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Sunday October 15
There were a number of very
heavy rain storms that came through the area last night.
For the weekend campers
it was quite a bummer, all set for a saturday night campfire, roasting
marshmallows
over the campfire and making
smores all washed away with each passing thunderstorm.
We of course were warm and
dry, while watching the campers run for cover.
Had thought about going into
town this morning, Sunday brunch and a newspaper.
We rethought that plan when
we went out to the low water crossing and saw all the sloppy mud that was
washed in overnight.
There were many people who
drove through with and without campers behind them. Some of the vehicles
were quite a
mess after having to deal
with 5 to 6 inches of sloppy mud. There is concrete underneath all
the slop, so
its safe to drive through,
no chance of getting stuck, but still a mess to deal with.
While captive in the campground
we decided to make chicken noodle soup for supper,
the homemade kind that simmers
on the back burner all afternoon, topped off with home made egg noodles,
large chuncks of carrots,
celery and onion. Yum yum!
And the rest of the
road is good. They will be scraping it on Monday.
It is the second time they
have had to clean the road since we have been here.
Monday October 16
We went to town... Farmington,
NM. Needed a few things and were board in the campground so it seems
like a Monday type thing
to do. The river had not gotten clear for good fishing so of to town we
went.
Took a few things back to
Home Depot. and yes we stopped at Wal Mart.
They had not cleared to
road when we left but it was nice when we returned.
The other road to Terry's
favorite fishing spot was not fixed and the washout was not what we wanted
to drive the truck through.
A dully PU has like NO traction if not a 4x4. And we don't want a 4x4 to
pull a 5er.
Now, just checked the weather
forcast... Tuesday Night Forecast:
Scattered thunderstorms
in the evening, with occasional rain and wintery mix.
Low around 35F.
Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Chance of precip 60%.
Wintery Mix
is the operative phrase that caught our attention. Guess we won't be staying
past Thursday,
which we are paid up to.
We could renew for more days but if this forecast holds, think it is time
to head further south.
Next planned stop will be
Gallup, NM where Terry insists he knows of a great jewelers supply store.
He just won't listen to
me when I tell him to just play in the gravel parking lot to find all those
gems.
Tuesday October 17
Its been a quiet day in the
Cottonwood campground, our temporary home town. The forecast today
was for rain and
wintery mix, and thus far
we have been spared the wintery mix, no need to build our character,
we've seen enough winter
in our lives and prefer
the warmth of an AZ winter. But the skies remain overcast and we
could yet see flurries as we go into the night.
We have also seen enough
character building today as we watch the tent campers across the way, as
they cope with intermittent downpours,and three dogs, that seem to have
moved into the tent with their people.
Tomrrow we will see the after
effects of the rains, a sloppy mess to drive through in the
low water crossing to get out
of the campground. The Ranger
had just gotten it scraped clean and dried out yesterday, and now another
shot of rainwater
and mud down the canyon.
We have to hope for dry weather or we may be stranded till who knows.
Have been researching Gallup
NM looking for a place to land (among other things). The local web
site for the Gallup
chamber of commerce lists
a Red Rocks State Park, but the State Parks page has no mention of the
place, nor is it
mentioned in the State Parks
literature that our campground host gave to us. Now have a couple of emails
pending,
and hope for a reply tomorrow.
May have to drive to the top of the hill tomorrow to see if we can get
a cell phone signal
and call the number the
Gallup chamber of commerce gives and see if there is an answer.
When we hit Gallup Terry
wants to go shopping at Indian Jewelers Supply for a few odds and ends
to tide him over till
the shows start at Quartzsite.
While on the web We took
a couple of detours from Gallup research, and among other things found
a site on
growing an upside down tomato
plant, using a 5 gal bucket suspended above the ground, with the tomato
plant growing
out the bottom, its something
we are considering once we get to Quartzsite. Stay tuned for further
tomato updates.
