AR, OK, TX, NM

It is June and time to head west! This time it is a back country drive along highway 70 through southwest Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The first night stay at the Red River Ranch near Thackerville, OK was uneventful. The drive was nice among the green countryside filled with wildflowers in shades of yellow, red, purple and white. The herd of camels was a surprise. The campground was a disappointment in need of repair and maintenance in the middle of nowhere.

The second day ended with a real treat at a Coast 2 Coast campground, Roaring Springs Ranch Club near Roaring Springs, Texas. We found a nice camping site alone on the top of a mesa with quite a view.

The travel this year is taking place in the Roadtrek due to the high price of gasoline. The highest paid in Texas was 3.44 / gallon. My new quad rides along with Leon's on the new trailer which also has room for the bikes.

We were surprised to find such a lush green campground full of wildflowers, a golf course, a fishing pond, and 750 acres over which we could ride the quads. So ride we did! There is also a small bubbling spring and some rocks where the Indians used to grind corn.

The third day we meandered along the back roads for 368 more miles in wind and more wind and more wind gusting at 40 mph much of the time. We spent the night at Hidden Valley campground in Tijeras, NM, just outside Albuquerque. Here we don't even have a picnic table, just a pull thru spot and electricity which will suffice for the night.

St. Martinville, La

We spent a fantastic 10 days in the swamps of southern Louisiana camping with the FreeRoader RV group at Lake Fausse Pointe State Park. Driving twenty three miles down the paved levee road south of Henderson will take you to the park entrance. Alongside the levee road is the Atchafalaya Basin through which flows the river by the same name. The Cajuns used to live out in the basin and travel by boat, living off the land and it's resources. It is quite interesting to take a swamp tour and learn about the history but we did not choose that option on this trip. We would have liked to have ridden the quad up on the levee but it is private property. (more photos)

One of our first trips was to the bakery in St. Martinville. We then went around the block to the park by the most photographed tree in America, the Evangeline Oak. This is supposedly where Emmeline Labiche, Longfellow's Evangeline, found her long lost lover after they had been separated in Nova Scotia. The Acadians who became what we call Cajuns were French who were exiled from Nova Scotia and eventually found their way down Bayou Teche to this area. They are the most wonderful people to know and have a unique culture based on their history and customs which have survived two centuries in this area. (more photos)

Much of our time was spent sightseeing. Breaux Bridge, which is famous for it's crawfish festival held later in the year, is a tourist friendly small town. We stopped at Cafe des Amis on Saturday morning for their zydeco breakfast. We began our meal with beignets while listening to Little Nathan and his band perform. The dance floor stayed packed as is a custom on Saturday mornings found at many venues throughout Cajun country. (more photos)

Another fun place to visit is the Tabasco factory at Avery Island, located south of New Iberia. Fourteen of us caravanned to take a factory tour and see the peppers being processed to produce their well known Tabasco products. We saw them bottle products that would be shipped to Europe and then sampled many of their sauces next door at the Factory Store. (more photos)
We drove over to the Jungle Gardens, begun by the McIlhenny family who started Tabasco, and took a driving tour through the grounds among the giant live oaks with Spanish moss hanging from their branches. Underneath were azaleas and camelias in bloom flashing all shades of pink and red. The alligators basked in the sun alongside the ponds and the egrets were nesting in their rookery.



Lake Martin, located at Parks between Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville, is the largest bird rookery in the United States. Seventeen of the FreeRoaders took a seat in Bryan Champagne's boat for an upclose look at alligators, nutria, barred owls, yellow bellied turtles, snakes, white egrets, roseatte spoonbills, and little blue herons. (more photos)

The remainder of our time was spent eating: crawfish, chowder, Cape Cod stuffies, crawfish etoufee, gumbo, hobo stew, biscuits and gravy, and potluck dishes and desserts. (more photos) On our final night the LEOs (Let's Eat Out) prevailed and we all went to Pat's Fisherman's Wharf for a seafood feast. Between meals we visited with old and new friends, kayaked, rode the bicycles, went geocaching, watched the many brilliant red cardinals, and basically just kicked back and relaxed. We had to extend our stay for one day just to find time to ride the bikes on Trail C, a 3 mile trail among the swamp in the park. As we left town I started down to Bayou Ann, across the bridge from Pat's in Henderson, to gather a few water hyacinths for my pond. I have never seen so many large snakes in one gathering. There will be no water hyacinths blooming in my pond this summer!

