2017 Southwest CHRPA Trek
Thursday, 2.23.17
Baker City to Ely, NV
502 miles
Well, we
are off again…. In spite of the weather forecast! We knew it might not be a smooth day…and it
wasn’t in the middle! We left Baker a
little before 6am with temps in the high 20’s.
After a week of ‘spring-like’ weather in the 40’s which melted 80% of
the snow, we awoke Wednesday morning to an inch dusting of white stuff and
colder temps again. But most of that
melted by later in the day.
Rick drove
until the Travel America on the far side of Boise where I took over. In and out of light blowing snow and some
drifting across the road due to some high winds. By the time we passed Glenn’s Ferry and
Bliss, however, it was getting a little more serious. Twin Falls was forecast for 3-5 inches today
and Salt Lake was snowstorms both today and tomorrow. We figured if we got through Twin, we wouldn’t
follow the storm all the way, and instead turn south towards Jackpot and Wells,
hoping we would drive out of the mess. I
drove 100 miles to the exit for Buhl and gratefully gave Rick the wheel. It was getting uglier than I wanted to drive
in! One exit too soon which involved a turn
around in some ranchers driveway!
(NOTE: Exit 157 is the one you
take for the shortcut to Buhl and Filer and Hwy 93 south!)
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| South of Buhl... |
The shortcut was NOT great! Drifting snow, very bumpy, and not always
plowed well. But….we got to Buhl, gassed
up, and headed south on 93. It wasn’t
snowing anymore, but the wind was so strong the light powder was blowing all
over the road. Rick will tell you that I
can’t comment much about the road here because I wasn’t looking!! I deliberately had my needlepoint on so I
could concentrate on that. Keeps my
blood pressure down! We put Toby Mac
CD on to keep Rick’s spirits up!
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| China Mt south of Jackpot |
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| Snow accumulation in Buhl - later spare time was completely covered! |
By Jackpot
we had dry pavement for the most part and fairly clear sailing the rest of the
way! Even patches of blue sky and
sunshine at times! The Nevada mountains
and their snowy peaks were beautiful.
Cloud banks over the mountains were thick – in one place over the Ruby
Range it looked like ocean waves of clouds breaking into the valley. The sun was bursting through the clouds in
rays of light. I really don’t mind the
drive through the valleys of Nevada this time of year.
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| Loved the patterns of the snow on foothills. |
We had made reservations last night at the Jailhouse Hotel and Casino in Ely. The forecast for the night was 7 degrees, colder than we wanted to endure in our still-winterized trailer! Hadn’t expected to make it two nights, but with the change in route and an added 200 miles, two days of travel only just wasn’t going to make it.
I drove
from Wells to Ely, we stopped for gas, and checked in to the Hotel, located on
Hwy 50 West. We’ll have to backtrack a
few blocks to get to Route 6 and our road south in the morning.
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| I thought these clouds looking like an ocean breaker. |
A typical
older small town hotel and casino, but everything is clean and quiet. We are able to park the trailer in a parking
lot within view of our window. Rather
than go out to dinner, we enjoy cheese, wine, bread, and some hummus and
dip.
Friday, 2.24.17
Ely, NV to Flagstaff,
AZ
501 miles
Another early morning! We got up around 5:15am Pacific time and were on the road by 5:50, deciding to skip the small discount on the breakfast at the motel. We had cakebread with us, afterall!
 |
| Driving down 318 |
Rick drove
up Hwy 6 to the summit and the beautiful vista that awaits you of rolling
mountains and juniper covered hills, all snowy patched. In fact, it snowed last night lightly while
we slept, but no problem with the roads this morning.
Yesterday
was a first for us in traveling with this fridge in the trailer. It measured 32 degrees when we left
Baker. We did NOT have the gas turned on
to run the fridge while we traveled, figuring it was a cool enough day. Well, for the first time, the fridge got
COLDER without any help at all! It was
31 degrees when we arrived in Ely!
Better yet, when I checked this morning it was 25 degrees!!! (Hope those little mandarin oranges don’t rot
too fast!) (Note, when we got to
Flagstaff it was 33 degrees, with a forecast below 20 for the night – it will
NOT be turned on yet!)
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| Vista west from 318 rest area. |
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| At times the Nevada highways can appear rather empty! |
At the junction of 6 and Hwy 318 I took over the wheel for the 120 miles down to Alamo. The first half was a beautiful drive of snowy mountains to the east and the west, sunrise tinted clouds all around. But when the sun came up, the light was quite bothersome coming in the side driver’s window! Rick finally put his jacket up in the window to help me out. I just don’t sit up tall enough for the window shade to help very quickly!
We stop in
Alamo to gas up at the Sinclair and grab a couple of Bacon and Cheese Egg
Bagels for breakfast at the little grill located inside. Nothing too fancy, but they hit the
spot! As we headed south, the vista
gradually lost snow and gained more and more yucca plants along the way!
