playgound for aspiring scientists. The place was wall to wall with families and children learning about any kind of science you can think of. They are creating the next generation of young scientists for sure. Well done.

After Nemo, we were on to something called “The Holland Experience”. This is another modern iMax kind of building with a “5D” ride across Holland. Kind of a Disney World experience with you strapped in a seat and thrown around a room with 360 degrees movie screens rolling out in front of you. And they spray water in your lap when you dive into the water below and a light mist as you fly though the clouds. Very cool.

Teri had made us dinner reservations in the rotating restaurant called Moon, which steadily rotates to give you a view of Amsterdam while they serve you dinner.

Last stop was our daredevils, Terri and Ralph, who got on the swings on top of the restaurant and swung back and forth over the edge of the building. Yikes.

Then it was back to the hotel and sleep 

Thursday Aug 22, 2024 Amsterdam museums

We had breakfast at the hotel which was very good. The usual adjustment to buying Euro coffee. Flat White or Americano usually get you close to what we drink back home.

First museum was the Rijksmuseum which is huge and covers Dutch history and art. Each section represents a different century and after leaving we had the sense that they are pretty proud of the 17th century and the others were so so.

Next stop was Museum of the Canals which we think was our favorite. It covered the history of the development of the city including all the dikes and pumping to be able to live below sea level. Anybody can build cities on dry ground so the Dutch decided to build below sea level. Hence all the windmills and water pumps and dikes.

Next museum was Our Lord in the Attic. Amsterdam started Catholic and then the government decided it would allow any religion as long as you kept it to yourself. So everyone held church services in private homes. This guy created a good sized Catholic Church on the upper floor of his house complete with pews and alters and even a pipe organ. It was big. Very tolerant folks when religion was concerned.

Next stop was the Botanical Gardens and dinner in the adjacent restaurant. We were all pretty tired by then so it was back to the hotel and bed.

Tuesday (or is it Wednesday), Aug 20, 2024 Bisbee to Amsterdam NL

 Our flight leaves at 9:30 am so we did not have to get up crazy early. It’s 1.5 hrs to Tucson so we left the house about 6 am. We are using a new cheaper parking lot which turned out to be as easy as the one we usually use. And it had shaded parking spots.

Flight to Dallas was on time and only a couple of hours. Flight to Amsterdam was 9 hours or so, which meant about 3 movies worth. We had one meal in flight and a wakeup snack. We did not get much if any sleep.Amsterdam is 9 hours earlier than Bisbee, so we basically lost a whole day. Left on Tuesday morning and arrived Wednesday morning. We met Ralph, Teri, Nancy and Greg at the baggage claim. Teri had arranged a van to pick us all up and we were taken to our hotel to drop off our bags. Our rooms were ready early so we all checked in. Next task was to get to Central Station so we took a tram which accepted our credit cards. Tap your Visa card to get on and tap to get off. How easy can it get?! Teri found these iAmsterdam passes which were fantastic. For 100 euros (111 dollars) you can ride on any bus or tram or metro and get into most every museum and attraction for 72 hours. We picked them up at Central Station and then started our tour not by getting some sleep but by going full bore until the night came.

We did a walking tour of the Jewish quarter with a woman from eastern Europe who walked really fast and for a couple of hours we learned about the 120,000 Jews killed in WW2.

Next was the Houseboat Museum, which was on a houseboat of course. Amsterdam is all about canals and the canals all have houseboats parked everywhere. It used to be a cool cheap way to afford to live in Amsterdam but now it’s an expensive but still cool way to live in Amsterdam.

Next was to find our way back via the trams and buses to the hotel and then have dinner in Papa Hemingway's restaurant, which is attached to the hotel. We were all zombies by then but it was the smart way to avoid jet lag.

Saturday July 6, 2024 Blue Water Lake Campground (NM) to Bisbee AZ (home)

 

It was up in the air this morning if we wanted to camp another night between here and home or just go for it and get home. Spoiler alert, it was really too hot to camp anywhere so we did a long day and made it home by 7pm.

The bonus today was that the shortest way included the crooked piece of RT 191 that is about 80 miles long and really high and really crooked and devoid of guardrails.

We left the campground and Deb got everything cleared up with the Ranger who was emptying the pay box. Some sites are reservable and some are first come first serve. It turns out if we had not reserved, there were a couple nice sites that were empty when we walked the park last night, so we would have had a good chance at getting a site without the reservation.

We got back on I-40 and headed east a few exits and then took Rt 117 south. We stopped at the El Malpais BLM office and chatted with the ranger there. There was nobody there but us and we agreed that there were probably days when the ranger saw nobody. El Malpais is a huge area filled with cooled lava. Much like Craters of the Moon if you have ever been there. It looked like pretty rough hiking over the lava mounds so we continued on our way, turned on Rt 36 to Quemado where we take Rt 60 west. We saw a couple side roads to Pie Town but one was gravel for 25 miles and the other did not even show up on the map. So we could have gone 50 miles out of our way for pie, but decided to save it for another day.

Rt 60 took us into Springerville which we have been to before and stopped for nd early lunch at Booga Red’s Restaurant. Very slow service but the food was good. 

