Worst and Best: Home, 11/7/23

 

Leaving Beatty, Nevada and heading north, it was apparent that we needed to spend one more night in Nevada because it was raining in NorCal and probably snowing on the high pass we'd have to travel.  NorCal's weather would clear enough the next day for us to get home without getting snowed in or on.  Hopefully.  With that caveat, we aimed for Fort Churchill, located a bit south of Reno, a site we tried to get to on a previous trip, but missed 'cause I turned right instead of left.

We spied so many wild burros on our way north.  This guy/gal danced in circles when we stopped Tergel to watch it, like it wanted us to come to the fence ... or move on already!

Goldfield:  "Living Ghost Town Ahead"  Nevada has plenty of towns that have figuratively "dried up and blown away" mainly due to mines playing out and residents moving elsewhere.  But their dilapidated houses persist and the junk in the yards doesn't rust and disappear.  It'd be fun to take a metal detector around, see what would you could find, except for:  snakes.

Dramatic skies unfolded as we rolled along.  Wind really kicked up and things got scary around Hawthorne.  If we could've found a spot to hunker down, we would have.  Tergel is a real "high profile vehicle," and being broadside to fierce winds is not funny, not fun at all.  Obviously we survived, but we sighed with relief when we got to our campground.

When we saw the sign:  Camping 1/2 mile, we turned in, and, yup, this was the Fort Churchill campground.  Nobody else around.  No hookups, but all the space you could ever want.  We backed up to the Carson River, and proceeded to hit the trail alongside the river.  Venerable Cottonwoods, golden in the waning sun, shaded the path.  Nights and mornings have been chilly since we left Louisiana, and the forecast is for more of the same.

Carson River was moving fast, and full.

Autumn leaves littered the trail.  We only went a mile-and-a-half; we didn't want to be caught out when it got dark.  It was a lovely, peaceful walk, notwithstanding cows that had used the trail earlier that day, leaving their distinctive calling card:  The juicy cow patty.  We minded our steps.

We buttoned up Tergel after dinner, pulled in the slides and turned on the catalytic propane heater early.  But I was still mighty surprised the next morning when I saw the outside temp at 23.5 degrees.  That's cold!  Cold enough to turn on the furnace, too!  Wasn't much to do to leave the campground.  We pulled out 9am/ish, and a half mile up the highway, pulled into Ft Churchill State Historic Site, parked, and began a walking tour.

Ft Churchill is a state park preserving the remains of a US Army fort and a way-station on the Pony Express and Central Overland Routes dating back to the 1860's. Built to provide protection for early settlers and the mail route along the Pony Express, the fort became an important supply depot for the Union Army during the American Civil War; it was abandoned in 1869. Most of the original adobe structures have melted into the Nevada ground, and those that do remain are in various states of ruin or arrested decay.

With the warming sun, being Out and About was quite pleasant.

Again, we were all by ourselves.

Officers quarters: one-and-a-half story buildings made of adobe walls 20" thick.  Of course, officers lived in relative comfort compared to enlisted men. 

Few people are buried in the cemetery.

A lonely place to spend "eternal rest."

Back in Tergel, it was time to head home, after gassing up in Ferley NV for less expensive gas than California's.  We had our fingers crossed for good weather.

Those golden Cottonwoods alongside the Truckee River were so striking!  You know I'm always happy to see the welcome home sign!

We began seeing snow on the peaks and I-80 was wet.

By gum, despite our calculations, snow fell on us as we drove up to and over Donner Pass, and we were driving Tergel verrrry slow.  Snow, sleet, and rain hit us, but no ice coated the freeway.  Down, down, down, we drove and eventually broke out into sunshine.  We did it!

Home again, late afternoon on Tuesday, 11-07-23, after 5+ weeks away, including that fabulous trip to Belize.  I was thrilled to see autumn leaf color, delighted that I hadn't missed NorCal's superb leaf-peeping show.  That dratted bear (above, left) turned up the following afternoon (welcome home!); it'd demolished our bird feeders while we were gone, so I won't be feeding birds anytime soon. 😞

A couple of days later, we jumped in the Prius to go see Matt and Jen and Evie in Fair Oaks.  Uh-oh.  The Prius' dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and it screamed and flashed "PROBLEM."  Well, the Prius went to the shop, not Fair Oaks, and we learned two days ago that after 19+ years, the major big battery rolled over and died.  Broke my heart  (the worst).  I loved that 2005 car -- brought it home Oct 2004.  She didn't show her age, either.  Sigh ....  but we knew she couldn't last much longer.

We also knew we needed a car more suited to driving in snow and ice:  I present you --

The new member of our family -- a red 2024 Subaru Crosstrek.

Picked it up this afternoon.  The Best.

Onward we go toward home -- November 2023

 

Still heading west, toward home.  Into Arizona from New Mexico, following secondary highways, two-lane, scenic routes along the border with old Mexico.  Skirting by Chiricahua National Monument, one of Arizona's wonderful sky islands (below).  Past Bisbee and the Queen Mine's seriously deep (at 435') copper pits!  And into Sierra Vista, AZ, which we thought had grown exponentially since the last time we were here.

