11,000 - Not What I Expected

If you know anything about me, you know that I love to travel, to be outdoors, and to geocache. In the Geocaching world we like to mark auspicious stages in our finds. Last year I marked 10,000 at

the oldest cache in New York. It was a half mile hike alone in the woods with a lot of downhill trekking (and back uphill) but so worth it. Amazing that one short year later I made it another thousand. It needed to be something special. Then I saw it. A group hike at Picacho Peak. Just 2.7 miles to the top. And I would be with a group. So much better. Plus there was an event that afternoon in the campground with a 4.5 terrain rating.

So there I was at the trailhead 6:30 Saturday morning meeting my group. Knee brace - check. Walking sticks - check. Camelback - check. Gloves for gripping the rocks, handholds, and the ladder near the peak - check. What am I doing here?  And so we started. Right from the start the trail was tough. Seldom did it get better. But I did get to the first cache appropriately named Grandma needs a rest. While the group was hunting the cache a woman slipped and fell a little ways. Nothing serious but it got me to thinking that making it to the top was only half the journey. Getting back to the bottom would be just as treacherous, so I agreed to accompany my bloody and bruised hike mate back down the trail. Feeling somewhat defeated yet somehow wise we carefully descended back to the parking area. After resting, having some water and a snack I decided to hike the slightly less hazardous Calloway Trail. One more regular cache and one earthcache complete. 10,999.

Knowing that my only option was to attend the campground event for my big one. I was feeling a little dejected as I wandered into the campsite and took a seat with the others who had turned down the big adventure to the top. But as we sat around talking I remembered it was just another number. No big deal. And while we were talking my decision to turn back suddenly became very smart. The whomp whomp sound of helicopter blades roared over the peak behind us.

  We all watched anxiously and wondered about the six cachers who had continued on to the peak. Finally, as we watched the basket dangle below the chopper a text came through from the group. They were all ok but held up near the saddle while the medical evacuation was completed.

After the excitement was over I started to realize how tired I was. Most were camping in the park but I had only a twenty minute drive back to my campsite and there was a hot tub there which my suddenly aching knees and arms were crying out for. I walked over to my backpack and pulled out my homemade sign (another geocacher tradition) and ask if someone would take my picture. Suddenly they were all around congratulating me and taking pix. It reminded me of what I love about this sport. New friends. Supportive people.

Exhausted by now I drug my tired body home. Too tired to even walk over to the hot tub I just went to bed. Laying down on that mattress was better than a mountain peak.

Toad Tales

Back in 2010 when I first began to learn about the full time RV life I quickly learned a whole new language as I began to consider class A, B, or C. Or maybe a travel trailer. A small fifth wheel?  While going through this decision a salesman who was trying hard to sell me a travel trailer made the statement “No matter how you go you will be pulling something behind you.”  He was right too, unless I had gone with a class B which is basically a big van.  I knew I would not be happy in that small of a home on the road. And while pull behind trailers and fifth wheels are roomier I would have had to purchase a vehicle to tow one of those.

After winnowing it down I ended up with a 24’ class C.  One big reason I selected it was that I could pull the car I already had behind it. I loved that car. It was a bright orange 2006 Chevy HHR. I bought that car new. My first new car ever.  Of course by 2010 it had nearly 100,000 miles and had been rear ended on the interstate once. So it was perfect for a car to be towed behind my RV. 

My first rig. 

It was my first “toad” in RV lingo.  And it was a beauty. It was the one I learned on. And it served me well through 4 years, 12 states, and 9 jobs. But even a toad’s life has an expiration date. My little orange pumpkin finally needed to retire. Her replacement was a sensible Honda CRV. After a Jeep, the most popular toad is the Honda. Not that I wasn’t tempted by the idea of a Jeep, but in the end I realized if I had a Jeep I’d just be going places I don’t need to go. 

It took a while to get used to this new toad. For starters, it wasn’t orange, or red, or even blue. Just gray. Just reliable. Just what I needed.   Gradually I got used to it and even came to love it. Which really made it painful when I took out a 12 point buck with it. Took two weeks to get it fixed. I was miserable without it, and I was thrilled to get it back. Then me and my toad (and by then my new RV) headed to a job in Louisiana and on to Arizona. 

