We took a rest day, for the most part today. Meagan and Jarek wanted to go back and do the hike to Landscape Arch at Arches National Park. Alan stayed back and got caught up on a few just-as-fun chores with the littles, like defrosting the freezer!
Meagan dropped off a bunch of postcards and saw the really cool Raven mural (banner image on the post).
After the post office, Meagan and Jarek headed over to Arches for an evening hike in the cooler weather to Landscape Arch.
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It was time to pack up from Monument Valley. We were headed out to Fredonia, AZ as our next stop.
We ended up driving past Glen Canyon again on the way through. Meagan grabbed this picture when she stopped for a rest stop.
There is not much to say about the park in Fredonia, although it did have very big sites. Here, we are getting set up.
As we were finishing the set up, we were hit by a microburst. It was some of the most intense rain and wind we experienced on the trip. The RV was rocking pretty good!
After the storm, had passed by, I went and did a check for damage. I found that one of our awning covers had been partially pulled out of it’s retention slot.
A view of the cover from the top. Later, I was able to get it tucked back in there.
After taking shelter from the rain, thinking I was done, I was, in fact, not done. I had left the back bay open, and it took on a bit of water. I emptied it out and started to dry out the items and the bays. The bays have a barrier, but it is not sealed on the bottom, and some water got over from the ‘stuff’ bay to the ‘food’ bay.
The wind had blown around some of our sewer hose track, but nothing was broken.
The storm in the distance after it had passed by.
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Early morning video games. The kids have taken a liking to Stardew Valley which they get to play together and work cooperatively. They are allowed to play video games and tablets on weekends as long as behavior has been good.
We went out to lunch in the morning with a friend for some Mongolian Bar-b-que. Afterward, we came back to the campground, and saw a helicopter parked in an empty shopping center.
Apparently the New Mexico State Police were putting a community out reach event, but we didn’t find any advertisement about it. The kids were still stoked to see the helicopter up close, but they were getting ready to depart when we arrived. We stuck around a few minutes and watched it lift off.
My order of the Flagpole Buddy came in. I spent a few minutes assembling it and got it rigged up. Much better for installation of the Starlink antenna than kludging it on the ground. Especially helpful for those places with very narrow sites, which we seemed to hit a number of on this trip.
Garrett and Randal engaged in shenanigans!
I went off to run some errands and shopping while Meagan took the kids to the campground pool to cool off in the Albuquerque heat!
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I got my parts shipment in. I fixed a shelf in the refrigerator that broke a few days ago. One of the shelves cracked and it took a while before we were in an area long enough to get the part shipped. One of the challenges of being on the road and moving often is coordinating logistics and supplies, especially when one is out in the boonies.
Meagan took this opportunity to go to one of her favorite stores and get kiddo things.
Randal was curating the book offerings.
Back at the RV, Randal enjoys dinner. The rest of us took it easy.
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Our trip has come to a close and we have returned to Florida!
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind as we’ve gotten settled back in and immediately got started catching up on appointments, doctor’s visits, and the like.
We’ve also been dealing with cleaning up maintenance on the vehicles and the RV itself. I picked up ‘Fenrir’ – the truck that I sent back from South Dakota. The van (Zephyr) and the new truck (Huginn) await their turns at the shop to have various maintenance issues addressed as well.
The front AC on the RV is on the short list to get replaced, which I hope to get done this next weekend. We have the replacement on hand, but the last two weeks have been rather busy with all the things, and not to mention, the rain and fog which is contra-indicated for an AC replacement job which exposes a hole in the roof.
It is my hope to get the physical holiday cards out in the mail this weekend.
I’m also working on the 2024 in review post, which will be a bit different this year, given that so much happened! I plan for that to release on 2 Jan 2025 – so watch for it then! There are still quite a few posts that I need to do about the other adventures on the trip – I haven’t forgotten those! They will be coming as well, but perhaps they will flow out in the new year as time permits.
Happy Holidays, wishing you a Merry Yule and a Happy New Year!
Randal hangs out with me in the morning by the river, enjoying some quiet time outside the RV and all the chaos inside as the rest of the family wakes up and gets breakfast.
It was a nice drive through the mountains of Idaho and Montana and the remote forests. Most of the drive was without cell phone service.
It was a blustery day, the winds had picked up a bit and it was cool. We got to the visitor center and there were a few people there, but you could easily tell that they did not get as much foot traffic as other sites.
An overview of the battlefield and movements.
The kids work on their books while waiting for the park movie to start.
All done with their books, they get their badges.
Duck explores the touch table at the visitor center.
Ducky tries on the bandoleer of Winchester 45-70 ammunition, used at the time by the US Calvary units.
Meanwhile, Evan and Randal work on some coloring.
Back at the RV, Randal checks out one of his favorite books.
Ducky is enthralled by motorcycles. These travelers showed up and the gentleman was showing off his bike to Ducky. He offered to let Ducky rev the throttle, but it was a bit too loud for him.
Randal, however, was not interested in the loud motorcycle.
Randal enjoys his dinner on the rocks, shaken and not stirred.
After dinner, Randal and his one sock head to the river for some playtime with Evan and Ducky.
Daddy rescues the wet baby and delivers him to the shower, much to his dismay.
Later that night, the kids enjoy some s’mores!
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After spending the day before driving, we took a rest day. Here, at the crack of late morning, the little snuggle bugs have taken over the bed. Garrett is not happy with my photo taking!
