Badlands National Park South Dakota

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

The Badlands is 244,000 acres with the most fascinating formations we have ever seen. There is a quote from Frederick Remington, an American Landscape Painter and Explorer and he said, “No words of mine can describe these Bad Lands. One set of buttes, with cones and minarets, gives place in the next mile to natural freaks of different variety never dreamed of by mortal man…” This says it all.

We took the 27 mile scenic loop road through the park to view all the formations and we even saw some big horn sheep. Very inspiring and totally worth the visit.

Sioux Falls

Posted on August 24, 2017 by Lon under Lonnie Evans, Uncategorized

St. Joseph, Missouri was all a buzz about the eclipse. Our campground was packed with people from all over the country, lots of people wearing eclipse tee shirts and the local news was giving continuous coverage. The weather was cloudy and rainy but that did not dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the event. The clouds obstructed the viewing but experiencing day turning into night was an awesome experience. The clouds cleared just long enough for us to wear those special glasses to see the diamond ring effect. Very memorable and looking forward to the next one that will be on April 8, 2024 passing over Texas. The next eclipse will require less distance but this journey has been so much fun.

Before leaving St. Joseph we stocked up on supplies and headed to Omaha, Nebraska continuing our journey to South Dakota. There is a beautiful expansion pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Missouri river. Half way across the bridge you will have one leg in Nebraska and the other in Iowa. When we returned to our coach after our walk there was a gray Unity coach parked right next to us. They also had been in St. Joseph’s for the eclipse. We spent the night in Council Bluffs, Iowa (just across the river from Omaha) then headed the next morning to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to the falls at Falls Park. The falls come from the Big Sioux river as it cascades down to join the Missouri river. We took in the sights and enjoyed walking around the park but it had been a long day so we camped in Big Sioux State Park just 18 minutes from the falls.

Today we are off to the Badlands National Park and hopefully will be able to find place to camp for the night there. It will be a long drive today.

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Eclipse

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Lon under Barbara Evans, Lonnie Evans, Uncategorized

We traveled for a week to see this and Vegas is ready!

We are here

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

This may not be the most elegant RV park we have stayed at but it is certainly the most crowded.

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Getting close

Posted on August 19, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We are starting to get excited as the eclipse gets closer. We spent a day and a half with Dan and Barbara (Lon’s brother and sister in-law) in Arkansas where we had a wonderful visit. Thank you both for the gracious hospitality. As we were preparing to depart Vegas freaked out and started running full speed ahead toward us but she was tied to a heavy metal chair that bounced behind her until they both slammed into the RV. Fortunately the only damage was a venting grate that can be easily replaced. Eventually everyone calmed down and we were off toward Kansas City. We could see a storm coming so turned off the highway to the nearest state park, Horseshoe Bend, was just a few miles away and luckily out of the path of the hail and strong winds. The park was exceptional. So blessed to have found beautiful shelter from the storm.

Today we drove just a few miles south of Kansas City and are about an hour and half from St. Joseph, Mo. our destination for a full viewing of the eclipse. Our plans are to arrive there tomorrow, Monday the 20^thto become acquainted with area to ensure the best viewing spot. And yes, we have reserved a place to stay, now we are praying for clear weather.

Hot

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

Today we drove toward Little Rock, Arkansas to visit Pinnacle Mountain State Park in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, unfortunately it was too hot and humid to take advantage of the hiking trails. We are staying 2 miles from Pinnacle Mountain at the Maumella Campground which sits along the beautiful Arkansas River. The Arkansas River is one of the Mississippi’s largest tributaries. We are waiting for dusk hoping for it to cool down enough to go for a long hike.

Tomorrow we are heading to Lonnie’s brother and sister-in-law’s for a visit then on to St. Joseph’s to view the eclipse.

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Lakeside Camping

Posted on August 15, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

Six days into our trip and the weather has been clear, hot and steamy for the last few days. Yesterday we drove to Wright Patman Lake southeast of Texarkana and spent the afternoon and night at Rock Point Campground. The RV sites are at water’s edge and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the lake. We grilled a delicious steak with a bake potato for dinner, relaxed and took an evening walk. This morning we departed for Lake Ouachita, (Wash’itaw), Arkansas. This is one of the largest lakes I have seen with 975 miles of shoreline and 40,000 acres of water. This lake is known for fishing as it has been stocked with bass, walleye and stripe. The lake also offers wide open waters for boaters and skiers. Fortunately a beautiful campsite overlooking the lake with tall shady pine trees was available. Behind our site is a trail leading to a small beach which Vegas thoroughly enjoyed romping in the water. Not sure about tomorrows plans but we will be thinking about it this evening. I write this as I sit at our shady picnic table with a cool gentle breeze blowing off the water, ah life is good.