From Springerville we took good old Rt 191 all the way to I-10. It is one twisty windy road but lots of great vistas and lots of dirt side roads with trail heads and camping spots. This might be a good place to come back to to camp and hike.

From here home is robotic since we have been this route many times and just wanted to get home before dark. It was 108 degrees in Stafford when we stopped to get a few groceries.

We got home just before 7pm and did the old “dump everything in the driveway” routine. Unpacked everything and quick supper, showers, then bed

Friday July 5, 2024 Ridgway State Park (CO) to Bluewater State Park (NM)

 

Deb here. Great sleeping once again. After coffee and tea we decided to take off and head into Ridgway for breakfast. Ridgway is a charming little mountain town with great views in every direction. We found Kate’s Place right in town and had a tasty breakfast there. After breakfast we started the drive on Rt 550 (aka the Million Dollar Highway). We’d been on this road before and I remembered it being pretty terrifying in spots and yep, my recollections were correct! The stretch between Ridgway and Ouray was relatively flat and easy, and we stopped briefly in Ouray to look around. I love Ouray, even busy as it was on this holiday weekend. What a setting, and endless outdoor possibilities.

Following Ouray the road became twisty and steep with sheer dropoffs on our right and no guardrails. This time around I was driving and I think poor Milo was the more nervous one since there wasn’t much between us and the drop off! On up we climbed, first reaching Red Mountain  Pass (11,018 ft) before dropping down into Silverton. It had been quite awhile since we’d been to Silverton, and we thought that it seemed more developed than our last visit. It was busy, so we continued on up and over Molas Pass (10,970 ft). We scored one of the last parking spots at Molas Pass and took in the gorgeous views. The CDT and Colorado Trail both pass through there, and some parents had set up a full breakfast for their son and his friend who were hiking the Colorado Trail. Very sweet.

After finally leaving Rt. 550 in Durango, we then headed west on Rt. 160 and then south on Rt. 140, which turned into Rt. 170 at the New Mexico border and followed that to Farmington. We then took Rt. 371 all the way down to Rt. 40 in Thoreau, and then turned off the interstate shortly after to take the one-way road to Bluewater Lake State Park. All good roads and not busy once we left Durango.

I’d made us a reservation at Bluewater Lake SP but it was all a bit confusing since no one was there to check us in. We found our campsite, set our chairs up in the shade, and enjoyed some snacks before taking a walk around the campground. It was in the 80’s, but the temperature cooled off nicely as the night wore on.

Ridgway SP in Colorado spoiled us and we quickly learned that Bluewater Lake SP could use some TLC. Pit toilets, with a main bathroom near the gate that had showers and running water, but everything just seemed a bit run down. On the other hand, a campsite is $10/night as opposed to CO’s $40/night fee. Maybe you get what you pay for?

Lots of families out enjoying camping and using the reservoir. Pesto grilled cheese and soup for dinner, reading and bed. 

Thursday July 4, 2024 Gunnison, CO to Ridgway State Park, CO

 

Deb here. We enjoyed a hot breakfast at the hotel and had a fun chat with 2 Australian men who are in the US for the International Boomerang competition. Who knew?! Apparently they’re 2 of the 6 Australian team members and they’re competing in L.A. in a couple of days. We’ll have to look up the results in a few days and find out how they fared.

Last night we were conflicted about whether to go east or west, over mountain passes either way. After thinking it through we’d settled on the western route, going north to Crested Butte, then following the West Elk Scenic Byway up and over Kebler Pass and down into Paonia. 26 miles of dirt road, but the road was in pretty good shape.

Not a cloud in the sky today so a perfect day for a drive through the mountains. It turned out to be a gorgeous drive, through aspen groves, wildflower covered hillsides and snow capped mountains. Just the scenery one thinks of when thinking about Colorado. We saw people camping everywhere there was a dirt pull-off or a side road, so I guess no camping restrictions. There was one campground, Lost Lake, that’s a Forest Service Campground, and I followed the 2 mle dirt road to see what that campground was all about. It turned out to be a spectacular spot, right on a lake with 19 sites, all full. We had an informative visit with the caretaker, who gave us some tips on timing to get a spot if we wanted to stay there in the future. Lots of hiking trails nearby and a real gem of a campground.

We’d managed to score the last campsite at Ridgway State Park, so down the mountain we went. Paonia was one of the first towns we came to, and we drove through the cute town. Turns out that cherries are in season, so we stopped by a roadside stand and picked up some delicious cherries. On down through not so interesting and dry terrain, skirting Delta and ultimately stopping in Montrose for a good old McDonald’s coffee and diet coke. We ate our late lunch in the parking lot and headed the short distance to the campground.

Nice campground, complete with free showers. Colorado State Park camping fees are stiff ($40 plus a $10 day fee) so good to know they have decent amenities. 

We found our campsite and decided to go on a hike. The volunteer who checked us in had given us a trail map and recommended the Enchanted Mesa trail, which ended up being a winner. John tested his knee again with a 350+ foot elevation gain on a switchbacking trail up to a mesa and then along the upper bank of the Ridgway Reservoir. The temperature was in the low 80’s but a nice breeze kept the hike bearable and the views were awesome.

Back to our campsite by 5:30 for happy hour outside of our van in the shade, followed by dinner and showers, along with route planning for tomorrow.