There is work to be done at the dead end before we go north to Mountain View, Arkansas in one month.

Bossier City, La

The toy hauler is full of toys (bikes, kayak, quad) and we are off to meet with the FreeRoaders in Louisiana. We decided to travel a few hours and overnight in the Shreveport, La area. There are 5 casinos alongside the Red River in Bossier City and with our luck the RV park at Diamond Jack's was full. For us that is good luck as we got to stay in the parking lot alongside which is where we wanted to be anyway. Why pay $30 for a little electricity we don't need!

We visited Boomtown Casino and Bass Pro Shop and then wandered along the beautiful new boardwalk they have along the Red River. No vehicles, just walkways among the shops and restaurants. Then we settled in at Diamond Jack's and paid our "camping fees. "

We stopped at noon yesterday at a great little place in Texarkana, Arkansas, Fat Jack's Oyster Bar, and watched the Razorbacks advance to the finals in the southeast conference basketball tournament while we nibbled on some of their specialties such as catfish and shrimp.

South of Bossier the fresh green of spring greeted us as we pass trees with new young leaves. The red of the maples are interspersed in the forests along I 49. The sun is warm and the temps are in the 70s.

As the French say in cajun country "Laizzes les bon temps rouller!" or Let the good times roll!

Al, Ms, Ar

We left Montgomery, Al early and blew across Mississippi, literally, as there were tornadoes about 45 miles to the south of us at one point. The dark ominous clouds overhead provided heavy rain showers and windy conditions a few times. We later learned of a deadly tornado in Enterprise, Alabama at about the same time, which was along our path yesterday.

March: In like a lion, out like a lamb. We shall see.

We stopped in Greenville, MS to put a few nickles in the machines on the "riverboat" and left with enough money for lunch in Lake Village, AR.
Dumas was along the way so we did stop and observe the devastation from the recent tornado there. We are now back at the dead end waiting for the next adventure (after taxes of course) - Louisiana in ten days!

Montgomery, Al

When it's over, it's over. It's time to go home. After we left Ocala National Forest we stopped for a quick fix at Micanopy, one of my favorite spots in Florida. It is the oldest town inland that is not on a waterway. There are unique old houses, a few restaurants and antique shops, and live oaks covered with Spanish moss. We took a few more photos.
We arrived in Montgomery about dark and chose a spot at Wal-mart in spite of the no camping signs. They assured us a small van was ok and it was!

Ocala, Fl

Much of the day was spent driving from Stuart to the Ocala National Forest. It was a mistake to get off the turnpike too soon. We arrived at Salt Springs to find the campground full and chose a nice spot at Fore Lake, a more primitive campground but very pleasant and quiet. We rode the bikes and got out the grill after touring the forest to get acquainted for a possible future visit. This is the area on which the book The Yearling was based. There are many waterways and also quite a few canoes in the area. Perhaps another time.

Stuart, Fl

An early Saturday morning arrival at Phipps County Park in Martin County was perfect timing to get a camping spot alongside the Okeechobee Waterway just as a camper was leaving, since there are only 15 electric/water sites. This is a spacious park with plenty of sunshine and lots of palms. After a nice bike ride we spent the rest of the day taking care of chores in town (haircut, Chinese food, oil change, propane, new phone, junk souvenir shopping) before returning to grill some of our fresh vegetables!


On Monday we moved a few hundred feet down the road to the St. Lucie Locks Corps of Engineers' campground alongside the Okeechobee Waterway that runs from the east coast at Stuart, through Lake Okeechobee, and to the west coast at Ft. Meyers. We had a fine visit and lunch with Regina and Mike in St. Lucie West and were given a grand tour of the PGA neighborhood.

We have a few more photos.




We then drove to the coast and wandered up 1 and 1A1 from Ft. Pierce to Vero Beach, stopping along the way to walk on the beach although it was quite windy. In Vero Beach we had a delightful visit with Susan, a friend since the 5th grade, and her sister Gene and husband Jerry. Very nice people.

