It was a cold (41 degrees), cloudy and windy morning with mist over the Sangre de Cristo Mtn. I wanted to go to Old Town Taos to see the architecture. Frank stayed with CT in the parking lot and I walked around town. It was about 9:00 am and the traffic was light and I had a great time photographing. I love the southwest colors and textures. A few flowering trees were in bloom and here and there were spring flowers. It was COLD! I wore my heavy coat, hat and gloves. After sending the blog from the Taos Visitor’s Center, [View Full Entry]

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We had a great night in Sugarite St Pk. It was so quiet and dark. Nice change from the Wal-Mart parking lot. We took the scenic geological route to Capulin Volcano NP. The road went through good pasture land and climbed Johnson Mesa (about 8000 ft), which was very windy and cold. The temps there can go down to -30 degrees in the winter. As we traveled toward the park it became obvious the entire region was a former volcano field. You could see cinder cones and vents all around (our travel book, of course, helped to point this out). We [View Full Entry]

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We changed our routine today and took a break from long distance driving. We explored the historic town of Las Vegas. The town was a main stop on the Santa Fe trail and was a crossroads for southwest commerce. We took our time in the morning and walked around the town plaza and visited the local museum. Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders from the area. He was looking for the adventuresome cowboy type. Then based on a recommendation by a local clerk we bought propane from earlier in the day, we drove CT through the Gallinas Canyon. We took our [View Full Entry]

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We woke up to cooler temps - 41 degrees and bright sun. As we traveled west through OK trees thinned out, the landscape flattened, rivers and creeks vanished and homesteads were few. Once in Texas trees disappeared and the 360 degree view was wide open. Blue sky met brown fields as far as you could see. Tall granaries dotted the horizon and the dirt was red..Outside Amarillo we passed a stockyard with hundreds of cattle in holding pens. Highway signs warned “Danger High Wind Currents”. Windmill farms could be seen in the distance. In the middle of the prarie outside the [View Full Entry]

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The Cozy Turtle traveled 630 miles today through Tennessee, Arkansas and into Oklahoma. It was a twelve hour day, but not a hard day. The morning was cloudy and cool and we ran in and out of rain showers. Traffic was light even in the larger cities of Nashville, Memphis and Little Rock. Gas has actually been cheaper since we left Richmond. We’ve been paying around $3.49-$3.39, which is about what we paid in Alaska last year. In East Arkansas we left behind the hardwood forests of TN. There had been lots of rain in the area. The rivers were high [View Full Entry]

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We got an early start today - - on the road by 5:40 AM. Our route took us through Southwest Virginia which had a beautiful springtime freshness. The trees in the roadside landscape were almost fully leafed in central Virginia. The further west we went the leaves were not as far along and the budding trees on the hillsides displayed a variety of shades of green: bright lime green, drab olive green, yellow green and whitish green with deep green evergreens interspersed. Here and there white dogwood blooms floated in the woods and purple redbud lined the road. The prettiest area [View Full Entry]

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The Cozy Turtle is getting ready for this year’s travel adventure. We’ve stayed close to home since we returned from Alaska in September. Frank and I have enjoyed our retirement and had time to complete several projects. We did take CT to Louisiana to visit my sister and family in December and to Florida to visit Frank’s sister and family in March. Our extended trip this year is to California. We’ll take a southerly route cross country this time - -through Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and into California around Death Valley. We [View Full Entry]

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What was our favorite place in Alaska? It's hard to say. Each area was different and weather (rain) influenced our feelings, but we had wonderful experiences everywhere: Southeast Alaska - Pr. Rupert, B.C., Juneau, Haines, Valdez, Cordova and Hyder This part of Alaska is a land of mist-veiled blue green mountains, mountains that hem you in on both sides and rise to the sky; beautiful rocky fjords that emerge straight up from the waterway; Pr. William Sound; overflowing rivers and canals; waterfalls tumbling from craggy peaks, blue glaciers calving and seals floating on ice bergs; humpback [View Full Entry]

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Our trip to Alaska in a 21 foot RV was a great experience. We saw wonderful sights and did so much. We were fortunate to have the time to tour most of the state. The flexibility of a small RV was an advantage on narrow, curvy roads and in cities. There wasn’t much space, but it was adequate. If it had been bigger we would just have collected more stuff. Our marriage is still intact. We both had “off days” (who wouldn’t), but we are glad we shared the experience. We enjoyed doing things together. We were thrilled with the trip. [View Full Entry]

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After we left St. Paul we decided we wanted to make it home as soon as possible. The scenery started to look the same and we were road weary. Saturday we traveled 14 hours and Sunday, September 16th we made it back to Richmond, VA by 4:00 pm. It was good to be home after 95 days on the road. The Cozy Turtle had traveled over 13,800 miles. Our trip to Alaska was a blessing from the Lord. His hand was on our plans from the beginning; from the purchase of CT, providing the young couple headed to the mission field [View Full Entry]

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