Craggy Chiricahua.

I'd made a reservation at a Harvest Host site for the night at Marquis Ranch in Sierra Vista.  We stopped for groceries before finding the ranch nestled in low foothills, bracketed by higher ranges.  Harvest Hosts are marvelous places for a "sleep-over" as long as you're self-contained, which we are.  Our host, Mark, met us at the gate.  We backed Tergel into a comfy spot and then ventured out to see the farm.  

Mark took us around.  They raise and breed sheep.  There's also lots of chickens, and Great Pyrennes dogs to guard all the animals.  The sheep were low to the ground and cute.  The dogs were HUGE, especially Charlie, which you see above with Jimmy (and a younger dog).  And nine wee two-week-old puppies who couldn't walk yet and whose eyes weren't opened ... and they're already spoken for!  They mewed.  I bought a dozen eggs, too.

It was a fun afternoon. Mark and his wife, Margaret, were very congenial hosts.  We four sat around at happy-hour time and visited, told tales, and enjoyed each other's company.  The dogs do bark at night, especially when the coyotes start singing (or howling), so I wore earplugs to sleep.  We were up early the next morning, pleased with our overnight stop, but ready to hit the road. 

Arizona is cactus!  Gambel's quail.  A curve-billed thrasher.  And plenty of Cholla.

Into Tucson on I-10, and then another scenic route from Tucson to Phoenix, a route that took longer than we expected, past Phoenix and up toward Kingman, AZ.  Darkness was descending by the time we hit teeny-tiny Wikieup, and we were done and done-in!  Thankfully, we found a (ho-hum) RV park, but any port in the storm and all that. 

Next morning we crossed into Nevada via the Hoover Dam bridge.

Mountain scenery in these parts is fabulous.

A long curving road took us to the Hoover Dam bridge.

November 5th -- driving through Las Vegas -- sin city -- didn't take long.  Besides it was Sunday morning so I figured most folks were in church.  Right? 😀  Once away from the city, multi-colored mountains appeared.  Some of that involves mining, photo above.

Our goal for the night was Beatty, Nevada, which is on the Nevada side of California's Death Valley.  We figured we could find a place to park Tergel (no problem).  After setting up, we went out for an explore.  

Awwww, look what we found!  Burros.  Tamed burros.  Burros looking for a handout (not good), but c'mon how sweet is this?  (We were camped across the road, but Tergel's just out of the picture.)

Howdy, y'all!

Spied this elegant old clock near the RV park.

See a burro in the background?

Here are two more.

Don't they fit right in with the mural?

All aboard!

We walked and walked and walked.  The weather was ideal.  Felt good to be on our feet.  I told Jimmy I'd live in Beatty if I could see this magnificent mountain outside my windows every morning.  Bet there's a trail to the top ....

Think we could buy this place cheap?  Fixer-upper!

Tonight's sunset was brilliant.  Another great day, and tomorrow we'll move on again, north toward home.  We're watching a weather system approach and don't want to be caught in snow on 7239' Donner Pass as we go up and over.  to be continued ....

On the road ...

 

Maybe it's time to catch up on our itinerary!  When we left my sister's in Baton Rouge on October 30th, we pointed Tergel west on I-10, and the interminable trek through Texas.  Definitely not our favorite thing, but traveling further north is risky this time of year, weather-wise.  As it was, a cold front was approaching with big north winds and cool temps.

Our second overnight stop was at the Kerrville Elks Lodge, which we've done before, where we stoked in some of Bill's yummy BBQ, which we've also done before.  The next morning's low temp of 27 surprised us!  Time to get out of town and get warmer!

Driving all day like this, we usually change drivers every 2-3 hours, so neither of us tires too much.  We made it to Van Horn the next night, and were glad to get out and go for a walk after setting up.  Didn't know Ocotillo's would have a second bloom in autumn if they got water/rain, as this one obviously had.  We still had a far piece of Texas left to travel, but we made it to Columbus, New Mexico the next afternoon, and a state park that's been on my bucket list for a very long time!

Pancho Villa State Park sits almost on top of the border with old Mexico.  Driving in from El Paso, we took Hwy 9 to the park, paralleling the giant wall our country's erected to separate New from Old.  Most of the landscape along this area was bleak, no villages or communities.  But, what do animals do; how do they cross this partition to intermingle?

From the campground, we drove Smartie down to the border to see the wall in person.  It's massive.  Like a colossal cage to confine people on both sides.  Like the Berlin Wall.  We came back to the park to explore.

Quite a history here, all of it surrounding Pancho Villa and his raid on Camp Furlong and the Town of Columbus on March 9, 1916.

We walked the state park grounds and visited the museum (above).  Lots to see, including a few adobe structures that were just hangin' on.

This strange-looking tank was parked in front of the museum.

I parked on it for a few minutes!

Headquarters Building, Camp Furlong.

