Southwest Spring 2016-1: Visalia, CA to Longmont, CO
Another trip is in the log book. Statistically it was 6,159 miles over one month, visiting a combined six states and passing through another four on roads or in airports.
The trip was in two phases. In the first, I dropped Marilyn off at the Fresno airport, and she flew to Florida to visit for ten days with her awesome Aunt Gret and wonderful cousin Ann, in Siesta Key on the Gulf Coast.
.heic)
They spent a lot of time with family friends who were also in Siesta Key.
They also drove across Florida on Alligator Alley to Boca Raton to visit Marilyn's Uncle Ned, Aunt Rae, and cousins Julie and Jenna—Jenna flew down from Boston just to see them!
From Florida, Marilyn flew to Denver to visit her niece, husband, and three children in Longmont, near Boulder. Meanwhile, I drove the Traverse (our Ford van with a poptop) to join them in Longmont, but first I trekked to Sebastopol, California...and a few other places.
The reason for Sebastopol was Mike at GTRV. I arrived late and camped in his field. Mike and his crew did a great job of putting a new canvas on the poptop in one day, but as the caulking had to set up and I wanted to avoid San Francisco Bay Area traffic, I didn't turn south until 4:00 AM the following morning.
Now according to the map, it’s 1,139 miles door-to-door, Visalia to Longmont, but who wants to do freeways? So off meandering I went. I should add, I recently lost a cousin who was only 62, and though we had not kept in touch, we were attempting to get back together, and the loss changed the basis of this trek. I decided to stop and connect with folks who were important to me, even if we had not conversed in years.
First stop was San Clemente to visit my friend Cheri. After we shared stories of our kids and just life in general, I left Cheri and headed for Mission Viejo to spend the night in front of John's house. John was a law school buddy and helo squadron mate. As we have years of history, we talked into the night, until I headed out to the van. We continued the following morning over coffee.
Both have had some health issues, so as there are two walkers in the house, I offered to officiate should they wish to engage in a walker race. Though they wisely declined, we had a lovely evening of pizza and laughter, added to when my cousin Gretchen stopped by.
Another trip to El Centro will happen come fall to visit my wonderful aunts again.
On day four, it was time to head to Phoenix and another night of déjà vu, with Keith and his lovely bride, Mary. Keith and I were roommates and flying buddies on the USS Kitty Hawk in 1972 in Southeast Asia. Though we had not visited in over two decades, it took only a couple of minutes to return to a comfortable level of friendship.
Keith & Mary winter in Phoenix and summer in Minneapolis, so I found them at the end of their Southwest time, gearing up to head home and spend time with their four boys, lovely daughters-in-law, and a passel of grandkids.
The next morning, with five days before I had to be in Longmont, still 850 miles away—if I were to take the highways—I headed to Show Low, Arizona, because I'd heard of it and liked the name. I camped that night at the local Elks for a whopping $5 in a vacant parking lot.
The next morning, it seemed I should follow Highway 60 east to Pie Town, New Mexico, and yes, I did stop for pie, which was rather tasty.
Outside of Pie Town, I came over a small bluff and was treated to seeing the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a radio astronomy observatory, located near Socorro, on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico.
These radar sites have been in numerous movies, from Independence Day to Contact. Seeing them sitting out on the open plains gave me an eerie feeling, a sense that there must be something out there. There is a visitor’s center, but I decided, as it was getting late, to reserve that for the next trip.
Soon I was in Carrizozo, New Mexico. Not impressed with the local RV park, expensive and right on the road, I backtracked to the BLM Valley of Fires Recreation Area, which is a gem. This is not the normal dispersed camping BLM site but rather is set up for maximum privacy and amazing vistas and even showers, all for $9 a night.
.heic)
After the lava field walk, I popped the top, enjoyed dinner, and curled up with my most recent book.
The next morning, I decided to head toward Roswell and then Tucumcari. (Who doesn’t know Little Feat’s song "Willin’"?—“I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah.” So it was off on US 380 to Roswell and its many alien signs, then north to Tucumcari.
The van kept rolling along, and with my audio book, the miles kept flying by. Out of Tucumcari, I headed northeast to be east of I-25 on US 54E and soon saw a sign saying “Welcome to Texas.”
A few miles further on was “Welcome to Oklahoma.”
And finally "Welcome to Colorado.”
As it was getting dark, I headed for Lamar and for another $5 camped in the parking lot of the Lamar Elks.
After a week of traveling solo, I was rather comfortable. Around 6:00 AM the next morning I woke, did a Yelp search for a coffee shop, smiled when I saw Brew Unto Others, and headed into town.