We meandered along the coast along 1A1 to Stuart and back to our home for the night amid a pretty good rain that washed the van.
Tuesday morning we watched the Olympian kayakers from Germany paddle up and down the waterway before joining Marcia and Sue for a trip to the Brighton Seminole Casino near Okeechobee. It was a great opportunity for a visit. We each even won a few dollars. We very much enjoyed the Stuart and Jupiter areas. There are a few more photos of our ride along the coast.

Jupiter, Fl

After we left the Everglades we stopped at a fresh vegetable market and got a box full of beautiful fruits and vegetables before heading to Miami. We spent a couple of hours exploring the art deco area of South Beach. They were having a food and wine festival but were sold out, so we left the crowds and headed north. We can't show all the photos we took! Some are censored.
Friday afternoon in February is not the best time to look for a campground in coastal southern Florida. We checked several in the area of Jupiter but all seemed to be full. Even the Wal-mart had no overnight parking signs posted as one would expect. So we chose a quiet spot beside a pond complete with ducks at the Blue H. Then it was off to tour the area. We drove along Jupiter Beach and stopped to watch people with their wind surfers. We located the Square Grouper Tiki Bar, also known as Castaways, famous for Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson's "It's Five O'clock Somewhere" duet. After a short visit there we went to the Food Shack and had a delicious dinner to end a long day. We took a couple more photos.

Everglades, Fl

After a couple of days in Key West we were ready for some quiet time in a real campground. We procured a campsite at Long Pine in the Everglades National Park and then spent the afternoon taking short hikes along the boardwalks to view mangrove swamps, mahogany tree hammocks, and other features of the area. We drove 32 miles down to the Florida Bay and Flamingo camping area and even did one geocache while there.
On Friday morning we walked along the Anahinga Trail which was totally delightful. We saw many species of water birds and I especially enjoyed watching the wood stork. There was a plethora of alligators not to mention turtles and photographers.

Look at some of our other photos.

Key West, Fl

A change in lattitude = a change in attitude!! The pace just seems to slow once you are here. What a great two days we spent in Key West. It was in the upper 70's with plenty of sunshine. We celebrated Fat Tuesday by stopping at MM39 near Marathon to visit BK and watched a Mardi Gras parade by members staying at the $90/day RV park!
In Key West we made our stop at Margaritaville and then enjoyed Wayne and Mike at Sloppy Joe's. They are two funny guys who play music and tell stories. We wandered around Mallory Square and rode our bikes through the streets overflowing with tourists before calling it a night on Simonton Street.


On Wednesday morning we are parked by Bayview Park watching the homeless begin their day while kids skateboard by on the way to school and other people play with their dogs in the park. There doesn't appear to be much difference between us and the homeless. They have 2 bikes, we have 2 bikes, but our bed is on wheels and their's is in a garbage bag.
Today we will wander on the boardwalk along the bay, ride our bikes over to the southernmost point in the US, eat some seafood, and watch the sunset and street performers at Mallory Square. Ask us sometime about our bikes disappearing.
The weather is here, we wish you were beautiful. Check the other pictures.
Just a little bit of history I find interesting: The keys belonged to the Spanish until a Mobile, Alabama businessman, John Simonton, bought the land for $2000.00 and Key West was founded in 1822. By the 1850s there were 2,70 people, many who came from New England and the Bahamas as "wreckers." When there was a shipwreck they would salvage millions of dollars of cargo from ships that ran aground on the reefs. By 1830 Key West was the richest city per capita in the U.S. and which was the case for about 50 years. In 1856 the 2,000 residents split almost $400,000 in booty.
Later in the century Cuban immigrants led the city into becoming the world's leading cigar manufacturing center with 100 million cigars rolled by hand per year. This business later moved to Tampa. The next industry to arrive was sponging, once grossing $750,000 a year. In 1910 a red tide killed the Key West beds and the industry collapsed. Today tourism is alive and well.