Camp Furlong was established in 1912 as a US Army border camp amid rising tensions along the United States-Mexican border during the Mexican Revolution. The Camp was the site of the first tactical military airfield in the US with the 1st Aero Squadron and Curtiss JN3 Jenny biplanes providing observation and scouting.  Housing more than 5,000 troops at one point, Camp Furlong was discontinued in 1918, but used intermittently until 1924.

 

The beginning of the panel, above, states, "Site of the last hostile action by foreign troops in the Continental United States."  Much speculation about why Pancho Villa attacked, none of it confirmed.  In fact, some don't believe Pancho Villa was even involved.  100+ years later we'll never know the truth.

So much cactus, different kinds, too.  Sorry to say, I was disappointed in this "Mickey Mouse" park.  I was anxious to get here early so we'd be sure to get a space.  At arrival, the campground was empty.  We found out why.  The restrooms were closed, as well as the dump station.  I looked on their website before coming here and didn't see that notice anywhere.  Obviously I looked at the wrong site.  We saw signs of neglect, too.  Such a shame that states can't take care of their terrific resources.

Jimmy at the Old US Custom House, built in 1901.

Across the road leading to old Mexico, was this cute caboose.

Also not open.

However, we saw plenty of birds and hundreds of White-winged Doves.  A cornfield was located behind the park boundary; the corn, of course, long gone, but those doves flew there the following morning, and probably every morning!  We also heard Sandhill Cranes and saw them soaring above a different field.

So, now I can cross Pancho Villa State Park off my list.  Been there, done that.  We moved on the next morning.  The good news is that we learned some new things, and that's always a plus.

And, finally -- 10/25 - 10/30

 

Our little group of 11 intrepid Road Scholars were fortunate with the weather for our Belize trip.  Rain never impeded our activities.  But on our last night, the rain pummeled Belize with a vengeance, at least where we were staying.  The word "drought" had been used during our visit, but that all-night downpour might have taken care of it.  Sleeping (or trying to sleep) under a tin roof during a pounding rain is kinda iffy (even Jimmy heard it, wow!).  No matter, I figured I'd sleep soundly the next night.

We were at the dinky Placencia Airport by 9:30am and ready to board a teeny-tiny plane that looked like it wouldn't even hold all of us!  Rain was still falling, dark clouds covered the sky, but we said our prayers and climbed aboard for a short hop to Belize City.  A few other people were booked to fly, too, so we split into two groups to board two tiny airplanes.

And this is one of them!

Our favorite leader:  Israel, at left, and our favorite bus driver:  Damion, right.

Ah, yes, we can always be silly, and why not?

Damion took a selfie with the group.

The proverbial Sardines in a Can.

Nickie and Jimmy take a selfie in the plane.

Okay, good, the pilot's ready to fly and his copilot is ... whaaaat?  Is that Florence in the copilot seat?  Yes, lucky lady, she's strapped in and ready to ... assist or sit quietly?  Very cool picture, Florence!

This is the first time I've ever been so close to the pilot and his front window that I could actually see the runway as he was about to land.  For inclement weather, this was one very smooth flight, and we all sighed with relief when it was done.

In the main terminal in Belize City, we said our goodbyes, gave hugs, and everyone split to their specific terminal.  What a great group of people to travel with!  Per usual, United's incoming flight was delayed, so we'd be late getting in to Houston.  As it was, we pretty much ran to catch our last flight to Baton Rouge, making it with only minutes to spare ... but we made it.  Jimmy and I were very happy to see my sister, Nannie, and bro-in-law waiting for us.  And, yes, indeedy, I slept soundly that night!  

* * * * *

Until our last full day with them, I didn't even think to get the camera out.  But on Sunday, my sister invited friends of hers (and mine) to a simple afternoon get-together.  Before they arrived, Jimmy suggested Nannie and I get a picture together.  Well, that's saying a mouthful.  We get to laughing, Nannie and me, and soon we're falling over with laughter.  So, this is the best I can do, above:  a picture of us together, with me already laughing my head off.  

Company's here!  The ladies parked at the dining room table, and the men gathered in front of the TV in comfy seats.  Isn't that often the way?  L-R:  Linda, Shirley, Nannie, me, Judy, and Cheryl.  We had fun, reminiscing, with hoots of laughter, happy to see each other. 

Nannie, Cheryl, me, and Shirley.  Good friends.

So that's it, then.  Our laundry was done (!!) and we'd gathered the stuff we'd strewn around Nannie and Bubba's home and put it all back in our motor home, Tergel.  We were ready to pull out Monday morning, the day before Halloween.  It was grand spending these past few days with Nannie and Bubba, and not-so-easy to leave.  But it was time for us to start heading for home.  Thanks for everything!  Much love, you two!

We filled Tergel with $2.83/gallon gas (hooray!!) and aimed Tergel west, across the old Mississippi River Bridge to I-10.  A cold front was approaching with vicious north winds that buffeted poor Tergel about.  A light rain made the on/off wipers necessary, just enough to be annoying.  Off we went, ready for the next chapter of our adventures.