Tuesday June 20, 2023 - Cabello State Park NM to Bisbee AZ

It cooled off nicely last night so I got up in the middle of the night and turned the fans off. These Max-Air fans have a thermostat so I imagine there is a way to have them turn themselves off.

Nice shower in the morning (love these state parks with showers and hot water).

Since this is our last day, we used the dump facility to empty everything. We will do a complete clean up when we get home.

My first plan was to go to Las Cruces and try out a Wendy’s breakfast sandwich, but Deb figured out it was shorter to cut the corner and go to Deming, saving us an hour. Rt 26 is the cutoff and we went through Hatch which is famous for growing chilis, so lots of arid agriculture here and not much traffic and a pretty smooth road.

Breakfast in Deming then on the interstate toward Arizona. We found a car wash in Lordsburg where for $2 we washed 7 weeks of crud and bugs off the van. Then back on I-10 until the Rt 80 turnoff to Rodeo. Another lonely but lovely small road that had been freshly paved since we left. Then Douglas and north to Bisbee. The house was in one piece after 7 weeks and I did the usual unlocking and checking everything routine after being gone. We picked up 7 weeks of junk mail at the post office and ran into a couple of folks down there of course. We got home in time for Taco Tuesday where a bunch of us get together for Mexican food at Neariah's every Tuesday. About 10 of us this week and we had a fun dinner catching up on all the doings while we were gone. Then groceries and home and bed. It’s good to be home!

Monday June 19, 2023 - Taos NM to Cabello State Park NM

There was no hot water for a shower so good thing we showered last night. Breakfast was an amazing buffet and we’d recommend El Pueblo Lodge in Taos. Gas and coffee in Taos, then off to Santa Fe. We bypassed Santa Fe (it’s too busy) and made the turn for the Turquoise Highway, which goes through Madrid, NM. The movie Wild Hogs was partially shot here and it was a surprisingly busy place on a Monday. It’s also Juneteeth, so I assume the business is partly due to that. 

We’d texted our old friends from Bisbee, Sharon and Steve Barton, that we would stop by today, so we wiggled through the back streets of Albuquerque to their house that they just bought. They moved from Bisbee to ABQ in May, and the new town seems to fit them with more music and more sport opportunities. Steve bought a red 1978 Dodge truck that is beautiful, and he gets daily kudos driving it around. They just adopted a sweet dog named Juice who  was very excited to meet us.

Sharon made a tasty lunch and we spent a couple of hours catching up before getting back on the road south. The sky’s very blue again which we’ve not seen for most of the seven weeks we have been gone due to the fires in Canada. It is starting to feel like home.

Deb found a Caballo Lake State Park, a New Mexico state park on a reservoir. A big park with not too many campers so plenty of spots with the added bonus of hot showers.

It hit 98 degrees this afternoon and it was down to 90 when we set up camp. We ran the max-air fans with the windows open and opened things up since there was a nice breeze. Salad and sandwich tonight since it is too hot to cook inside. We have done no outside cooking since the induction stove works so well and it has been either windy, cool,  or buggy during our 7 week adventure.

We took some good pictures of the sunset on the mountain across the reservoir and turned in for the night, with 85 degrees inside the van.

Sunday June 18, 2023 - John Martin Reservoir State Park CO to Taos NM

Last night sunset

The Point campground had less people this morning since most of the tent campers were blown away in yesterday’s storm. The dumpsters were full of bent and broken aluminum poles. We drove to the other side of the dam to Lake Hasty Campground, which is a much nicer campground that was totally booked. Looks like they were mostly big rigs so no wind damage. And they may have been sheltered by the dam.

We drove across open terrain and we could see we are getting closer to the arid southwest. No more irrigated crops.

Capulin Volcano

We drove back east a bit to Capulin Volcano National Monument, NM. This is the remains of a volcano that was last active 60,000 years ago. It was not that busy but they only also allow only about 30 cars up the road to the top at a time, so we had a 25 minute wait to drive up the kind of two lane road. We hiked on the rim trail to the very top which offered great views of the green grassland below. Things are still green but we will soon be entering brown country again.

