Cruising with the Cowan's

Finally arrived in Santa Fe.  Nice uneventful ride with nice scenery.  Did not realize we are up at 6,500'.  Was greeted my the mayor, the SC marching band, and cheerleaders.  Was awarded the keys to the city and all is well.  Having just finished setting up camp after about 3.5 hours at 70 MPH, think I will have a gin and tonic and just take a deep breath.  The campground is about 20 miles from town, so will just cool our heels for tonight.  Did take out the grill and will grill some burgers and corn on the cob for dinner.  Current temp is 65 and balmy.  The low last night was 37 in Farmington.  A few have sent me questions that for various reasons I did not reply to.  So here goes.  No Marshall, you just have to check in from time to time to see what we are up to.  You don't have to do anything, just enjoy.  David, I sold the business in January.  We had purchased a larger trailer and tow vehicle and are going ...

On the road again.  Got the ok from the ER to travel again.  Up early, gave a blood sample at the Hospital and loaded up and headed out of town.  The trip out of Moab is spectacular.  The red sandstone mountains were striking.  The reds and the shadowing made for quite a view.  Since we were in high desert, we did run into some light sleet but not a problem.  Our next stop was at Farmington, N. M. We headed South and cut a corner into South Western Colorado.  Ranch country and not very prosperous from the look of things.  Finally dipped into N.M. to Farmington, N.M.  I booked us for the night at the county fairgrounds as it was fairly highly rated.  Got into Farminton, and headed for the Fairgrounds.  Big facility and grounds.  On one side they were having a sports car slalom event and lots of cars racing around pylons trying for the best time.  As we continued driving on the fairground property looking for the RV par...

Well it has been quite an eventful passage.  We left Brigham City for Moab Utah.  Along the way we stopped for some groceries.  Little did I know what that stop had in store for me.  I made some Pico de Gallo which is a salsa made from some fresh veggies and jalapenos etc.  I ate it Tuesday nite and we headed south.  The trip was interesting as we were at 6500' and ran in to snow flurries.  Eventually we found ourselves down in the valley with warmer temps.  While driving I had some stomach concerns as we headed to Moab for a one night stay and then to push further south.  Without going into details, we were sidelined for three days while it ran thru my system.  I just returned from the local ER to have some fluids administered.  Now I feel better but this has thrown a monkey wrench into our schedule.  The surrounding countryside is just magnificent.  The red hills and deep valleys are really awesome to view.  Our one...

Got up this morning with a plan.  We were going to visit Promontory Point where the railroads from each side of the country met and drove the "Golden Spike."  First stop at Ace Hardware for a small hook, which of course they didn't have.  Then off to the "Point."  Along the way which by the way was the most desolate countryside, we saw a large commercial facility in the distance.  Turns out it was a NASA plant where they manufacture and test rocket engines.  I can understand being out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by cattle ranches.  I wonder when they test those engines, how the cows react.  On this most desolate trek we got to smell lots of cow droppings.  At last we reached Promontory Point where there is a small museum with rangers.  Saw a short movie and then walked out to see the actual location of where the golden spike was driven.  Actually the original spike is at Stanford University.  Leland Stanford was one of ...

We left Caldwell, Idaho this morning and headed for Brigham City, Utah.  Fortunately, the wind had dissipated and no head wind.  Our gas mileage jumped from 8 to 8.9.  The speed limit for trucks in Idaho is 70 mph.  So adjusted the cruise control and let her rip.  Of course that does affect our mileage but we are faster to our next destination, which is Brigham City, Utah.  A little longer drive today, about 4.5 hours.  Along the way we saw a coyote standing by the freeway looking for lunch.  Utah was crossed into about 2 hours into our trip.  Utah has a speed limit of 80, but just kept it at 70. This is flat country and I was wondering what the pioneers thought when they saw the vast prairies they had to cross.  Traveling with a wagon train doing possibly 5 miles per day must have been pretty daunting.  Here we were traveling at 70 mph pulling our house with us.   Although we didn't have oxen to feed, we did have a thirsty V8...

Left the Wild Horse Resort this A. M. at 0900.   Still very windy.  Had a head wind the entire trip to Caldwell, Idaho.  Our mpg dropped from 11 to 8.  Nasty.  Arrived here in Caldwell Idaho at the Ambassador RV park.  Stayed here two years ago.  Very nice park.  When you check in, they lead you to your space with a driver on a golf cart.  Very nice.  Hookup and connections only took about 10 minutes. On one of our stops I needed to inspect our bathroom and noticed the shower head had broken.  Fortunately there was a Camping World nearby but they have a very limited supply of items. Sooo, we will shower in the morning with just the pipe end.  A little inconvenient but this is what makes adventures.  Hopefully our next stop tomorrow in Brigham City, Utah will have a better stocked supply store.  However, come to find out most of the stores locally are closed Saturday and Sunday.  What a pain.  We will be sp...

We are in our second day of our first long trip since my retirement in January.  I have sold the business and now look forward to exploring the U.S. with our new trailer and tow vehicle. We left yesterday April 21, 2017 for Pendleton Oregon, which is our first stop on a 3 week trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We are currently ensconced at the Wild Horse Casino and RV Park.  Stepping into the casino for a rather fair buffet dinner, we were taken aback at all of the players sitting in front of slot machines, smoking and drinking, hoping to make the big score a win to pay off their debts.  A rather depressing sight.  This first stop took about 4 hours.  Yesterday was quite pleasant with temps in the low 70's.  A delightful change from the gloom we had been experiencing in Portland. Today, Saturday, we woke up to rather windy conditions, and the trailer is being slightly buffeted.  I hope we won't have any trouble with the wind when we depart for our ...