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Casino Camping

Posted on August 13, 2017 by Lon under Casino, Lonnie Evans

We are into day 4 of our travels. The rain has altered our original itinerary making state parks to muddy. The first day instead of stopping at Brazos Bend State Park outside of Houston we drove through to Kinder, Louisiana to the Coushatta casino as they have a very nice RV and dog park. There was a free shuttle to the casino so Lonnie had fun playing craps and I enjoyed the buffets (no cooking required). Our next stop was to see my brother John and his daughter Leslie in Baton Rouge, LA. One year ago there was a massive flood in Baton Rouge and his home had received six feet of water and had to be totally gutted and redone. His home has been beautifully restored thanks to the tireless effort of Leslie. John is grateful that from tragedy has come good. We had a wonderful visit and delicious fresh seafood dinners that can only be found in Louisiana. Thanks for the hospitality John and Leslie.

Off towards Arkansas but first a stop in Marksville to check out the Paragon Casino and RV park — still raining – we had planned to go on to Piney point near Texarkana but heavy rain is forecast over a wide area between here and there so we will stay here today with hopes the weather clears and we can resume on travels. Good news is we have some winnings in our pockets, good restaurants, something to do while it is raining and no muddy campsite. So all is good.

On the road again

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We have been grounded at home for a couple weeks but on Monday, we go and get the Tiny House and start getting ready for a five-week trip to the Dakotas. The highlights of the trip include visiting with family along the way, the Eclipse, and Mount Rushmore. I just downloaded Willie Nelson (On the Road again) and made it our official theme song. I have feeling that we will be listening to that song many times over the next year.

Emma Long Park

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

Emma Long Metropolitan Park is a large municipal park in northwest Austin, Texas. The park is on the shores of Lake Austin and was originally called City Park. The RV sites are excellent, several are waterfront.

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Guadalupe River State Park

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

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Garner State Park

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Lon under Texas State Parks

Not that it is possible to escape the Texas heat in July, but Garner was at least below 100. Each day we leashed Vegas grabbed our tubes and walked the short distance to float in the chilly, clear, and refreshing waters of the Frio River. Vegas loves to play in the water but only when her feet can touch bottom, so she decided she preferred to ride in the tube with her pack. She was quite the attention

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getter relaxing in her tube enjoying the sights, sounds and people.

Garner was packed with large groups of families many with signs indicating their name and how many years they had been coming to Garner. The family next to us had been coming for 25 years. Everyone was extremely friendly and children of all ages were enjoying all aspects of the park. Biking, hiking, tubing, paddle boating, swimming, playing volleyball or just sitting enjoying the scenery.

Each night a jukebox dance is held at the pavilion and there is obviously a dress code for teenage girls as they were all wearing blue jean cut off short shorts and cowboy boots. There are people of all ages enjoying the music, dancing or just watching. Vegas was especially popular at the dance, every young girl wanted to pet her, in fact everywhere we went the girls would approach asking, “can I pet your puppy, you’re so cute” I nick named her the chick magnet. Too bad Lonnie isn’t younger and single….

We had a great time but took off to explore what other parks were between Concan and Austin. We visited Blanco State Park which looked great. The Blanco River flows through the park and it has large shady RV camp sites, unfortunately there was no availability for the night so off we went to check out Guadalupe River State Park, near San Antonio. The picturesque Guadalupe River runs through the park with very nice picnic sites. The RV camping sites are a bit of a walk to the river but still a most enjoyable location. Fortunately they had a site available for the night and we camped there and enjoyed our stay.

Texas is Hot

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We made it back to Austin and found 100 degree temperatures and no air conditioning in our home. Once again we are so thankful for our Unity, we just spent the night parked in our driveway with the Unity’s air conditioning blowing cold air. We got the air conditioner fixed the next day and are now ready to celebrate the 4th of July.

Vietnam Memorial State Park

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Lon under Lonnie Evans, Uncategorized, Vietnam

This memorial has a Huey known as the Viking Surprise it was one of the first smoke ships in Vietnam. This helicopter was shot down in March of 1967 and sent to the Corpus Christi Bay (the ship I served on in Vietnam) to be repaired after receiving

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135 bullet holes. Touring this memorial was both emotional and educational for me. One of the exhibits was scuba equipment which brought back many memories of my time diving in the Mekong Delta.