We chatted up a couple from Dallas, Texas who were doing a two week loop for vacation. He had just retired and did the same kind of work as I did so some good nerd talk.

Taos

Then off to Taos via a beautiful twisty road that goes through Cimmeron, Eagles Nest and Angel Fire and finally brought us into Taos. Deb found a fun motel here with nice hot showers and laundry facilities.  Cookies at check in, chips and salsa and coffee and tea set up as well. We walked across the street to  The Burger Stand at Taos Alehouse for dinner and it was busy with what looked like the Taos younger crowd. Good people watching. We then strolled through old town Taos on a warm Sunday night.

Saturday June 17, 2023 - Recharge Lake Recreation Area NE to John Martin Reservoir State Park

Deb here. We both slept great in our van once again. After packing up we decided to go out for breakfast, so our first stop was the Iron Skillet in York. Busy place, with a decent scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage breakfast. 

After the first part of our drive on Rte. 80, we soon deviated off of the interstate at Kearney and onto the back roads. We soon crossed the state line into Kansas, and the countryside was really beautiful. Green grasses, gorgeous trees, rolling hills, and even some blue sky for awhile. The skies have been extremely hazy due to the Canadian wildfires, but today the air was clear and the sky was blue.

We eventually crossed into Colorado and decided we’d reserve a spot at a Colorado State Park. As we neared Lamar, the skies started to turn dark. We refilled the gas tank and then started the last 25 miles of our drive to John Martin Reservoir State Park and the Point Campground.

A couple of miles outside of Lamar the storm started, and wow, what a storm! Lightning everywhere (including the big bolts), torrential rain, and super high winds. John held the van steady but we slowed down and turned on the 4-way flashers. 

By the time we reached the campground, the storm had taken its toll on many of the tent campers, and people were packing up their wet gear and leaving. It was an evening that we were quite happy to have a van and not be tent camping. We’d thought about driving to the other campground in the park to take showers and do laundry, but decided we just wanted to stay put. After dinner the skies cleared and we caught a bit of a sunset and lovely skies.

Friday June 16, 2023 - Excelsior MN to Recharge Lake Recreation Area NE

Good sleeping in the van last night. Christopher made us breakfast and we looked at some of the pictures from back in the late 1950’s. Chris’ father David was an artist and photographer and he took A LOT of pictures. 

We said our good byes and wiggled the back roads out to the highway. We pointed Google Maps to Bisbee and she took us on some wonderful roads today (thanks to “no tolls” setting). All day on smooth back roads for the most part. All the crops are planted and just coming up. Corn, soy and sorghum as I learned later in the day. Snacks in the car so no lunch stop today. Gass dropped from $4 to $3.22 as the day wore on. 

We use the Campendium app to find places to stay at the end of the day. Lots of options and we ended up at Recharge Lake Recreation Area in Nebraska. This is a small reservoir with a couple of docks to swim or fish off of. We got here and there were a half dozen free sites. As the evening wore on the sites were all filled and some folks went begging.

It was 91 degrees when we ended the day, and after a quick swim in the reservoir the cold drinks in the shade went down easy as we watched all the local folks set up their rigs for the weekend. I talked a local guy up and he explained the crop situation. His ancestors came here when they first opened the plains. There was nothing here but grass, no trees at all. Now it’s crops from horizon to horizon.

There was a busy train track we could hear all night. Took me back to summer nights on the farm in Vermont long ago. Early to bed as the temperatures dropped.

Thursday June 15, 2023 - Mirror Lake State Park WI to Excelsior MN

Today we have a bit more traffic in the Twin Cities but not that far to go. Warmer today so no heat was required last night. We had cereal and yogurt for breakfast, closed up shop and asked Google Maps how to get to Excelsior, MN where Deb’s childhood friend Christopher is staying for the month with his mom. They played together as kids until 5th grade when Christopher’s family moved.