An hour later, fortified with coffee and munching on a couple of bananas, it was time to head west for Colorado Springs to make another visit, this time with a cousin I had not seen for almost thirty years, when he was a mere teenager. David welcomed me to his spacious home, introduced me to his 7-year-old son, and we, too, quickly found common ground. Three hours later, it was time to head north and get cleaned up for the next day’s reunion with Marilyn.
But first, I made a run to Loveland, CO, for one last visit, with a lovely young lady by whom I am honored to be called Uncle Doug, as well as Mr. Peanut Butter. (‘tis better not to ask). Kim is the daughter of Lew, the former San Diego roommate I’d visited a few days earlier (the reason for Mr. Peanut Butter is in there somewhere). She and her husband moved to Loveland a few years ago, and any trip to Colorado requires a stop to visit with the two of them. Though our visit was short, it was full, and with promises to return, I headed back south to Longmont to see the lady. So after 2,638 miles, Phase 1 was over, and I found myself in Longmont with Marilyn's lovely niece, husband, and three magical kids.
We got to stay an additional two days due to snow, which was grand. Even if we could have left Longmont, all the routes over the mountains to New Mexico were sporadically closed.
After four days, we departed mid-morning.
About three hours later, we crossed over 7,800-foot Raton Pass into New Mexico.
We checked into our AirBnB in Santa Fe later that afternoon and went off to explore the wonderful town.
—Doug
Watching the sun set & looking for the green flash, Siesta Key, Florida.
The trip was in two phases. In the first, I dropped Marilyn off at the Fresno airport, and she flew to Florida to visit for ten days with her awesome Aunt Gret and wonderful cousin Ann, in Siesta Key on the Gulf Coast.
.heic)
Marilyn's cousin Ann, good friend Mona, & Aunt Gret.
They spent a lot of time with family friends who were also in Siesta Key.
Cousins: Ann & Marilyn showed up with the same swimsuit, different styles. While there Marilyn bought a hat like Ann's—it travels scrunched up really well!
They also drove across Florida on Alligator Alley to Boca Raton to visit Marilyn's Uncle Ned, Aunt Rae, and cousins Julie and Jenna—Jenna flew down from Boston just to see them!
No alligators on Alligator Alley that day.
From Florida, Marilyn flew to Denver to visit her niece, husband, and three children in Longmont, near Boulder. Meanwhile, I drove the Traverse (our Ford van with a poptop) to join them in Longmont, but first I trekked to Sebastopol, California...and a few other places.
Cafe with a variety of unique outdoor seating in Sebastopol, CA.
The reason for Sebastopol was Mike at GTRV. I arrived late and camped in his field. Mike and his crew did a great job of putting a new canvas on the poptop in one day, but as the caulking had to set up and I wanted to avoid San Francisco Bay Area traffic, I didn't turn south until 4:00 AM the following morning.
Now according to the map, it’s 1,139 miles door-to-door, Visalia to Longmont, but who wants to do freeways? So off meandering I went. I should add, I recently lost a cousin who was only 62, and though we had not kept in touch, we were attempting to get back together, and the loss changed the basis of this trek. I decided to stop and connect with folks who were important to me, even if we had not conversed in years.
First stop was San Clemente to visit my friend Cheri. After we shared stories of our kids and just life in general, I left Cheri and headed for Mission Viejo to spend the night in front of John's house. John was a law school buddy and helo squadron mate. As we have years of history, we talked into the night, until I headed out to the van. We continued the following morning over coffee.
Then I was off to San Diego and my old roommate from my San Diego days, Lew. Again I spent the night in the van, but Lew and Patty kept me going most of the evening.
Next was El Centro, to visit two lovely ladies, my aunts Ruth and Eileen. Both widowed and in their ninth decade, they are vibrant and just amazing.
Next was El Centro, to visit two lovely ladies, my aunts Ruth and Eileen. Both widowed and in their ninth decade, they are vibrant and just amazing.
Aunt Ruth & Aunt Eileen.
Both have had some health issues, so as there are two walkers in the house, I offered to officiate should they wish to engage in a walker race. Though they wisely declined, we had a lovely evening of pizza and laughter, added to when my cousin Gretchen stopped by.
Cousin Gretchen & her mom, Aunt Ruth.
Another trip to El Centro will happen come fall to visit my wonderful aunts again.
On day four, it was time to head to Phoenix and another night of déjà vu, with Keith and his lovely bride, Mary. Keith and I were roommates and flying buddies on the USS Kitty Hawk in 1972 in Southeast Asia. Though we had not visited in over two decades, it took only a couple of minutes to return to a comfortable level of friendship.
Keith & Mary.
