Sick as a Dog in Asheville

Back in Asheville, my allergies continued to get worse. Everything settled into my lungs and I ended up with bronchitis. My doctor put me on antibiotics & had me get a breathing test done at the Pulmonary Clinic. It was determined that I now have viral asthma; I was prescribed an asthma inhaler. Finally after 2-weeks I am no longer coughing, I can breath easily and can sleep through the night without having to use 3-pillows. Yeah!

While in Asheville, Joe & I both had dental appointments, we got our taxes done, and got the dogs groomed. After the grooming fiasco in El Paso, the dogs seemed relieved to be in familiar surroundings, and they know when they look good - And they do look good.

We made the usual rounds while here in Asheville. Went to Great Eastern Sun (GES). Got to try some of Barry's new products from India. Prepackaged meals - Just heat & serve. They are great! I would certainly serve them up; very convenient for the RV lifestyle.

We had lunch downtown at the Noodle Shop with Juniper; always enjoy seeing her. We walked to Kilwins for desert - ice cream. Got to see some of our favorite street performers.

Amarillo, TX

We are headed to Amarillo, TX today (3/18/2010).
We stayed at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park last spring when Sue was traveling with us, so we know it's a nice campground. We only stayed overnight, but we managed to pick up a job as camp hosts for the summer. Starting May 1st we will have a campsite provided at no charge including all utilities & laundry - we only have to pay for our food. We will work 25 to 30 hours a week helping campers get situated in the park, and we will also be compensated financially. What a deal!.

Next stop, Oklahoma City, OK.

Albuquerque

We left the Flagstaff area immediately after viewing Meteor Crater & the museum, heading for Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque. On the way we ran into a fierce snow storm. I took this picture just as it started; it got a whole lot worse as we chugged along.

Shot of damaged awning

The following day we took the RV to Camping World to get a new awning installed. We also got the 100% replacement coverage -Lesson learned :-(

It's now Wednesday and it's sunny & hot; go figure. Joe took advantage of the weather to wash the car & the RV.

On the Road Again...

After a long delay waiting to get our satellite antenna repaired, we finally hit the road on Saturday 3/13. It was another white-knuckle drive. The wind was blowing so hard it ripped our patio awning to shreds, but we finally made it to Meteor Crater RV Park about 30 miles east of Flagstaff.






On Sunday morning we went to see the crater, the world's best-preserved and first-proven meteorite impact site. The crater is a mile across, 2.4 miles in circumference, and over 550 feet deep - that's as tall as a 60-story building! The topography so closely resembles earth's moon & other planets that NASA designated it as an official training site for Apollo Astronauts.




It happened some 50,000 years ago - A meteor ripped through the skies at about 40,000 mph and smashed into the high plains of Arizona. Within a few seconds, the force of resulting massive explosion threw millions of tons of rock over the surrounding area causing a shock-wave of hurricane force out in every direction, creating destruction for miles.

Red Rock Canyon

Back in Vegas...

Evan has to leave for another month of training in Tucson & Phoenix on Monday. Before leaving, he cooked dinner for us 2 nights in a row & we went to see Avatar in 3D.

He also took us to see the new Red Rock Visitor Center & a panoramic drive through the canyon showing us some of his favorite places to climb. The best part for me was when Evan pulled out his BLM card for the guard at the entrance. I just can't help being so proud of my geologist son :)

Joshua Trees

We saw these antique cars touring the canyon.

Wiley Coyote & Zabriskie Point

Friday morning I noticed this coyote wandering about 30 feet from our campsite. This wiley coyote looks like he is well fed.

Today we went to Zabriskie Point, a part of the Amargosa Range. There is a dramatic view at every turn; here are just a few.

These wavy mudstone hills formed millions of years ago from sediment left behind from the now dried up Furnace Lake, gravel from the surrounding mountains, and ash from the once-active Black Mountain volcanic field.

Before we left Death Valley we stopped by the Famous Furnace Creek Inn. For all you Ashevillians, it reminded us of a very small Grove Park Inn.

Death Valley - Day 2

We got an early start this morning; so much to see, so much to do. On our way to Scotty's Castle in Grapevine Canyon, we stopped by the Borax Mine. What a history. In the early 1880's, WT Coleman established the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. With a growing demand for borax, an unlimited supply of crude ore, Coleman needed to find the quickest, safest way to move his product out of the valley to the nearest railroad junction at Mojave. Thus, the idea to hitch two ten-mule teams together to form a 100' long, twenty-mule team was born. The borax load had to be hauled 165 miles (a 20-day round trip), starting at 190' below sea level & climbing to an elevation of over 2000' before it was over.
Borax, the White Gold of the Desert, ranks as the valley's most profitable mineral.

We moved onward; past the sand dunes, before reaching Scotty's Castle.

We toured the castle which has a great story behind it. Scotty's Castle is actually a two-story Spanish villa built as a getaway for Chicago engineer (and millionaire) Albert Johnson & his wife, Bessie. at a cost of 1.4 million dollars. It's not really a castle & it does not belong to the "Scotty" from whom it got its name. Walter Scott, aka Death Valley Scotty was a gold prospector, a stunt rider for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, and a con man. To make a long story short, Scotty conned wealthy businessmen into investing in his fictitious gold mining operation. He was befriended by one of those men, Albert Johnson, who loved his adventurous stories and forgave him for his fraudulent scheming. Albert generously added a room at the ranch just for Scotty, where he continued to entertain his captive audience of wearied travelers with his tall tales.

We continued on to Rhyolite Ghost Town. There's not very much left here at the once vibrant town site. Before the financial panic of 1907, this town was booming with over 2000 mining claims, but by 1916 the Shoshone mine & mill were closed down.
In 1906 an enterprising miner, Tom T. Kelly, built the bottle house in this picture out of 50,000 beer and liquor bottles. It was restored by Paramount pictures in 1925.

After dinner, Evan and I went to the Visitor's Center for a slide show about the Heroes and Villains of Death Valley. To be continued...

Death Valley

We just spent 3 fabulous days in Death Valley w/Evan.









I had no idea Death Valley was so beautiful, w/such a diversified topography-from its lowest point (-282 feet below sea level) to its highest point over 11,000 feet). The blowing winds, the star-lite skies, the colorful mountains & dunes -Death Valley's scenery is spectacular. I must have taken at least 200 pictures.






After settling in at the Sunset Campground, we ventured out to the Bad Water Basin, the lowest point in the desert. It was so windy there, I had to work really hard at not getting blown over. Evan and I walked the half mile out to the basin to taste the water - You guessed it, it was very salty!


Next, we went to the Natural Bridge. Followed by a ride along the Artist's Drive. That's Joe and Tazzy at the Artist's Palette, a stop along our route.
















Turns out Evan is a wonderful guide. He knows everything about the faults, salt flats and rock formations. He is a geologist after-all.

We drove back to the campground and settled in for the night -Way too windy to be outside; our RV rocked & rolled all night long.
Until next time...