We decided on  the scenic route and took the Great River Road. This road was a total great surprise as it follows the Mississippi River with not much traffic, mostly divided highway and the cutest towns along the way. We went through Winona, Lake City, Red Wing (where they make the shoes) and a few other towns that were beautiful. We traveled up the Minnesota side of the river and then crossed into the Wisconsin side and then back to the Minnesota side. 

We then had to head west skirting under the Twin Cities where traffic got busy but we did not have far to go. Once we got off the big highway it was a short way to Christopher's mom Beverly's house. Great for Deb to catch up after 54 years! Christopher is an artist like his father and also a photographer, a hobby since grade school. He does beautiful work. We all went to a pizza restaurant for dinner and then had fun looking at old photos.

Wednesday June 14, 2023 - Harrison Lake State Park, OH to Mirror Lake State Park WI

Another work day. It rained overnight and nothing more soothing than raindrops on the roof. We both slept well so by the time we had tea & coffee, we did not get going until 9:00 or so. We also did the dump station thing so good to go for another 5 nights or so.

Instead of getting back on I-90, we took old RT 20 all the way to the east side of Chicago. Much of it is 2 lane but it becomes a sort of 4 lane interstate of its own, but less traffic and no tolls. The toll situation is a pain.

Once we got close to Chicago we took I-94 right through the middle of the city. Yikes. It was a day of very focused driving. I came to trust the trucks as they are reliable in their movement. The guys that cause accidents are the hot rods lane switching at the last minute.

Gas yesterday was $3.40 per gallon but once we hit Chicago it went to $4.40 (bastards). Tonight in Wisconsin it is back to $3.40. We did a short fill to get us to the cheaper gas. I am a tightwad but when you have a 24 gallon tank it makes a big difference where you fill up.

The traffic died down at the end of the day so the last couple of hours were much more relaxing. Deb made a reservation on-line at a (another) sweet state park in Wisconsin. We pulled in and it was 75 % full so plenty of room.  We took a walk down to the lake and then back through the campground. Chatted up a nice woman with a tiny little teardrop camper made by Little Guy. Too cute.

Deb made dinner (rice, peas, chicken and salad) and I washed the dishes. Called my brother to check in while Deb took another stroll around the campground. Tomorrow we aim for Minnesota.

Tuesday June 13, 2023 - Rochester NY to Harrison Lake State Park, Ohio. Okay, time to make some miles. We had bagels and coffee with Martha and more good catching up. We hope to reconnect with she and her husband again. Very pleasant stop! Today was pretty much getting on I-90 and listening to podcasts and music, stopping for gas, snacks, etc. It is odd for me to be crossing the country when the corn and soy aren't grown yet. They have just planted so lots of agricultural activity. Deb found Harrison Lake State Park which is another gem. Check in took a while as Ohio wants you to set up an account and then reserve a site. Deb had called and the helpful woman said to just show up. We had a nice site and made tortellini and

salad for dinner. Then a walk around the lake (3 miles) and bed with the soothing sound of rain on our camper. We stayed up late the last couple of nights so we were ready to catch up.

Odo=12,521
 

Monday June 12, 2023 - Charlotte VT to Rochester NY

OK, time to head back home to Bisbee. We said our goodbyes this morning. Thanks again to Dave and Deb for letting us stay with them. Dave and I met back in college and have worked together our whole life. Best friends for sure and good to catch up.

Deb has been talking to her senior year college apartment mate, who lives in Rochester, NY, so we are heading there today. The weather guys say 100% chance of rain but we didn't see any until we got almost to Rochester. We did see what we assume is smoke from the Canadian fires. That has been a theme for the last month both out west and here in New England.

The usual shortcuts to Rome, NY (we drove this road for 30+ years to Deb’s family home in Oswego, NY) and then jumped on the NYS Thruway to end up in Rochester. They removed all of the toll booths so everything is done by camera.

Deb’s roommate, Martha, was waiting for us and after catching up we went to a local family restaurant for dinner. 

Who knows where we'll end up tomorrow night, but we're pointed toward Excelsior, MN which looks to be about 3 days away.