Big Cypress, FL

Susan and I have had a wonderful time in the Big Cypress National Preserve. We spent the night at Midway campground, a nice spot surrounding a borrow pit lake with water and electric, a shower house, and a dump.
We took a tour on an airboat with Tigertails, and it was a wild and exciting ride which we both enjoyed. We stopped at 2 islands in the "sea of grass" and watched our guide feed and pet an alligator. Next stop: Key West and "Margaritaville." Check out our photos along the Tamiami Trail.

Sarasota, Fl

We visited the estate owned by John Ringling. It includes the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. We saw some impressive art including a large collection of Rubens. The museum was built in Italian Renaissance style and the courtyard has an impressive display of sculptures. John Ringling, of circus fame, built a large home on Sarasota Bay. His winter residence known as Ca d'Zan cost $1.5 million in 1926 and the 32 room mansion resembles a Venetian Palace. The 66 acre complex also includes the Circus Museum with gilded parade wagons, calliopes, costumes, posters, and more. The gounds are landscaped with huge banyon trees and statues are everywhere! Sarasota has long been noted as a vacation spot but is also quite an art community owing much to the Ringlings.
Another day while in Sarasota we stumbled across the Art Festival as we were trying to get to Whole Foods for lunch. We took lots of clown photos, which seemed appropriate, before we joined friends at the El Adobe.


We then found an Irish festival at a nearby pub and enjoyed Irish music, food, and dancers. Sunday should be a day of rest and a grouper sandwich at Turtle Beach!

Check out our other photos.

Venice, Fl

Brrr. A cold front came through but 60 degrees sure beat 30 in Arkansas. So it was south to explore the area around Venice with a visit to RV World. Along the way we drove out on Casey Key, an area more similar to Florida past with not such large mansions lining the shores.
South of Casey Key we drove down Venice Avenue through a cute shopping district loaded with tourists. Then we stopped at Sharkey's on Venice Beach where many were huddled inside for lunch due to the windy conditions on the beach. That did not keep us from driving down to Caspersen Beach to find some shark's teeth since we were in the shark tooth capitol of the world.
We then went to Nokomis Groves for some fresh grapefruit juice, oranges, and a delightful chocolate and lime twist ice cream cone! Bombax trees were all around us. What a day!

See more photos of the Venice area.

Myakka City, Fl

Thursday was tourist day indeed! We began with a drive over to Myakka River State Park to take the canopy walk. This is a boardwalk built among the treetops in swinging bridge fashion with a tower approximately 74' high at the end where you can easily look over the forest. The walk allows you to examine closely the ferns, lichens, airplants, and insects living up in the trees. The adjoining nature walk is through a palm and oak hammock with many small palms in the undergrowth. We did even see some wild pigs.


We ventured along the backroads to see Solomon's Castle, a strange creation for sure! Next to the castle is the boat on a moat that Solomon built for the restaurant. It was worth the drive. It is amazing how many "older people" you find at this time of year in Florida no matter where you go. We all seem to enjoy the same things.


After a bar-b-q sandwich in the parking lot in Myakka City (no restaurants there) we arrived at the Herrman Lipizzaner show. For 90 minutes we were entertained by the beautiful horses as they were put through a training session with explanations about all the maneuvers.
Our photos are posted also.

Siesta Key, FL

We arrived in Siesta Key on Saturday and wasted no time riding bikes down the avenue to one of the whitest, prettiest beaches in America. The snowbirds are here in full force and are being bathed in warm sunshine and 70 degree temperatures.


We have especially enjoyed touring around town with Mary. We visited the St. Armands Circle and had a fine Cuban lunch at the Columbia Cafe which was begun in Tampa in 1905. We also drove over to Lido Key and then to the Whole Food store in Sarasota. What an awesome place for a vegan! And a stop at the Tiki Bar at the Sarasota Bayfront was also a good idea. Mary is the ultimate tour guide!
On Sunday we did four geocaches in the area and then met our friend Phil at the Dobe. These were Leon's first geocaches. He can hardly wait to go on more!
Today was spent by the pool soaking up some sun and fresh air as the temps should be only in the 60s for the next few days.

