We have an awesome trip planned that will go through this summer and fall. We'll be traveling cross country to Maine and then continuing on to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in Canada. Taking our time and making a lot of stops along the way. We're thinking this should take us about 4 months but who knows....
We will miss our grandchildren, especially Blake, our youngest at only 14 months old but the RV travel bug has got us hooked. This trip to the New England states and Canada has been on our bucket list for a while. We're so excited to get going...
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10 June Las Vegas, NV - Camp Verde, AZ 297 miles 6 hours
We spent the last few days getting everything ready for our next adventure. We took the RV in for its annual service at Freightliner. They fixed a leak that's been going on for a while so Joe's happy. We finally replaced our original house batteries. We got AGM batteries this time around, should be better. Did a lot of food and supply shopping. We managed to make time to hang out with old friends in Vegas. Lunch with Winky & Leslie at Egg Works which was excellent. Dinner with Vicky & Randy at Maggianos, also very good. Always great to hang out with both these couples when we're in Las Vegas.
We're staying at Verde Ranch RV Resort in Camp Verde for 3 nights. We like it here and they honor Passport America, for 3 nights its $91.
Our friends Goody and Donna met us at Verde Ranch RV and we had 3 days of just chillin out. Goody is pretty new to this RV lifestyle so Joe's been giving him some tips and helping him out. The weather was very nice and comfortable so we could hang out outside.
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Joe and I went on a hike in Sedona while we were here. Goody's sister lives in the area and suggested Broken Arrow Trail. The hike was absolutely amazing. About 3 miles total, a little bit of incline and constant beautiful views. We're a little out of shape so had to take some breaks but we really enjoyed it.
Long drive today to Moriarty, New Mexico. We made a couple of stops along the way. We're spending the night at Sierra Blanca Brewing Company, a Harvest Host location. Nothing fancy, just a dirt lot to park in. After we got settled we went in to have a couple of drinks...yummy! We ended up buying a 6 pack of rootbeer to go. There were six Harvest Host rigs spending the night. We gained an hour so now we're 4 hours difference from Hawaii.
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| Sunset at Sierra Blanca Brewing camping spot |
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14 June Moriarty, NM - Dorrance, KS 586 miles 11 hours
Very, very long drive today. We left New Mexico at 6am, drove through a corner of Texas, Oklahoma, then finally Kansas. We're at Minooka Recreation Area on Wilson Lake in Dorrance, Kansas. This is a COE park. Very, very nice spacious sites right on the water. It's $24 a night for water and electric. I can't wait for Joe to turn 62 next month. He will qualify for a senior national park pass and get half off for camping at COE and national parks.
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| Sunrise at Minooka Recreation Area |
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| Sunrise |
16 June Dorrance, KS - Carlyle, IL 528 miles 9 hours 30 minutes
Another long day of driving and we gained another hour. That means 5 hours difference from Hawaii. We're staying at Dam West Campground in Carlyle, Illinois. Another great COE campground. We'll be here for 5 nights but I couldn't get the same site for all 5 nights. Site #88 has full hook ups, paid $26 per night for 3 nights. Then we move to site #109, only electric here for $18 per night. Sites are very nice at this campground, very clean and spacious, located right on Lake Carlyle.
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| Site #88 |
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| Dam |
The highlight was the Gateway Arch National Park. It was about an hours drive away in St Louis, Missouri. Gateway Arch National Park includes the Arch, underground visitor center and museum, Old Courthouse, Mississippi riverfront, and landscaped green spaces and trails.
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We watched a very interesting documentary film on how the Arch was designed and built. The Gateway Arch is a world renowned masterpiece of modern architecture built on the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis. The structure of the Gateway Arch, built between 1963 and 1965, is a sandwich made of stainless steel on the outside, carbon steel on the inside, and concrete in the middle.
We took the tram to the observation deck at the top of the Arch. The tram takes 4 minutes to reach the observation deck at the top of the Arch and 3 minutes back down. The area has 32 windows and can hold 160 visitors. Each pod can fit 5 people, a very tight squeeze. Joe and I had a pod to ourselves.
To the west we saw Downtown St Louis, Missouri, Busch Stadium, and the Old Courthouse.
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Needless to say, we really enjoyed our time at Gateway Arch National Park.