Here is a web site telling
how to do it. Growing
Tomatoes Upside Down
Wednesday October
18
It
was a cool but clear day, seems like home at Navajo Dam, NM.
We have been here for 15 days. WOW. About 1 PM Terry decieded it was nice
enough to go fly fishing. He came home with the biggest smile on
his face. He had that after fishing (sex) glow. He caught a big one
which he had to play with a tiny fly. He watched it look at his fly, and
it came up and took it right in full view. One last big one before
we leave tomarrow.
Time
to hit the road to Gallup, NM We have been surprised that today (Wed) many
RV units have moved in and the campground RV sites with power look full.
There is a FREEZE WARNING
for tonight.
We
use a weather service program 'Weather Watcher' www.singerscreations.com
Which resides in the bottom
tool
bar with the current temp, we can select the city to follow the weather
and get alerts for that area that pop up online.
One
great program.
You
can add as many locations as you want to follow.
Thursday October
19
A short
drive less than 200 miles... a stop in Farmington for propane for under
$15 for 30 lb tank. We found diesel for $2.52.
We
are no at Red Rock State Parks which is not really a state park.
From what we can gather it used to be a state park
and
the city took it over. Nice and the cost is $20.
We
will make up the high fee when we make our next stop at Winslow, AZ at
a great city park that is FREE.
We
think the top we want to ever pay in $20. So you can see why we drive right
by KOA's.
We
told you about the Winslow city park last years but we will make sure you
know where it's at since not much along
I-40
in this neck of the woods. (I mean desert.)
Red rock bluffs surrounds
the park. The park is nearly empty. Terry will go to town in the AM to
his Indian Jewelers
Supply for all his rock
stuff that he will need in Quartzsite.
Friday October 20
Easy trip to Winslow, AZ
and to McHood City Park 5 miles south of town on their lake. This is a
FREE campground but no water, electric, or dump so come prepared. In town
is a Flying J so you can dump and get water there for free also. New Wal
Mart supercenter just opened.
I listed this free
campground in www.freecampgrounds.com
We will stay here for the
weekend as the weather is nice and the forest service campground that is
our next stop fills up on weekends.
We called and asked. That's
what cell phones are for. Besides Terry wants to go rock hunting in the
BLM just south of here.
Who would guess he would
think of that.
Very
tranquil, with no breeze, no clouds, so quite, and a great sunset. Just
watching the world pass by.
A
moment of time in our lives to to be remembered.
Saturday October
21
Standing
on a corner in Winslow Arizona in the 1950's and 60"s before the
interstate came through and bypassed main street must have been
an
interesting sight. Now all that's left are a lot of somewhat well
maintained cheap motels, and the trains rolling through. Seems that
for a small town there are a lot of nick knack type stores, no real
good hdwe store that we've ever found. All the new commercial development
is out on the interstate.
We
went into Winslow this morning to get fuel for the Truck, and have breakfast
at the Flying J's buffet. Then on to the big box supermart on the
north side of town. Had to get on the interstate at Flying J to get
there as the underpass at exit 253 for county rd seven going north is closed
for construction of a new interstate bridge, and all interstate traffic
is routed down the exit ramp, and back up the other on ramp to get around
the
construction.
When
we finally got to big box superstore on north side of town we had problems
parking. The store has built a new super center behind their old
store, and has yet of demolish the old building in front to free up parking.
Looks like they have only been in the new building for a short while.
We
bought a radio controlled model which took a bunch of batteries and failed
to notice it also required an expensive charger, sold separately of course.
WE ended up back at the store shortly after lunch and returned the radio
controlled toy, and bought a Monopoly game. We can now relive childhood
memories, and recall all the fights we had with our siblings when
someone was accused of cheating--always happened, never recall a game that
did not end in an argument about the rules.
To
end the day Ron logged in on the computer for a web cast of Public Radio's
"A Prairie Home Companion" while I went to the the county gravel pile across
the road and went agate hunting.
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