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| Mts. just north of Vegas |
Into Vegas
around noon with a quick stop at the Pilot on I-15 for gas and to weave our way
through all the traffic and construction of the city. Not our favorite part of the trip, but it
beats Salt Lake City in the snow! Rick
drove to Kingman, where we gassed up, ate at Burger King, AND found a car wash
to give the truck and trailer and quick hose down – SO DIRTY from all the snow
and slush and road grime. While Rick
hosed, I called ahead to the Rodeway Inn and got us a room for the night in
Flagstaff.
I drove
from Kingman to Williams (around 120 miles) and Rick took us the rest of the
way in. Interstate 40 from Kingman to
Flagstaff leave a great deal to be desired in terms of quality highway. I couldn’t count how many ‘Rough Road’ signs
we passed. Needless to say, I didn’t
miss numerous potholes and the truck and trailer got a good shakedown by
Williams. Rick didn’t fare much better,
although he tends to see the holes faster than I do and is better at avoiding
them.
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| Humphreys Peak as you approach Flagstaff from west. |
Humphreys
Peak at 12,000 plus feet dominates the skyline to the north of Flagstaff and is
beautiful to see as you approach the city with its snow laden summits. The juniper forests near town were covered
with snow buried deep under the trees.
We got off at Exit 198 and found our Rodeway Inn on old Route 66 east of
town. Nothing fancy, but I think it will
work for the night.
Saturday, 2.25.17
Flagstaff, AZ to Camp
Rembold, Edgewood, NM
352 miles
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| AZ-NM border rest area - typical NM rocks! |
The final
leg of our journey today! We are up
around 6:15, having gone to bed relatively early! Decide to just shower and hit the road, so by
7:30 we are on our way! Rick drives to
Winslow, AZ where we gas up again and switch to make the long haul across the
rest of AZ to Gallup. After passing
Meteor Crater to our south, we see some rock formations and mesas to the north,
otherwise LOTS of dry grasslands and no trees!!
As we near the New Mexico border, the vistas improve considerably! Unfortunately, except for a few smoother
stretches, I-40 road quality did NOT improve to a great degree!
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| Walmart Sunset |
Gas, Subway
sandwiches, etc. at the Flying J travel center 16 miles east of Gallup,
NM. Rick drives us on in to Albuquerque
and through to Edgewood. A few texts
with Rachael and Patty and it is clear that we’ll have dinner with them
tonight. A later call to Mom R indicates
she doesn’t want to go to church in the morning. L Just too
early! (Editor’s note: Time for Mom and
her friends to find a new church with later service hours!)
Visits with
Rach, Patty, and Ryan, hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner, and a trip to
Wal-Mart round out our day. We are back
in the trailer early with the heater running and our blankets all cozy around
us! Forecast tonight should be in the 20’s.
2.26.17
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| Morning sunrise in Edgewood |
Wow! Rick says there is nothing like 11 hours of
sleep to create a new being! He was in
bed before 9 and didn’t get up until after 8am.
I did a little work on the internet downstairs in the house before
breakfast. Plus a little visit time with
Rachael.
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| Moving Grandma's chair into Luke's storage unit. |
Overall, a
pretty lazy day, although I did get a King done in Needlepoint and got some
postcards off in the mail!
It is 42 in
the trailer when we get back to Edgewood!
Could be a pretty cold hike in the morning with Luke!!
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| Sunset leaving Mom's Sunday night |
SUNDAY, 2.27.17
Hike with Luke – Waterfall Canyon
Brrr! As I
write this morning with hat and gloves on, it is 21 degrees outside and 43 in
the trailer with the heater going full blast.
But….the sun is shining! Last
night the sky was so clear and beautiful – the stars so bright. (The air so cold!)
We meet
Luke at Sprouts at 10, drop off his car, and then head out Tramway to the north
end of the Sandia Mts. Luke has
directions to the trailhead, but from there on we are at the mercy of the short
conversation he had Saturday with a man who had hiked it that day. Our destination is Waterfall Canyon and the
ice falls….or just a nice hike in the mountains! Whichever comes first!
This was a
new area for us to explore as well which made the outing fun and
adventuresome! It ended up about a 3
mile hike with over 1000’ foot elevation gain (at least! It FELT like 4000’!!) We finally found the canyon, but no
waterfalls. We didn’t exactly take the
easiest or most direct route (understatement!), due to the fact we cut off the
main trail a little too soon and ended up high on the ridge above the
canyon. But….we got a great view of the
hidden little niche of the Sandias, a view you can’t see from the valley
floor. We found plenty of pinyon and
ponderosa pines, cholla cactus, prickly pears, mesquite and wild roses. A little snow, plenty of loose rock, and LOTS
of dried oak leaves covering the forest floor.
It was exhausting, but fun.