We talked to Jacob tonight in Mexico and he and Nath are planning a trip our way in a couple weeks. And we get to dog-sit Tyler again!!

Sunday June 11, 2023 - Putting the dock in at Seymour Lake

Another night at Dave and Deb’s place. Coffee and more catching up then off to have brunch with our old friends Darcy and Al who live in Essex Junction. We saw them last year when Al was working, but this year he's newly retired and seems to be adjusting handily to it. We caught up for a couple hours and then Dave stopped to pick me up and whisk me away to Seymour Lake, where we will do some good male bonding getting his camp ready for summer.

He has a boat lift and a long dock which we had to winch down and into the lake. Swim trunks required and the lake water was cold but not too bad (65 F). It took us an hour and a half to get the dock in and all bolted down and leveled. He started the boat to make sure it ran, then drove to the launch. He uses his Tesla X, and as he drove the boat back to the dock, I got to drive the Tesla back to the camp. Just keep pushing buttons until it goes forward. Thank God the brake and gas pedal are in the right places. Ground control to Major Tom for sure.

We closed up the camp and then headed back to Charlotte and stopped at the Cajun Snack Bar for supper. Seems everybody in the county was there so the place was hopping with folks kicking off summer. Back to Charlotte where Deb was back from her girlfriend evening.

While John was at Seymour Lake, Deb visited Lindi Bortney, the former director of Maiden Vermont, the singing group that Deb was part of for many years. Lindi's in the midst of some health challenges, and it was great to have a short but sweet chance to catch up.

At 5:30 Deb headed to the Bobcat Cafe in Bristol, to meet up with 5 women who she used to get together with regularly. Jill, Cecilia, Susan, Elaine, Lisa, and Deb started going out to dinner a few times a year when their 34 year old "kids" were elementary school age, and it's been a couple of years since the women got their act together to meet. Deb had great fun hearing what everyone has been up to, and getting full reports about their kids and spouses.

Saturday June 10, 2023 - Emptying the storage unit

Another good sleep at Dave and Deb's, coffee and more catching up, then off to have lunch in South Burlington with our friends Linda and Nile. They are “boat people” and also camper van people so we exchanged tours in our vans and had lunch. They were down in the Bahamas this last winter so were curious about the adventures of our daughter Hannah and her partner Erick who also spent the winter down there.

OK, enough procrastinating, time to clean out the storage unit. We got Hannah’s stuff out earlier and today we thin down to cram all of Jacob’s stuff in the van. It actually only took a couple of hours but we were able to compress all of his stuff into 8 tubs and a couple odd pieces and get the van doors closed. Nothing left but the wooden racks I had built which needed to be disassembled. 

At 5 pm we headed to our friends' Nancy and Greg Orvis's home for a barbecue. Teri and Ralph Fitz-Gerald were there, along with Nancy's mom Sylvia. It was yet another great evening of catching up with dear friends. So much socializing and all such a treat! At 10 pm it was back to Dave and Deb's and some much needed sleep.

Friday June 9, 2023 - More Vermont friends

This morning was a little more relaxed since we're staying at Dave and Deb's. They both are working so we had a little down time this morning. Deb and Deb went for a 5 mile walk early this morning (Milo slept), and we had coffee and late breakfasts. We did a morning loop to stop at the storage unit to pick up the crock pot we forgot to take to St Albans yesterday. Hannah sent a call out to her old friends in Starksboro and it will end up at her old best friend's parents' home, Digger and Ann, where we have to go anyway to pick up our maple syrup order for our friends back in Bisbee (we are getting them hooked). Caught up with Digger and got the syrup, then drove by our old friend Ruth Beecher, who taught first grade to both of our kids in elementary school. Had a quick catch up with her and then off to Bristol to meet our librarian friend Beth Nelson. 

We had lunch at the new place, Jones the Boy Bake Shop (named after the owner's cat). Beth is helping us sort through all the books we have been storing and we were able to get it down to one box, the rest going to another family or families in and around Bristol. While Deb and Beth sorted books, Milo went for a walk (he slept in this morning) and picked up a couple of bottles of local maple bourbon, which he can’t get in Arizona.