While the minions slept, I enjoyed my coffee with the view from the back of our site along the Salmon River. Really, a rough start to the day.
A view the other way, behind the lodge rooms.
After finally getting up to face the day, the kids made fast friends with the one of the owner’s family who was also spending a weekend at the site. They set up their lemonade stand and our kids quickly helped out. I’m not sure how successful it was at $3/glass, though, but they sure had a lot of fun!
Our site at the campground.
Randal played hard. He was playing up front in the RV, and then it got quiet. I went up to investigate and found him passed out on his own – a rare occurrence!
Later on, the kids went with their friends to do a float down the river. They took some kayaks and a paddle board up stream and then floated down back to our campground!
This was a very peaceful campground. No cell service, and the only internet was via our Starlink. The campground also had their own Starlink set up to offer wifi to the guests.
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About a week ago as of the date of writing this post (early Nov 2024), Gizmo got very sick and was having some accidents. Meagan took her to the vet and the prognosis was grim. Gizzy was diagnosed with advanced heart disease, and the vet thought that Gizmo had had one heart attack, and perhaps several others thus far.
We made the decision to put Gizmo down as there was no real treatment path forward for her to get better, and she was at times struggling to breathe, causing air to build up in her stomach, and thus also making difficult for her to eat.
We drove out to see the Minidoka NHS. Minidoka was one of the sites that Japanese residents and those of Japanese descent were relocated to during World War II.
Family shot in front of the Visitor Center, which was a remodeled warehouse from the camp’s operating days.
Meagan checks out some of the displays while the big kids work on their Junior Ranger Books. Randal and Garrett hang out and cause chaos. Generally, the visitor center was fairly kid friendly without too many things they could get into.
The exclusion zone and other camp sites across the country. Meagan and the kids would happen on Heart Mountain later in our journey.
There were a number of displays with historical photos and documents. This was good for the kids to see and get a sense of what happened.
We took a tour of the facility. There was a talk by one of the Rangers, which I recorded. I’ll look to process it a bit later when I have time to do so. I spent most of that time chasing Ducky around, so hopefully the audio comes out ok.
This was one of the mess halls showing where the Japanese-Americans would eat their meals.
Barracks building.
The Japanese Americans did a good job farming, and were also utilized in the local agriculture efforts. They were underpaid and generally taken advantage of. There was evidence in the displays of coordination to provide labor from the Federal Agencies overseeing the relocation to various states.
They were very productive in their farming efforts. The display on the root cellar that the Japanese Americans constructed showed just how much produced they grew.
The ruins of the root cellar. It was an impressive structure.
This was a very good site to visit, and relevant and sobering. It provided us an opportunity to introduce and discuss civil rights with the kids, as well as the role of the Constitution and the later Supreme Court decision that, many years after the fact, declared the incarceration unconstitutional.
It was also timely to explain to the kids, who were a bit shocked that the Government would round up large numbers of people. It was good to point out to them that it had happened before, and to not discount it happening again in the future.
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After Craters of the Moon, we drove the other direction to City of Rocks National Preserve. The visitor center is co-located and run by the Idaho State Parks, where Castle Rocks state park is also near by.
It was a small visitor center, with a few displays. Outside, there was a small path/trail with a couple of wagons out front. This area was part of the westward migration in the 1800’s., with the California Trail passing through the City of Rocks area.
Ducky had a great time doing his book and exploring the trail!
We drove by Register Rock, where travelers left their names when they passed through what is now the park.
A view of the rock formations as we enter the Reserve.
The City of Rocks.
Further in, we came to a trail to Window Arch. Window Arch was past several campgrounds. Meagan and the kids went out, then we tagged out while Randal slept.
Selfie at the Arch!
More amazing rock formations!
Kids on top of Bread Loaves rock!
We stopped at a picnic area at the end of the road in the park, near Bread Loaves rock. Randal was all about getting out of the car and running around.
He promptly armed himself with a stick and began on his mission to cause chaos!
Scenic vista at the park.
View of the Bread Loves from the other side. There is a group campground there. The National Reserve is very popular for rock climbing and camping for the locals.
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After a few days hanging out with the grandparents, we headed north to check out Craters of the Moon NM.
The kids knocked out their Junior Ranger books in the visitor center and the small museum. I took Ducky and Randal out so they would cause less chaos, so we didn’t get pics of Jarek and Evan getting their badges.
After the visitor center, we embarked on the scenic drive. We stopped off at the Devil’s Garden area for a picnic lunch and walked the short paved trail.
A view of some of the lava formations.
Happy kids on a hike!
We drove on and came to a cinder cone. There was a trail up to the top. Randal was asleep, so Meagan and the kids went up to the top first while I stayed with Randal. Zoom shot from the cell phone came out well!
Ducky works his way up. You can see the van and the parking lot down below.
On top of the world!
Views from the cinder cone.
Arya and Ducky walk along the top of the cone. As they were heading down, Arya asked Ducky to hold her hand. Ducky says “No, I don’t want to hold your hand!” Arya says OK, and walks down the hill a bit. Ducky sees this, then shouts after her “I want to hold your hand! I want to hold your hand!”
At the end of the scenic drive, we came to another lava field. The kids and Meagan took a short walk out to explore it along the trail.
Back at the RV, Ducky poses with his new duck he got from Granny!
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We stuck around a few minutes and watched it lift off.
