We had a great visit with Skip and Mary; lots of good food, good laughs and even a visit from Mary's father, sister and niece. Thanks again, Merle, for the fruitcake. We left Phoenix heading north towards the Grand Canyon in sunny, warm weather. The nearer we got to the Canyon, the cooler, windier and cloudier it became. The forecast was for high winds again, even gusting to 60 mph, which made us pretty nervous. Once we got to the campground, however, we were relieved to find we were pretty well sheltered from the winds. We drove into the Grand Canyon Village and met up with Kerry's cousins, Jerry and Barbara. The six of us took the westbound shuttle toward Hermit's Rest, stopping at many of the overlooks. The vistas were beautiful even though it was ... read more

The winds this morning were nothing like yesterday's as we drove west from Albuquerque through the mesas of western New Mexico with their shades of red, brown and green. Once we reached Petrified Forest National Park, though, the winds began to pick up again. It didn't keep us from enjoying the beauty of the Painted Desert or wonder at the size of some of the petrified logs. The colors were amazing and varied from reds to pinks to browns, blues and whites. It's quite a wonderful place. Early on it was a little overcast and the colors showed better than they do in midday bright sun. But the late afternoon sunshine gave it a special glow. We're in Holbrook for the night and plan to go buy some petrified wood souvenirs tomorrow on our way west. ... read more

Well, folks, we made it through Oklahoma with its horrible roads, and are in the panhandle of Texas, Shamrock to be precise. It's a long drive across OK, but the weather was fine and it got pretty warm this afternoon. Clouds are moving in, but I don't think rain is predicted as much as wind. It's supposed to get quite gusty tomorrow. We were a bit put out last night at the KOA in Alma, AR. They advertise free WIFI, but in fact only give you 30 minutes free, which isn't time to do much. That's the second KOA this month where we faced that situation. Grrr. So far all we've done is drive, not stopped to sightsee, we're just trying to get to New Mexico and then Arizona, where we'll spend more leisure time seeing ... read more

Dear ones, We got a call late last night from my brother telling me that our father has died. So after debating options last night and talking to my brothers this morning, we have decided against flying to Miami and are, instead, high tailing to Miami with the camper. We hope to continue this trip at a later date, but until then, the trip and the blog are postponed indefinitely. The funeral is planned for Tuesday at First Baptist Church of Hialeah, 1:00 visitation for family, 1:30 visitation for friends, service at 2:00 and interment to follow. Love to all, Charlie... read more

It was in the 30's this morning and quite windy. We all dressed warmly and headed to the bus stop around 10. It's quite handy to ride the bus downtown, you don't have to worry about parking and the bus stops right in front of the campground. So Gena, Bob, Kerry and I rode to see the Alamo and River Walk. We managed to get off the bus a block too early, but it was no big deal. Again the Alamo was smaller than expected, but still quite sobering. We went through the old mission part first, then the museum/gift shop, then past the history tree to the long barracks where we watched a short film. It was very interesting, with facts we'd either forgotten or never knew. The history tree is in the courtyard, was ... read more