Tarpon Springs, Fl

We again left about 8 am to head south to Siesta Key, Florida. We debated the options and chose to follow the coastline through Weeki Wachee and many small towns so that we could visit Tarpon Springs. This is a place inhabited by Greeks long ago where they created a thriving sponge industy where they dove for sponge in the beds nearby. Although the sponge industry is no longer so important, the community is still Greek and a major tourist area. We fit right in having gyros for lunch and strolling the shops. I did have a little shopping flurry!

After enjoying a few hours there we went on south through St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and various small towns with lots of traffic to arrive at Siesta Key and our friend Mary's house about 5 pm. Another fine day!

More photos of the trip to Florida.

Manatee Springs, Fl

Again we left early to travel leisurely along the Florida coast to our next destination: Manatee Springs State Park near Chiefland, Florida. We couldn't resist stopping when we saw a sign for Leon's donuts. Oh well, we are on vacation! We stopped for lunch alongside the beach in a picnic area and learned that troops had trained there for the invasion of Normandy in WWII.

The weather was in the 70s and made for quite a pleasant drive as we went further south and through the tall pine forests. After about 7 hours we got to our campground in time for a nice bike ride over to the Catfish hole, a water filled sinkhole.

Divers were there and explained to us about the system of caves they were exploring under the water. We followed the spring water down to where it enters the Suwannee River, a popular spot for manatees in the spring. We watched deer feed among the cypress alongside the stream which is called the Spring Run. Then we scared up a couple of armadillos on our ride down the sandy nature trail among palmettos. At dusk we grilled a couple of hot dogs and reflected on another fine day.

Grayton Beach, Fl

After an early morning stop from Biloxi we toured Ocean Springs, Mississippi. What a surprise to turn down Government Street and find my favorite donut shop from 15 years ago. Indeed we stopped for coffee and donuts. From there we meandered along 90 towards Mobile. After we passed through the tunnel we turned south again and took the scenic route along the coast through Daphne and Fairhope. The tulips and hyacinths were blooming and spring was definitely in the air. We then drove over to Tanger Outlet Mall in Foley, Alabama for a little shopping.

We scurried along as fast as one can along the beach in the Florida panhandle and arrived at Grayton Beach State Park about 4 pm. We found a site there a took a bike ride over to the white sand beach. Then we had a fine dinner in town at Piccolo's and the Red Bar. It was a good day.

Biloxi, MS

The weather in Arkansas was a little cool so it was time to head to Florida. We left about 8 and 20 miles down the road we stopped at The Place in Malvern for breakfast. Then it was a nice drive south to Lake Village. We did not stop at Paul Michel's to shop but certainly did have a fine buffet at Lakeside Cafe across the road.

We then traveled through Louisiana and crossed the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. We arrived in Biloxi at sunset and found much devastation still in the area from Hurricane Katrina. The casino where we planned to stop, Casino Magic, was no longer in existence but Isle of Capri next door had been rebuilt. We stopped there for the night.

Ca to Ar on I 40

We left Tehachapi on October 1 with the toy hauler loaded and headed for Hot Springs. Leon drove the toy hauler and I drove Hernando. We managed to arrive in Kingman, Az in time for an early supper at El Palacio, a favorite Mexican restaurant. We walked along Route 66 for a few minutes before heading east again.

The plan was to stop for the night at a roadside park at dark only to find it closed. We found a spot in Ash Fork, Az in an empty lot next to the Rancho Cafe and went in for a coke and bowl of ice cream. It was like we had walked on stage in a tv sitcom: a guy wearing a pistol and holster, 3 sheriffs, some perhaps truck drivers, and some of the locals. Leon thought it was quite noisy in the night with trains passing constantly – I heard nothing.


At 7 am we were on the road again and finally got to New Mexico where gas was $2.39 a gallon and that is a good thing! We planned to stop at a rest stop before Tucumcari at dark only to find it closed also. We drove on to Tucumcari and were delighted to find a Kmart full of RVers. We enjoyed driving around town looking at the old Route 66 stops with their neon lights still glowing.
We ate breakfast at Denny’s and waited for the sun to come up to leave. We weren't in a rush as we wouldn't make it to Hot Springs in one day, but we did!