The next morning, with five days before I had to be in Longmont, still 850 miles away—if I were to take the highways—I headed to Show Low, Arizona, because I'd heard of it and liked the name. I camped that night at the local Elks for a whopping $5 in a vacant parking lot.
Pie Town, NM.
Outside of Pie Town, I came over a small bluff and was treated to seeing the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a radio astronomy observatory, located near Socorro, on the Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico.
Karl J. Jansky Very Large Array.
These radar sites have been in numerous movies, from Independence Day to Contact. Seeing them sitting out on the open plains gave me an eerie feeling, a sense that there must be something out there. There is a visitor’s center, but I decided, as it was getting late, to reserve that for the next trip.
I pulled in here to waterproof the new tent.
Soon I was in Carrizozo, New Mexico. Not impressed with the local RV park, expensive and right on the road, I backtracked to the BLM Valley of Fires Recreation Area, which is a gem. This is not the normal dispersed camping BLM site but rather is set up for maximum privacy and amazing vistas and even showers, all for $9 a night.
As usual, New Mexico's skies put on a show.
6:20 PM.
The first item was a great walk down through the ancient El Malpais lava field, which abuts the campground. It's amazing how much life there is in the lava.
6:21 PM.
.heic)
6:50 PM.
7:00 PM.
8:00 PM.
Clear skies in the morning at Valley of Fires.
The next morning, I decided to head toward Roswell and then Tucumcari. (Who doesn’t know Little Feat’s song "Willin’"?—“I’ve been from Tucson to Tucumcari, Tehachapi to Tonopah.” So it was off on US 380 to Roswell and its many alien signs, then north to Tucumcari.
I found a quilt shop for Marilyn in Roswell.
The van kept rolling along, and with my audio book, the miles kept flying by. Out of Tucumcari, I headed northeast to be east of I-25 on US 54E and soon saw a sign saying “Welcome to Texas.”
A few miles further on was “Welcome to Oklahoma.”
And finally "Welcome to Colorado.”
As it was getting dark, I headed for Lamar and for another $5 camped in the parking lot of the Lamar Elks.
Lamar, CO.
After a week of traveling solo, I was rather comfortable. Around 6:00 AM the next morning I woke, did a Yelp search for a coffee shop, smiled when I saw Brew Unto Others, and headed into town.
An hour later, fortified with coffee and munching on a couple of bananas, it was time to head west for Colorado Springs to make another visit, this time with a cousin I had not seen for almost thirty years, when he was a mere teenager. David welcomed me to his spacious home, introduced me to his 7-year-old son, and we, too, quickly found common ground. Three hours later, it was time to head north and get cleaned up for the next day’s reunion with Marilyn.
But first, I made a run to Loveland, CO, for one last visit, with a lovely young lady by whom I am honored to be called Uncle Doug, as well as Mr. Peanut Butter. (‘tis better not to ask). Kim is the daughter of Lew, the former San Diego roommate I’d visited a few days earlier (the reason for Mr. Peanut Butter is in there somewhere). She and her husband moved to Loveland a few years ago, and any trip to Colorado requires a stop to visit with the two of them. Though our visit was short, it was full, and with promises to return, I headed back south to Longmont to see the lady. So after 2,638 miles, Phase 1 was over, and I found myself in Longmont with Marilyn's lovely niece, husband, and three magical kids.
Marilyn's niece Alexa & husband, Michael
Doug, Asher, Harper, Beckett.
We stayed across the street in their generous neighbors’ unofficial AirBnB, and I fell into the joy of earning the title "Uncle Doug."
Doug & Beckett.
Harper & Marilyn.
We got to stay an additional two days due to snow, which was grand. Even if we could have left Longmont, all the routes over the mountains to New Mexico were sporadically closed.
Snow delay in Longmont, CO, mid-April.
After four days, we departed mid-morning.
Driving south on I-25.
About three hours later, we crossed over 7,800-foot Raton Pass into New Mexico.
Raton Pass between Colorado & New Mexico.
We checked into our AirBnB in Santa Fe later that afternoon and went off to explore the wonderful town.
—Doug
Gulf of Mexico sand dollar. Ours in California do not have the holes.
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Nice to hear of your travels. We definitely are going to look up the coffee shop in Sebastopol.
ReplyDeleteHi, Steve. Thanks for following us and commenting!
DeleteHey, Doug and Marilyn! Great to read about your travels. Don't know if Sally told you that we bought an RV. Looking forward to following in your tire tracks soon. Going to sign up now for your updates. Dan K
ReplyDeleteHi, Dan! Congrats on the RV--what did you get? Thanks for signing up to follow us!
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