Back to
pick up Luke’s car and then down to G-Ma’s for dinner out at Papa Felipe’s. Good meal.
By 6pm we were fading fast so said our goodbyes and headed home.
Shouldn’t
be as cold tonight as the clouds have come in for the predicted snow and rain
tonight and tomorrow.
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| Views up Waterfall Canyon - Rick is holding on to make sure I didn't fall downhill! |
Tuesday - Friday, 2.28.17 – 3.3.17
Lazy days in ABQ
Tuesday. A lazy morning, then a movie with Mom. We saw Hidden
Figures (good movie!) and then took mom shopping at Walmart. Dinner together at the apartment and we left
around 7. VERY windy in Edgewood this am
– we closed up the front end of the trailer just to make sure the 50 mph gusts
didn’t do any damage!  |
| Rick and Jax model their 'shades' |
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| At Wendys! |
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| Jax and Grandma read a story. |
Thursday. We had very simple plans for today. Trailer part fix. Oil change. Walmart run. Maybe visit Luke office. Luke was going to leave for Phoenix after
work. Well….ended up with a loaner car
as the truck is at the dealership waiting for a new oil pan to arrive. Still working on trailer parts fix. Ran out of time to visit office, but Luke
turned back an hour into his trip to Phoenix saying, ‘this is not the time to
do this!’ (Smart kid!) I did pick up a new pair of jeans at
Walmart! We had dinner at Mom’s
apartment with Luke before he headed out to Placitas.
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| Sunrise walking into Rand's. |
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| Reg cuts Rick's hair |
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| Luke in his new office |
Friday. Morning in Edgewood. Regan and Jax came over and Reg cut Rick’s
hair. A little visit time. Stop at hardware to pick up part for trailer
water heater. There we found out the bad
news: Honda sent the wrong part and truck won’t be fixed until Tuesday noon at
earliest. ARGH! In to see Luke at his office and meet his ‘boss’
lady (so to speak, not really). Didn’t
get to Mom’s until 3:30!! Rick and I
walked over to Subway and Twisters for dinner items. Sat and visited until 7 when Rachael texted
me – do you want to watch ‘Arrival’? So
we headed back out and watched the alien movie Luke recommended so highly. Interesting show!
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| View from recliner in Rand's living room of South Mt. |
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| Outside Presbytery office |
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| Classy new business card! |
Saturday, 3-4-17
Old Town Albuquerque!
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| Modeling the goods |
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| San Felipe de Niro |
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| Wanted to eat here, but no room! |
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| The wheelchair worked perfectly! |
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| Luke in one of the squares. |
It was a
beautiful day in Albuquerque! Warmed up
to the mid 70’s – perfect!! But during
our 7pm drive back out to Edgewood, we once again watched the temperature drop
from mid 50’s in town to 40 degrees as we turned into Randy’s gate. Clear and cool, but the stars and the moon
are gorgeous! I took out my phone with its star app for a little bit to play around. It worked!!
Sunday, 3.5.17
Family time –Fence Building!
After a bit of a confusing
morning, Rick and Randy headed over to Regan’s house around 10 to begin helping
Dom with work on the new fence for their house. (Fence building was our trade-off for having to stay a few extra days!)
Regan had to work all day today.
Luke went to church up in Placitas (8:30 service!), then picked up
Grandma and brought her out, arriving at 11:30.
We all went over to join the guys, partly to check out the inside of
Regan’s place and to see Jax! Mom and I
came back to Rand’s after Patty and I picked up trash from the fence line. Luke, Rick, Rachael, Randy, and Dom worked
until 3:45 trying to dig fence post holes through the clay hard colleechee soil….unsuccessfully.
 |
| Dinner at Denney's |
The seven
of us went out to dinner at Denney’s (Ryan declined to go, and Dom and Jax were
waiting for Regan). The fence builders
were famished, having basically skipped any sense of lunch. We sat around the table until nearly 6 pm,
visiting and talking! A good time.
Luke drove
Grandma back to her place, and then went on home to Placitas. We should see him one more time tomorrow and
we also have a final visit with Mom. A
little TV time with Rand’s and then we head out to our little house.
Monday, 3.6.17
One More Day….
Laundry
this morning while the wind outside raged at 35 mph or so. I told Rick I didn’t want to live where the
wind was this bad for this much of the time!!
Into town
around 12:30 to pick up Mom and head over to the Olive Garden for a late
lunch. Luke drove up from work to join
us. At the end of the meal, Rick
realized he had a voice mail, which turned out to be from Liz. Evidently Mom had taken a fall and ambulanced
to hospital. Later learned broken hip
and taken to Coos Bay instead. Lots of
communications rest of the day on this, including two conversations with Liz,
one with Sabra, and tons of text messages!
Got MomR a
seat for her shower tub and Rick installed the handheld shower head. Back out to Rand’s for evening.
Tough
saying goodbye to Luke while concerned about Mom!
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