Boron, Ca

We took a day excursion out to Boron, about 40 miles east of Tehachapi to visit the Borax Museum. We first stopped by the Saxon Aerospace Museum which is small but has some very nice displays. Then we stopped in town at another small museum, the Twenty Mule Team Museum, which was most informative. Here we learned that the movie Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts had been filmed here. Also the tv show Death Valley Days starring Ronald Reagan had made many people aware of this area.

From there we went to the Boron plant which has a museum also. We were quite surprised in a video they showed that so many products are made from borax. This is quite a major production in this small desert town.


It is hard to believe that a wagon such as this would make a 165 trek from the desert at Death Valley to take borax to the railroad junction located in Mojave. This took place from 1883 - 1886 and was a 20 days round trip. The mules were extremely well trained which was required to navigate through the mountains. The bells on the lead mules would signal ahead around curves to let oncomers know they were there.


We were visiting near the end of their workday and while we were looking over the mines they had set off a blast to evidentally prepare for the next workday.


From the top of the hill at Boron we could look across the highway at Rocket Mountain. This is a part of Edwards Air Force Base that has played quite a role in the history of the space explorations.


We then drove back across the Mojave desert, past the Joshua trees, past the wind turbines, and through the mountains to Stallion Springs Drive.

Sequoia National Park, Ca

After Labor Day and the beginning of school we decided it was the perfect time to visit Sequoia National Park. We got setup alongside the creek in Lodgepole Campground and one of our first ventures was to climb to the top of Moro Rock. It was still a little hazy as it was early in the day.

What a climb and what a view!

Then we were off to find Tharp's Log. This is a "summer home" built in a fallen Sequoia log where a rancher lived in the summers from 1861-1890 when Sequoia was developed.

Tharp would bring his cattle from Three Rivers to the mountains to graze in the meadows at the higher elevation.

After passing Tharp's Log we came to Crescent Meadow. When John Muir visited Tharp he proclaimed this meadow as the "Gem of the Sierras."

We then drove the crooked road thru the Giant Forest and on to the Grant Grove Area which took about an hour. We located a nice campsite in Azalea Campground, which was a little more spacious camping due to the lack of crowds in this area . Then we took a winding and most scenic road down the mountain to Hume Lake, a beautiful little lake surrounded by a Christian Campground. The lake had been built to send logs down the river as they cut the giant sequoias in the area. We got some propane and returned to the campground where we enjoyed grilling burgers on the logs procured from vacated campsites while watching the squirrels attack our food. The next morning all the chipmunks were busy knocking pine cones out of the trees and then running downhill with pinecones three times their size to bury them beside a fallen log. We went down to the Grant Cove area, which is located in Kings Canyon National Park, and hiked to Grant's Tree, the 3rd largest Sequoia.

We then returned to the Lodgepole Campground stopping at the many vistas and taking small hikes along the way.
One special hike was to the Panoramic Point overlook. A narrow winding 2 mile road led us up the hill. Thank goodness we were traveling small. The view of Hume Lake below with the mountains beyond was breathtaking (or was it the hike?).

We also stopped to take a look at the General Sherman tree. It is the largest living thing in the world by volume. Other trees may be taller or wider but none contains the mass of this giant.

We then took the 1 1/2 mile Big Trees Trail that circles Round Meadow. Many cabins had been built in this area and the last one was removed in 1999. Optimum conditions exist around this meadow for the giant Sequoias to thrive and thrive they do. We then scurried back to the campground for hot dogs and potatoes cooked over the open fire with s'mores for desert.




On Friday we vacated our campsite and set out on the 3 1/2 mile hike to see Tokopah Falls and hopefully a bear. We heard the bear in the woods but never saw one but we did make it to the falls. It was our favorite hike as it was more of a natural setting and not so crowded as the other small hikes. The trail followed along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River at a 500 foot elevation gain until it ended at the giant granite cliffs and the waterfall of Tokopah Canyon. The hike back to the truck was downhill and most pleasant. We saw many signs of bear feeding on logs in the area. I am not sure if I was glad or disappointed to not see a bear.

It was a pleasant 2 hour drive back to Tehachapi after a great 4 days of hiking, sightseeing and camping.