Toad #2 at Great SaltLake. 

I was really falling in love with that car. Then one evening around dusk the little gray toad took out another deer. This time there was no saving it. I drove from Texas to Tennessee toad-less. In times like these I rely on big brother Clint and his vast automotive knowledge. And I was under the gun too. I needed to have a new toad ready for a trip to Gettysburg in less than a month. With big brother’s help the trip went off on time without a hitch.

So now I’m on my third toad in nine years. And I love him. I call him Howard da Beast. He’s a 2010 Honda Element. Clint had to do a few modifications to get him ready to be a toad (the manual said he couldn’t be towed). I was so grateful to Clint for all his work that I gave him Clint’s first name. He doesn’t use it anyway. I added da Beast after towing it 1800 miles in the first two weeks of toad life. It never gave me a problem. In Howard’s first months of toad life he has driven through eleven states and added 3,000 miles to the odometer. I think Howard and I are looking at a bright future together

But just in case I have put deer whistles in his front grill.

Howard da Beast sitting in Hohenwald

Duck and Cover Memories

Guess I’m showing my age again, but a recent museum visit took me back to elementary school days and the duck and cover drills. For all my younger readers who didn’t have the fun of growing up during the Cold War, I will try to explain. In a nutshell the idea was to train us from an early age to be aware that at any time the Russians could drop a nuclear weapon on the US. But we would know it’s coming because we would hear the air raid siren. And if we were at school we were taught to duck under our desks. Sounds a bit unsophisticated doesn’t it.

Don’t believe me? Go to You Tube and watch the Duck and Cover video. Now that you’ve seen the video and had a good laugh, let me remind you that our parents had just lived through a world war that ended with the US dropping the first atomic bomb. And we didn’t have all the instant info that permeates our world today. We believed our parents and more importantly, we believed Bert!

So all those memories came rushing back today while visiting the Titan Missile Museum. Yep, the missile is still there (albeit gutted) along with all the “state of the art” systems in the control room.

Looking down from the top of the silo. 

The tour took about two hours and placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that this was a weapon of deterrence that thankfully was never used.  That’s a good thing since they were programmed only to be fired if the Russians fired a missile at us first.

You’re three stories below ground and you know that somewhere above you at least two nuclear warheads have gone off. If the incoming blast hit close enough you won’t be able to go out until the silo is unsealed. If the blast was on the other side of the country you can exit the silo - when the next crew relieves you.

As I sat at the control board and listened to the scenario I felt really bad for the service men and women who manned this duty station and others like it - yes there were lots of them all around the country.  They knew the horrors that would exist if the Cold War turned Hot. All us kids knew was Duck and Cover.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Remember when school started back after Labor Day and your first assignment was the dreaded “Summer Vacation “ essay?  Guess that question shows my age. No one writes essays any more. They just post it all on Facebook. Since this return to blogging is meant as my own antidote to Facebook, I will tell you what I did.

I drove. I drove a lot. I drove up into The Chiricahua Mountains to see completely dark night skies at night and look for Montezuma’s quail in the morning. The stars were breathtaking, but I never found the quail. Then I drove across the southern edge of New Mexico which takes only a couple of hours. I stayed in El Paso for a little while to rest before heading south to uncharted territory. I had always wanted to bird southern Texas and this was my chance. Finally saw the dickcissel and green jays. I birded my way across the bottom of the state then through Houston and Baton Rouge before turning north to cut Mississippi in half.

After a rest stop to visit friends in Ripley I moved east by south to pick up Darlene for our magnificent adventure. We drove up through Tennessee and most of Kentucky before turning east to tour across West Virginia. That’s not  a route I care to repeat again. EVER!  Finally we reached Maryland to begin our Civil War journey. Loved Antietam and was amazed by all the history packed into tiny Harpers Ferry (of course Darlene found a Hohenwald connection).  Three days in Gettysburg was not really enough but almost overwhelming. Eventually, like the rebs we were following the path of, we had to turn south.

