2014 Spring Traveling (home)

 

May 2014

Due to mechanical issues requiring a 3-night stay in Clarendon, Texas, we were unable to travel the Natchez Trace Parkway as planned.  We arrived near Mike and family on April 14 and really enjoyed our time there.  We were able to spend time together as a family, as well as with each of the grandkids individually.

 We enjoyed attending softball games and having Grace spend the night a couple of times. 

Abby & Grace helped grandma make cookies, Shelby & Grandma went to an art museum, Abby & Grandma went shopping, Grace & Grandma enjoyed the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro and Patrick & Grandpa enjoyed dinner and a movie.

We attended the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama in Birmingham.  This was our fourth consecutive year attending and it was great to be back in the action!  Since Panther Racing is no longer, it took a while for us to locate the crew members we knew from that team.  Many have found positions with other teams so now we have several teams to root for during races.  We had a great time, although race day was stormy and we spent a great deal of time in the Barber Vintage Museum. 

We returned to Indiana April 28 and are enjoying spending time with family.  We spent most of the first week at Kathy’s sister, Ruthie’s, while our fifth wheel was in the shop.  Thankfully, her kids were still at college so she had some extra space!  We’ve had a great time with Eric, Kristin and our youngest granddaughter, Nora, who has grown and changed so much since we last saw her.  She is crawling and constantly on the go and we look forward to spending more time with them as we plan to stay in Greenfield this summer.

Bob has started work at the Speedway and has enjoyed visiting with people in the racing community as well as his friends in the “Yellow Shirt Brigade”. We have also been fortunate enough to go to a couple of Pacers playoff games. So far we have been busy and have enjoyed our return to Indiana.

April 2014:

Before leaving Tucson we were able to squeeze in a few more activities.  We spent a Saturday driving the Sky Island Scenic Byway which begins in the lower Sonoran region and climbs through the Coronado National Forest to Mt Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains.  It was a beautiful clear day and we were able to stop often to enjoy the scenery.  Due to snow on Mt. Lemmon, we only drove to Summerhaven at an elevation of 8700 feet. 

  

We spent a fun Sunday afternoon at Old Tucson Studios, where we had lunch at Big Jake’s Bar-B-Q.  We took a 45-minute guided walking tour where we learned a lot of the history of Old Tucson and heard about films that were made here. We enjoyed several western shows and browsing the little shops. 

We left our winter home at Rincon Country West on March 31 and headed north.  We spent two nights at Distant Drums RV Resort in Camp Verde, a very nice Good Sam park convenient to Jerome and Sedona, Arizona.

 We spent a morning in Jerome on Cleopatra Hill (elevation 5200 feet, population 480), once a bustling copper mining town, then a ghost town and now a thriving tourist and artist area.  The views from town were absolutely beautiful and there are still old buildings about town, some abandoned and some in use as unique shops.  Our favorite was probably Nellie Bly’s, a unique gallery of amazing kaleidoscopes and art glass.  It was a fun shop to browse and we were allowed to photograph anything we wanted, including through the kaleidoscopes.  We had lunch at the Haunted Hamburger, as recommended by a worker at the RV Park.  We both had delicious burgers while enjoying the unique atmosphere. 

After lunch we drove along state route 89 to Sedona, in red rock country at the mouth of Oak Creek Canyon.  We decided to take a trolley tour which was interesting as we traveled outside the town, admiring the rock formations and taking lots of pictures. 

We drove back to the RV Resort along state route 179, the Red Rock Scenic Byway.  It was a beautiful drive with plenty of photo opportunities.

We arrived at Grand Canyon Railway RV Resort in Williams, Arizona amid snow!  Granted it was wet and a very small amount, but definitely not what we were expecting!  It is a nice Good Sam and Passport America facility which also has a lodge, several gift shops and a couple of dining opportunities. 

We took an observation dome car on the Grand Canyon Railway, a great way to see the scenery as we slowly wound our way to the Grand Canyon. 

We arrived just in time for our bus tour along the South Rim, with stops at Hopi & Mojave Points.  After the cold and snow the day before, it was a perfect day with sun and a few clouds for beautiful views and photos.  We even saw some people rafting on the Colorado River, although it’s pretty difficult to see them in these photos! 

After the bus tour, we had some time to wander before boarding the train for our return trip to Williams.

 We rode back in a coach car where we were entertained by Amber Rose, our attendant and Rosie, a fun accordion player.  As we neared the Williams Depot robbers boarded the train, an entertaining finish to our day.

We will be traveling east the next few days to Natchez, Mississippi, where we will drive the Natchez Trace Parkway from its beginning to Columbia, Tennessee where we will spend time visiting son Mike and family.