Red River

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

Lon and vegas We have settled in for the night at Columbine Campground in the Carson National Forest right outside Red River city limits. We were fortunate enough to get the last campsite and what a beauty, right on the flowing red river, lots of shade trees and cool temperatures, it was around 77 when we arrived and should be about 49 tonight. This is actually the coolest temperatures of our trip as Colorado was experiencing a heat wave. Looking forward to a good night sleep as we are tuckered out for our days journey.

Casino hangover

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

Today we left the Sky Ute Casino Resort (an excellent RV campground) and after two hours of driving we were dead tired. Fortunately we found a Family Dollar store and stopped in their parking lot for a nap. After 45 minutes we were on the road again, wide awake and glad we are traveling in our Unity.

Million Dollar Highway

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We began our day by driving the Million Dollar Highway from Ridgeway to Silverton Colorado. This is one of America’s most spectacular drives with jaw-dropping vistas, it is about 25 miles long and was built in the 1880’s. You can forget about any standard safety measures like guardrails or shoulders because there aren’t any. It is a very narrow two lane road with a cliff on one side and shear steep drop off on the other, the grade is 8% with switchback turns that have a maximum speed of 15 mph, and just to make it more interesting there is an occasional bicyclist or two that appears directly in front of you as you round the turn. Thankful we made the drive with no problems and stopped in Silverton for breakfast. We found a small café, Kendall’s café on Main Street. The breakfast was one of the best we have ever had and that’s saying a lot because we have consumed many a breakfasts. Then off to the Silverton Miners Museum that was next door. It was originally a jail built in 1902, additional houses have been built around the jail to create a fascinating museum featuring not only the restoration of the jail, but with exhibits of mining life, mining technology of its day, tools, equipment and so much more. The building is 3 stories tall and with an underground tunnel. One of the more interesting museums we have experienced. Their goal is to give you a mining experience and they did that very well.

The Million Dollar Highway is part of the San Juan Skyway, so we completed our scenic loop of the Skyway back in Durango where we made a short stop at the 24 acre dog park for Vegas to get some needed exercise before our long drive to Red River New Mexico.

Durango

Posted on June 22, 2017 by Lon under Barbara Evans, Uncategorized

Tuesday, July 20^th we arrived in Durango

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and headed for the public land office for visitor information on all the camping sites in the San Juan National Forest. We decided on Junction Creek only a few miles from historic downtown Durango. The campground is very massive with beautiful tall pine trees and large open areas for hiking. The campground host, Tim, was most helpful in helping find the perfect stop to spend the night and enjoy a drink under the trees.

Wednesday we are off exploring, we first went to the Sky Ute Casino on the Ute Reservation and had lunch, then off to Vallecito Reservoir. We drove the loop around the lake, checked out the camping sites and decided to head off to Mancos state park to spend the night.

THE SAN JUAN SKYWAY

The San Juan Skyway is one of the most scenic drives in America, spanning elevations from 6,200 feet outside of Durango to 11,075 feet at Red Mountain Pass. We began this beautiful drive from Durango to Mancos State Park. The park has a beautiful lake where dogs can swim but not people, don’t know why, but Vegas had a grand time.

Thursday, we continued our journey on the San Juan Skyway to Ridgeway State Park, the half way mark to completing the skyway loop back to Durango. The scenery consisted of rolling meadows, raging rivers running alongside the highway, red cliff mountains, and valleys with breathtaking views. Tomorrow we will continue the loop on the part that is called The Million Dollar Highway, from Ouray to Silverton. I can’t wait. So excited.

National forest

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We are in a place with no internet no phone, just a cool breeze and the sound of a running river. Vegas is chewing a bone and Barb is reading. It’s been a long time since I have been so relaxed. The National forest is truly a treasure and I am so thankful that I can enjoy it. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Camping at East Fork Colorado

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Lon under Uncategorized

We started our Monday with an adventure into the wilderness of the San Juan National Forest, we turned onto the gravel road leading along the raging waters of the Blanco River. The road led us to an isolated primitive camping area next to the river under tall pines with plenty of shade, the perfect spot for an outback experience. We’ve set up camp enjoying the cool breeze, the sound of the river, and watching Vegas exploring her new territory