Manassas, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and finally Appomattox.  Whewwwww.  Two weeks on the road moving every day then finally back to Hohenwald where I rested a few days before driving south into Alabama and east through Georgia to spend time at big brother Mike’s. Enjoyed seeing the home he and Kay have built together and getting his help on some projects in my tiny home on wheels before heading north again to my favorite Kentucky farm home. Lots of good times visiting with my cousins and eating too much southern cooking. I’ll pay for that later!

The culmination of this trip south was the Wade family reunion in Gallatin. Good to see so many of my cousins again. But the next day I was driving once again. By nightfall I was in Arkansas. By the end of the week I was hunkered down in Oklahoma City waiting out very angry wind and thunderstorms. It’s not a good feeling when you check in to an RV park and they circle the tornado shelter before they point out your site. The wind and storms battered me all the way to Albuquerque. By the time I got back to Arizona the storms were gone.

Of course the heat is still over 100 everyday. But it’s a dry heat -or so they tell me. At least I’m through driving for a while.

Rebel Girls Head North

Bullet holes from the war in Fredericksburg  

One of my goals when I bought my first RV was to see a lot of the places I had taught so much about in my classroom over the years.  This summer I had the chance to really keep that promise.  And to fulfill a promise to my dear friend and stepdaughter, Darlene.  She is big on Civil War history and I am just big on history so we decided on a trip that would make us both happy.

The main objective was Gettysburg but there were lots of places to stop along the way there and back.  We were on the road 11 days and put another 1800 miles on my RV as well as over 700 miles on my car.  Not sure of the exact number of battlefields we did visit but the biggies were Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg, Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Appomatox.  Despite all my years of teaching and studying the Civil War (as well as being married to a Civil War scholar for 12 years) I learned so much.  And felt so much.

Darlene on the bridge at Manassas

One morning very early Darlene and I walked a trail down to the creek at Antietam.  It was so hot and humid.  But no matter how bad it was for us I just couldn't help but think of those soldiers walking through those woods to the cool creek.  We were not wearing hot boots and wool uniforms.  Our breakfast had been hot and filling.  And most of all, no one was shooting at us.

At Gettysburg there was a lot to see and learn.  I think I enjoyed visiting the farm that had been converted to a field hospital the most.  Amazing to think of what those medical teams had to handle with the little tools and knowledge they had.  And just as you would expect for June at the most famous of all Civil War battlefields, the place was buzzing with visitors.

We planned the trip so that our final stop was Appomatox.  It seemed appropriate and it was a good place to end the tour.  Even though there were lots of tourists here as well, somehow there was this somber feeling that permeated the air.  Even the children seemed to be more settled around the buildings.  We walked the grounds in silence then went back to the car taking one last long look at where it all ended.  On the way back to the interstate we stopped at Washington and Lee to visit the Lee tomb.  Now the trip was really over.  But oh my, what a trip.

Darlene chats with a reenactor at Appomatox  

Steps walked across battlefields and through cemeteries:  75, 585

States visited: Kentucky, West Virginia (never again), Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia

Days it took me to recover once we got back home: 3

Fear of Flying

After a long busy summer of visiting family I made the decision to head back to Arizona the day after our family reunion on August 10.  I realize that normal people in a normal vehicle can cover 1800 miles in 3 or 4 days.  Normal in my world is a setting on the washing machine and has no bearing on my life.  Some days I travel only 50 miles and on a really big day 300.  Sometimes the weather keeps me sitting in one place for a few days and while I'm sitting there I consult maps and apps and try to figure out a good safe route and where I can stop along the way.

Stopping along the way can sometimes determine how many miles I will drive in a day.  I had already decided before I left Tennessee that I would follow 40 across Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas panhandle, and New Mexico up to Albuquerque.

Then south on 25 to Hatch where the Las Cruces bypass on highway 26 cuts off 40 miles taking you to 10 at Deming.  But that shortcut goes through a large windfarm which means WIND.  Again not a problem for a car usually but it can be tricky in an RV.  Worth it to avoid the 10/25 interchange outside of El Paso.  Then 10 the rest of the way to Eloy where I'm working again this winter.