We tried to get a maple creemee on the way back to Dave and Deb’s but they were closed. We had a bit of down time in the afternoon, and Deb organized the van to fit in all of the maple syrup and make room for storage unit boxes. We headed to Kingsland Bay State Park for a gathering at 5, and although the gray clouds looked threatening, the rain was supposed to hold off.

When we arrived at the park, we had another pleasant surprise, seeing one of Deb's old Maiden Vermont friends, Cathy Sontum, and her husband. We had a fun night at Kingsland Bay with a game of bocce for the men, a super cold quick swim for Deb and a few others, delicious food, and even a birthday cake for Ellen. At 8:30 we had to leave the park since it was closing, and we all headed to Joe and Beth's house for whiskey and tea around a fire.

All in all a perfect Vermont day with dear friends!

Thursday June 8, 2023 - Bristol VT to Charlotte VT

We slept like kings in Gary’s new house and had coffee and breakfast as the construction guys were pulling in to work on the landscaping. Gary has a canoe trip planned in Minnesota and we heard all the details. He has a new dog, Murphy, who is one of those sweet, nice mannered mixed breed, best friend type dogs. We said our goodbyes and thanks for the moochortunity and went to Bristol to check out the new coffee shop, Jones The Boy. Then it was time to get to work and start working on the storage unit. We have been renting a 10 x 10 storage unit for three years that has all the kids' stuff in it. Our kids are not settled anywhere yet but they and we have whittled it down over the years and it’s time to empty it. Hannah and Erick have some stuff in there and Jacob has a little less stuff so we unloaded the van, loaded Hannah and Erick's stuff (mostly Hannah's) and took it up to St Albans where Erick’s mom Meg lives and has a barn. We stopped in St Albans at Tatro's and picked up a couple of sandwiches to share with Meg. Meg is 96, almost 97, and is fun and very lively so it was a pleasure to spend a bit more time with her. We unloaded and sealed up the crates (to critter proof them) with duct tape and stashed them in the barn. Meg’s son Don stopped by who we had met before and we caught up with him as well.

Then back to the storage unit where we loaded the camping stuff back in and grabbed a couple of crates of kid’s books that Deb and her friend Beth are going to sort through to see if we can reduce the load back to Arizona.

Then off to Dave and Deb’s where we'll spend the next few nights before heading back west. We went to Burlington to the Shanty On The Shore restaurant which we have all been going to for 40+ years. We had a lovely evening catching up then off to bed.

Wednesday June 7, 2023 - Starksboro to Bristol VT (and all over)

 

Today we split up. After breakfast and coffee and goodbyes at John and Amy’s, Deb hiked south off the mountain on her (and our dog Zorro’s) favorite abandoned road, Mason Hill South, and Milo took the van to get together at his old workplace, AllEarth Renewables, for a meeting to go over the new Flower product design.

Milo’s day:

After the meeting, Milo got to visit with all his old co-workers, still trying to save the planet. Next stop was a dear friend Tom and his wife Kathy, who Milo worked with since the 1980’s. We had lunch and caught up and Kathy showed me her tiny book collection. Some of these books are hundreds of years old and she has been collecting them for a long time, so she has an impressive collection. Love people who dive into areas of interest up to their eyeballs.

Next stop was a visit to another old engineering friend Guy who lives on a beautiful piece of land overlooking Lake Champlain. He still does engineering work but has started going on months long tours of the Rockies, in the winter, with his Toyota truck and home built custom camper.

Then back to Bristol to pick up Deb and make our way to get together with Deb’s old work mates from Mount Abe High School.

Deb’s day:

I had a lovely rainy day hike over the hill and down into the village of Starksboro. So many memories along the way! Priscilla picked me up at the Starksboro village bus stop at 10, and we drove into Bristol, hoping to stop for a cup of tea. After realizing that the 2 coffee spots were closed, we headed to Beth’s house where we had plans to meet for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch at Beth’s, with Priscilla, Beth, Ellen, and me (aka The Boccettes). No bocce since it was a cool and misty day, but so great to catch up over good food at our “annual meeting”.

