6 May


We headed to Carlsbad Caverns. This is a National Park with a huge visitors centre.

After getting our boots cleaned (we had been in a cave in Europe) we chose the natural entrance. This was a 1 mile walk down a zig zag pathway into the cavern 750ft below the surface. At that level we had reached the “Big Room” which covers 9 acres. The walk around the is cave is about 1.5 miles. Unlike the many other caves we have seen this one is entirely self guided. You can wander around as you wish. To say the “Big Room” is huge and spectacular would be an understatement. We spent about 2 hours exploring the cavern. The surprise at the end is that there is a lift which takes you back the 800ft to the surface. The other surprise was that it was all free. We continued on to the city of Carlsbad where we had a big shop. Our camp was Brantley Lake State Park. New Mexico is in a 3 year drought so the lake was almost dry.

7 May

We had a long drive thru monotonous country with boring straights. The only excitements were two towns. Artesia – This was a small town set up to service the oil industry. There were many small oil rigs either side of the town with an oil refinery dominating it. The other town/city (50,000) was Roswell. This is famous as the site of the cover-up of a UFO landing in July 1947. We went to the museum and research centre. Hard to say if it is real and a government cover up, or just a weather balloon and over imagination. The case for a cover up was pretty convincing at the museum however. All very interesting.

We left Roswell and drove a long rough sealed road to our camp which is at Lake Sumner State Park. This is a nice lake with some water in it!

8 May

We had a lazy morning. There are only 3 other couples camping here. Just before lunch a couple of old sisters came over to say they had just killed a large rattle snake very near their camp. The rangers arrived and we all stood around looking at the snake which was a racoon rattler. It was about 4’ long and they had whacked the head off with a spade. It is illegal to kill snakes in the state park but the rangers did not seem to mind. They told us tales of snake

bites which did not give us much confidence. The ranger gave us the rattle. It is about 3” long and very dry and it rattles. It might be a problem going thru customs in NZ! After lunch we hopped on the bikes and rode over the dam and around to the other side of the lake. It is very low. The men at our camp go out fishing in boats. They catch Bass and Wahl eye. I have not seen these fish as they release them. This has been a nice friendly stop.

9 May

The state parks are great places to stay. For $14 US you get, water, power, a fireplace and a shelter. Each camp site is well away from the next. We drove a variety of roads towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We stopped at Las Vegas. Not the famous one!! Not a Casino in site. The visitor centre was very helpful and the town was very pretty. Once again we are in a state park with a dry lake. We are at 6470ft and it is quite cold and cloudy. A big disappointment was that we were planning take a scenic steam train trip in a couple of days however the brochure says that the train does not start to run until 25 May. There are plenty of good things to see in this area however.
As I write this we have just had some large spots of rain. This will be the first rain we have had since we arrived in the US.

10 May

As we had to put the gas heater on this morning we decided to head back to Las Vegas Wal-Mart for an electric fan heater. We drove increasingly narrow roads into the mountains thru beautiful forests to our State Park Camp at Coyote Creek Canyon.

We are right in the mountains at 7700ft. There was a really heavy hail shower as we had lunch which cleared quickly. We set off for a great walk on the hills over the creek from the camp returning passed several intriguing beaver dams. We had come from keeping an eye out for snakes and mountain lions a couple of days ago in the desert, to watching out for bears! It was very cold in the night and we were really glad of our new heater.

11 May

On up the narrow mountain roads to a pass at 8500ft and down into the ski resorts of Angel Fire and Eagle’s Nest. This is the third Eagle’s Nest we have been to if you count Hitler’s holiday home in Germany and Andrew’s place in Prebbleton. We drove on to Taos over another pass at 9100ft (3/4 the way up Mt Cook!) Taos is much lower and is the posh ski resort for this area. There was a great deal of traffic around as it is the weekend and Mother’s Day tomorrow. We walked around the town (a bit like Queenstown and then headed off to

Taos Pueblo, which is an Indian adobe village which has been settled for 1000 years. We paid our entry fee and took a guided tour thru the village. Some of the homes are 5 stories high made of only mud bricks. The original entries were via the roof as a defensive system. There was no cheap camping in Taos so we bit the bullet and paid $40US for a camp. This may be the norm when we get to the school holidays in a couple of weeks time. We did have internet so were able to Skype the kids.

12 May

We followed some lovely smooth picturesque roads along the foothills to our camp at Bandelier National Monument. This is an area of some cliff dwellings which we will explore tomorrow. Just out of Taos we crossed the Rio Grande. The bridge (the 2nd highest suspension bridge in the US) crosses a huge gorge 650ft below. Well worth a stop. We are also very close to Los Alamos still a “closed” area where the original nuclear bomb was designed. We have now been where the bomb was detonated and where it was designed. That may explain the pale green glow in “Ernie” at night!

13 May

The camp is up on a plateau (mesa) and the visitors centre and the cliff dwellings are in the canyon below. We drove the 2 miles into the canyon and after the usual audio visual explanation of the park we headed up the trail to the cliff dwellings. These were holes in the cliffs which the Indians haddeveloped into houses around 600 years ago. We climb up ladders to explore them. At the end of the canyon was the ceremonial cave which we climbed 140ft up 4 ladders to see. An amazing place. After lunch at “Ernie” we headed down the canyon towards the Rio Grande to see two water falls. Unfortunately the track to the 2nd fall was closed but the 1st waterfall was great and the walk was enjoyable thru different forests.