I have at least 3 apps that show me RV parks and state parks and even "resorts" to stay at along the way.  One app shows Walmarts, Cracker Barrels, and even rest areas that allow overnight stays.  And I have stayed in these places all over the country.  But on this trip I wanted to try something different so I joined a group called Harvest Hosts that gives me more options to stay overnight at wineries, farms, and museums.  So in the little town of Moriarty, New Mexico I pulled off 40 and parked in the lot of Southwest Soaring Museum.  How cool is that?

It is one of only two glider museums in the US and it's certainly in the right place.  After a tour of the museum (I even got to sit in one of those tiny planes) I was allowed to park at the east end of the museum and even had 50 amp service to hook up.  That was a good thing since it was nearly 100 outside and the AC was much needed.  But the thing I noticed the most was the wind.  Those windsocks stayed full all evening.  I felt it some but mostly the building helped to block it from me.  After touring the museum and then setting up I felt inspired to watch an old movie.  Of course...… The Longest Day.  I had a new appreciation of the glider scenes now.

I'm Backkkkkkk

Red dots indicate stops in my travels. 

Even though I have been absent from my travel blog for 3 years doesn't mean I have been absent from traveling.  I admit that I've been relying on Facebook again and being very lazy about writing.  Looks like my last blog  post was at the end of my camp host job at Cloudland Canyon State Park on top of Lookout Mountain.  Technically I was in Georgia but a ten minute job south southwest put me in Alabama and northeast from there in about ten minutes was Tennessee.   Lots of history there and some beautiful sights as well.  It was my first snowy winter since that first winter in the Bosque.   And of course there was the opportunity for geocaching in 3 states all winter long.  And since I had my caching buddies there with me it was a definite no brainer.

So I'm a sucker for Mary's ideas and after following her out into the snowy Georgia woods for a geocache that literally took my breath away (and me with no inhaler in my pocket) you would think I knew better.  But she has a way of making things sound so great.  So after a brief visit to Hohenwald I pointed my compass northwest and drove up to St. Louis to meet up with the girls and travel west.  Since my calendar allowed me to arrive a few days ahead it was a great chance to take a day trip to Springfield, IL and the land of Lincoln (the family crypt that is).

Very cool place to check out.  But soon I was following my friends out west.  It took 3 days to get across Missouri, a little corner of Kansas, Nebraska, and finally into Wyoming.  Yes folks, we were spending the summer in Cody, Wyoming.  This was a real departure for me.  Mary had secured jobs for us at a 5 star hotel about 50 miles outside of the east gate to Yellowstone National Park.  And what job did I have?  Believe it or not my job was assistant to the cook on the morning breakfast buffet.

After a wonderful summer in and out and around Yellowstone we moved on west from Wyoming toward northern California where Mary and Fay had secured a job near Yosemite National Park.  Our route took us on an eventful path across Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and northern California.  There's another post for later.  But I will tell you that crossing Donner Pass in mid October is more excitement than I ever want to experience again.

At Yosemite we parted ways as the girls went to work and I headed south rambling through Bakersfield, Barstow, up into Death Valley, then down to San Diego for a visit from home.  I set up in a resort near the airport where Darlene flew in to meet up with me.  That was a great week.  After her departure I moved a little east to Yuma to stay warm all winter.  By March I was itching to move on, of course, and ended up in Pahrump, Nevada for a short meet up with Mary and Fay before spending a month in North Vegas, and Rachael, Nevada.

Obviously I had a bad case of itchy feet that spring which led me from Nevada to Utah to Oregon, Washington.  Then a few stops as I crossed Idaho (oops, got a broken windshield in the RV there ), Montana, more Wyoming, South Dakota (got my new windshield installed in Rapid City), North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Indiana, and home to Kentucky.  Yeah, I know, home again never lasts long with me.

By the end of summer I was headed west again.  Met up with the girls again at a volunteer gig in Monroe, Louisiana.  Loved everything about the place except the dampness.  Actually my lungs didn't like it there.  After less than three months breathing was a problem so my jacks went up and I headed west where the air is drier and my lungs are happier.  It's starting to look like I'm a dry desert heat kind of girl (or at least my lungs are).  Not that I'm ready to stop my rambling around, but this does make it a little more of a challenge.