All posts by Sheila

I have a passion for the outdoors and I am most happy enjoying what nature has to offer. Hobbies include photography, birding, Pickleball, astronomy, biking, and hiking. I have been happily married, for 50 years, to an amazing person.

On The Road, Photos-Landscapes

~Pretty Sunset this evening

October 17, 2017 Sheila 7 Comments

~Monday, October 16, 2017, Homolovi State Park, Winslow, AZ

We left Albuquerque around 9:00am Monday morning and headed west traveling 244 miles. The traffic along I40 was good. We stopped for fuel at Route 66 Travel Center and paid $2.719 a gallon. We noticed the further we drove along I40 the prices for fuel increased.

There are a lot of RV’s on the road; heading in all directions. Some of these were leaving the Albuquerque Balloon Festival towing their baskets. Some are heading to warmer places for the winter I’am sure.

We haven’t traveled to AZ in a very long time and are looking forward to being in its different terrain. Dressed in cooler weather clothes we arrived at Homolovi to much warmer temperatures.

I am sure people were wondering about us as they sat in their shorts watching us set up. What are these people doing dressed in long sleeve shirts and long pants? We quickly changed into shorts. Hope it won’t be too hot for us in AZ. When the sun went down it got pretty chilly. Yay!

A bump along the way. When we were traveling to Albuquerque and pulled into a rest area Howard noticed a message in the Edge’s control panel. It read AWD is OFF. We arrived at Enchanted Trails and unhooked the car wanting to drive it to make sure things were okay. Well they weren’t. The car was chugging in low gear. We had to make a decision to stay in Albuquerque and find a Ford dealer or travel on to Winslow. Luckily Winslow has a Ford dealer. We called them and they said we could bring the car in Tuesday morning. So we left Albuquerque; it is so much nicer, for us, to be in a state park setting than in a commercial RV park.

Homolovi State Park is very nice. It feels like we are parked in the dessert, which we are. We have a 360 degree view of scrub grass with a few trees. Lovely! I have already seen two Roadrunners.

From the state park brochure: In the high grassland of 14th century norther Arizona, an ancient people found a home along the Little Colorado River. These people, the Hisat’sinom (known to archaeologists as the Anasazi), paused in their migrations to till the rich flood plain and sandy slopes before continuing north to join people already living on the mesas, people who are today known as the Hopi. In an effort to protect some of these sites, the Hopi people supported the idea of Homolovi State Park. The park was established in 1993.

After setting up, we drove over to the Ford dealer for a chat and then stopped at Walmart. The car was still acting up. So Tuesday morning at 8:00am Howard will bring the car in as scheduled. Howard and I play a little game each time we visit a Walmart somewhere by rating our experience. Don’t get me wrong I love Walmart (most of the time). Well my rating for this visit was a 1 out of 5.

Our plans. We are scheduled to be at Homolovi for two nights. Worrying about the car and wondering about the repairs, I’am not sure how much of the park we will be able to enjoy. While in Winslow, we want to visit “Standing On the Corner” park and the RelicRoad Brewing Company. Our plans are to travel to the Grand Canyon on Wednesday. We will see how things go.

This evening we were treated to a spectacular sunset.

_MG_0761 — Sunset over Homolovi State Park

_MG_0762 ~

_MG_0764

~On the Road, Enjoying Life

~Even with a few bumps along the way~

On The Road

~Old Folks, Old Cars & RV’s, Old Swings and an Owl

October 16, 2017 Sheila 4 Comments

~Sunday, October 15, 2017, Enchanted Trails RV Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico

~Old Folks…

We are getting ready to leave the KOA in Colorado City, CO to travel to Albuquerque, NM. To pull out of our site we have to make a tight, left turn. There are KOA KABINS in front of us and travelers with RV’s on each side.

The senior folks next to us, on our left have a car parked in front of their coach and the car is in the road about two feet. I kept telling Howard we can’t make this left turn with their car parked where it is.

Howard states, “when we start the engine he will get the idea we are pulling out and will move his car”. I remember thinking, “I don’t think so”. Howard was able to speak with the guy and he graciously moved his car behind his coach, he had plenty of room back there.

While we continue with getting things ready to pull out, a group of senior citizens are gathering at one of the KABINS across from us. They light a fire, set out food and chairs; they are having a great time. Someone arrives for the party and parks their car, on the road, in front of us!

I walk over to ask them if they would kindly move their car. I get a lot of stares after stating, “I would feel more comfortable when we pull out if you would move your car”. Someone tells me, “well I guess these cars aren’t as compact as they say”. A man steps forward saying it is his car and asked me, “where would you like me to move it?”. Jeez! Anyway, he moves his car and we pull out, using all the room we needed.