The weather cleared up enough in the afternoon that Priscilla, Beth, Moose (Beth’s black lab) and I all headed to the Bristol Waterworks property for a beautiful walk on their trails. After the walk Beth and I drove to Bristol and had a drink at The Bobcat and caught up for another hour or so.

At 5:45 John picked me up in Bristol and we drove to my former colleague Gary’s house for dinner and to spend the night. Gary sold his former Bristol house over a year ago, and has since built a spectacular home on a smaller piece of land outside of Bristol. He designed the home and did a great job locally sourcing lumber and materials. We had a wonderful dinner with Gary, but also with our good friends Paul and Joanne Stetson, and Mary and Jeff Stetson. Gary, Paul, Mary, Jeff, and I were work colleagues at Mt. Abe for many years and it was quite a treat to spend the evening with them.

Tuesday June 6, 2023 - Lincoln VT to Starksboro, VT

 We slept great in Alan’s driveway. After a hardy oatmeal breakfast we said our goodbyes to Al and headed on down the road. We first went back to the storage unit to organize what stuff belonged to Hannah, what was Jake’s, and the few things that were ours. We loaded a couple of wooden chairs into the van to transport to a thrift store. 

Deb contacted our friends Lisa and Jeff to see if they were around, and they wanted us to stop on by. Their house was the first stop on our “Starksboro memory lane” day! We sat outside on their deck with glasses of iced tea and caught up on all that had happened in the past year. Both Lisa and Jeff have had knee replacements, so Milo had a good chat with them about the process.

At 12:30 we left Lisa and Jeff’s home and went up Big Hollow Rd a bit to visit our friends Frank and Melissa Bryan. It was so good to catch up with both of them, especially since we hadn’t seen them in 2 years. We sat outside on their deck and Milo had a lunchtime beer because why not?!

Following Frank and Melissa’s we were feeling a bit hungry, and headed to Hinesburg for a bit of late lunch. We split a sandwich at the Paisley Hippo (still in business and great sandwiches) and then off in search of a creemee. We thought that Papa Nick’s would be open but it’s closed on Tuesday, so we did another trip down memory lane and drove to Monkton to visit Queen Bee’s Snack Bar. We’re now not only drinking beer at noontime but eating pre-dinner creemees, because why not?!

At 6 we drove up our old hill to visit our dear friends (and surrogate kids) John and Amy. Spent the evening catching up on "road news", jobs, families, and all things Starksboro. Another wonderful night with no lights up on the mountaintop.

Monday June 5, 2023 - Pittsford VT to Lincoln VT

Rob & M.J. were the first victims of our “mooch tour” through Vermont. It was great to catch up after several years and we carried out the Snidley Swap. Snidley is a pint of the cheapest whiskey we could buy 30-some years ago. The agreement is that whichever one of us (Rob or Milo) dies last, has to drink it. It seems to be still palatable in its unopened glass bottle.

We said our goodbyes and thank yous after breakfast and headed north. We stopped in Middlebury to upload the weekend's blog (and coffee of course) and then stopped at the Middlebury Coop to get some bread. Deb bumped into our friend Catherine in the parking lot and caught up. Then on to Bristol for lunch. We walked around Bristol checking out what stores and restaurants were open (and still there). A few things had changed hands but overall it is the same little town we lived near all those years. Snaps was the only place open for lunch so Snaps it was. 

After lunch we went to the storage unit where we stashed a bunch of stuff 3 years ago before we moved. Most of it is the kid’s stuff, but we wanted to do an inventory and see what shape everything is in. We shot a movie of what was there and shared it with the kids so they can start thinking about what they want to keep. Maybe we can thin it all down, stay tuned.

Then up to our friends Al and Ann’s place where we would park in their driveway overnight. Our other friends Teri and Ralph joined us for dinner and we spent the night catching up. We did van tours since Al and Ann have the identical van as we do (except his is clean) and Teri and Ralph are thinking about purchasing a van.