~A nice ride…

We have a nice ride to Enchanted Trails, in Albuquerque, stopping for lunch at a New Mexico rest stop.

_MG_0695 — New Mexico has some beautiful landscapes.

~Old Cars and RV’s…

Enchanted Trails is a nice RV park with gravel roads and sites. It is an okay location if you want to visit Albuquerque for a few days. The staff in the office are very friendly and the rate for the night was $39.00. I heard someone say the owner lowered the rate to normal one day early. Previously it was at the Balloon Festival rate of $57.00.

*From Enchanted Trails brochure:

Enchanted Trails was originally known as Hill Top Trading Post, which was built in the 1940’s to attract people traveling on Route 66. In the 1970’s it was converted into a campground. These days, on display, are several vintage cars and travel trailers.

_MG_0704 — 1954 Vakashunette & 1950 Hudson Commodore

~An Owl…

Howard, Skye and I go for a late evening walk and after dropping them back at the coach, I grab my camera and set out to see what I can take photos off. I ‘am standing in front of the coach and see an owl fly into a tree. I run inside and swap my long lens and go back out to try to get some photos of this beautiful owl. He is high up on a limb with a couple of small branches in front of him. He is still perched there when I go inside for the evening, it was getting dark.

~Old Swing…

Sitting in a peaceful area in the RV park was this old swing. and since I love to swing it looked inviting.

~Old coach…

~Travel plans on Monday, October 16th…

In the morning we head to Homolovi State Park in Winslow, AZ.

~On the Road and Feeling Young ~

On The Road

~On our way to the Grand Canyon

October 14, 2017 Sheila 2 Comments

~KOA, Site E10, Colorado City, CO, October 14, 2017

_MG_0676 — Howard and Skye, feeling sad we are missing Kloudy

After, what seems like forever, we are rambling again in our home on wheels, the Rambling Rose. We are tired from all the preparations it took to leave home, but excited to begin our winter travels. The traffic through Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo was moderate and without any construction. My driver did an excellent job!

We didn’t travel far this first day, which as it turns out was a good choice. The wind has been strong, so we are happy to be settled in for the evening and just resting. A bottle of Gnarly Head, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2015 helped!

We had the windows open in the coach and all of a sudden a gust of wind was so strong it blew over one of my Orchids that was hitting on the kitchen counter breaking two flowers off the stem. Bummer!

As we travel toward our destination to visit the Grand Canyon we are looking forward to new adventures. It is always fun to visit unexplored places. Homolovi State Park in Winslow, AZ will be a new place for us to visit. Made reservations today for a two night stay.

It has been difficult scheduling places to stay through Santa Fe or Albuquerque, NM. The annual Balloon Festival ends on Sunday, October 15, 2017 and the RV parks are still full through Monday. A couple of places in Albuquerque have one or two spots available, but are charging – the Ballon Festival rate – of $70.00 a night. Incredible!

We head out in the morning for Albuquerque, having found a spot at Enchanted Trails for $57.00 just across the highway from American RV, which is charging the $70.00 a night fee. We have stayed at American RV many times, but never Enchanted Trails. We will see how it goes; the man on the phone, taking my reservation, was extremely nice.

Notice our bike rack in the photo above. This summer we had a hitch put on our Ford Edge and we purchased a Thule bike rake. Before we had the bikes on the back of the coach. I like our new car bike rack better. We were a little worried today about the rack/bikes, but everything went well. The bikes didn’t fall off!

I was hoping for a better sunset photo, but it just didn’t happen. However, this one is pretty.

~On the Road Again; Life is Good~

On The Road, Photos-Birds

~Spring birding in Texas-

October 9, 2017 Sheila Leave a comment

~South Llano River State Park, Junction, TX, Spring, 2017

A few more bird photos from our stay at South Llano River State Park; I think I am getting close to publishing all of them.

I only saw this Yellow Warbler once; flew in to get a drink of water and flew away. Might have been nesting.

This male House Finch is starting to show his breeding colors.

Yellow-rumped Warbler and a very wet Black-crested Titmouse

_MG_9604 — “Has anyone seen my mate? She is a pretty yellow girl.”

Summer Tanager (male)

This Carolina Chickadee just didn’t want his photo taken.

Happy Birding!

At Home, Photos-Birds

~Safe Travels Little Ones

October 6, 2017 Sheila 2 Comments

~Loveland, CO, October 6, 2017

Wednesday was the last time we saw the two Hummingbirds that have been with us for a long time. Drinking coffee yesterday morning we commented that “they must be gone”. During the day we kept watching for them, and when we didn’t see them again this morning we knew they must have begun their long journey south. I am glad, but sad.

I truly miss seeing them! They provided us with lots of entertainment this season.

This photo was taken back in April at South Llano River State Park.

“Travel safe, and I truly hope you make it to your destination.”