14 May

We meet a family from NZ today. They were from Masterton and had spent 3 NZ winters in the US. After dodging another snake on the road out of the camp (dodged a huge one yesterday) we drove 24 miles over another pass at over 9000ft to Jemez Falls National Forest where we are camped in beautiful Ponderosa Pines at 7900ft. After lunch we cycled down to start of the track to the falls. It was only a short walk to them and we realized that there was also a trail to McAuley hot springs. I rode back to “Ernie” to pick up togs etc and we headed off for a 2 mile down hill walk thru spectacular scenery to the spring. It was a stream which had been dammed to form two nice pools. There was no one around so we changed and climbed in.

They were about 35C and very pleasant. On our way back we meet a couple who were going the other way. The guy had a dip but the girl had seen 2 snakes and some huge spiders in the water. We were glad we meet them after our swim!

15 May

We drove down a road following the canyon with ponderosa pines and red cliffs. The canyon broadened out into the plains around Albuquerque where we are at an RV park. This was on the original Route 66 and is an old adobe road house. There is 1950’s memorabilia everywhere including a 1946 TV and a Wurlitzer organ. There are also

4 circa 1950’s caravans which you can hire. We are here because we used this address to get our number plate (tag) from Florida (1 only for the back). We still have a minor registration problem as we need to renew it in June. The 5th wheelers and RVs here are huge!!

16 May

The guy in the camp told us where was easy RV parking near the old town of Albuquerque. We did not find it but parked in a street nearby and spent a couple of hours walking around the original centre. The old plazas, houses, and patios have been converted into shops selling tourist stuff, Indian jewllery and art. We bought a route 66 number plate for the front of “Ernie”. There were flute bands playing and the whole area had a peaceful atmosphere. Before returning to our camp we shopped. The price for groceries here is fairly cheap. We think about less than 2/3 of NZ

28 April

We left Chiricahu National Monument and head into New Mexico via the I10. I have really learnt how to drive “Ernie” now using the cruise control over these long fast Interstate roads. The speed limit is 75 mph but “Ernie feels great at 60 mph. As the “I” roads are all two lanes each way the trucks and cars fly past with no problems. Just over the border we stopped at a rest area which had a tourist information and free internet. As we had had some issues with internet at Tombstone, we decided to publish a blog and check emails etc. The food store had everything but bread so we ended up having crackers and cheese for lunch. As this was just a repositioning day we planned to stop at a town called Deming a drive of about 180 miles. After a quick shop at the local Wal Mart we found our camp about 10 miles out of the town. The warm welcome was worth the extra drive. Unfortunately the free internet is still not working. A good job we used the one at the visitors centre. The camp is in the desert with the I10, ½ mile over the fence making an interesting backdrop.

29 April

They charge for electricity separately here so after a chat with the staff and an extra charge of 52 cents! We headed back onto the I10 to a city called Las Cruces where we fuelled up and Val posted a card to Mum. We camped at the Leasburg Dam State Park just out of the city. This was on the banks of the Rio Grande which turned out to be dry! In the evening things went to custard when we decided to go for a bike ride to an old fort just down the road. On the way home I suddenly had that “flat tyre feeling”. Not just the front but also the back. Val’s bike had suffered the same fate. There were 100s of thorns in each tyre. We walked the bikes back to our camp. The camp host said they were Goats Head Cactus thorns. They might as well have been carpet tacks they were so long and sharp. We spent and hour picking them out!!

30 April

Our plan today was to get to the White Sands National Monument and spend some time there. On the way we passed the USA missile testing range. White Sands is a huge area of pure white gypsum sand hills. It is also where they tested the first nuclear bomb in 1945. After the usual informative video we headed along the 8 mile loop road into the sand hills. It was a bit like being in a ski field the sand was so white. We parked and went for a short walk before back to “Ernie” and lunch. We had hired a sand disc to slide down the dunes.

It was lots of fun but the slog back up limited the number of rides. On the way back to the visitors centre, we did a great nature walk with stopping points describing the wild life and plants. Boy it was hot! 94F (33C) We enjoyed an ice-cream before heading to Alamogordo where we had great success finding a Wal Mart for tyres etc and a McDonalds where our internet worked perfectly. A short drive brought us to Oliver Lee State Park where we will spend a couple of days. We are up in the foothills overlooking the White Sands valley.

1 May

It was another hot night. We set off up a steep trail towards the Dog Canyon. After about ¾ mile of steep up hill the track levelled off and eventually opened up into the Canyon. We walked for about 2 miles to get a good view into the canyon. A great walk. After lunch back at “Ernie,” I tackled the task of changing 4!!!! bike tyres. Eventually I got quite quick at it and could now be a mechanic on the Tour De France.

It was hot today around 90F.

2 May

What a change in the night. Firstly the temperature has dropped to around 65F. There must also have been a strong wind in the night. Despite Val getting up and closing the vents, every thing was covered in red dust. We drove to the camp at El Paso. At one stage we were in a convoy of military vehicles which came out of a missile testing site. I matched their speed but after a few miles and some light flashing I realized they wanted me to pass them all. About 20 humvees. El Paso is much bigger than we thought. (650,000). we crossed into Texas and the last 5 miles to our camp, thru the spaghetti junction at 60mph was a bit scary! El Paso is on the border of the USA and Mexico. The city was made famous by the song, El Paso, sung by Marty Robins in 1961. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwoGbpYXRw

As we had internet (Val has fixed the problem) we spent some time planning. Our registration plates have arrived in Florida and we had to select a camp we will be at to get them forwarded to us. A venue for Memorial Weekend also had to be chosen. (big holiday here). We went out to a Mexican Restaurant for dinner. It was great. I had enchiladas and Val had Tortillas. Both were delicious and the atmosphere was excellent with a lovely Mexican singer entertaining us.

3 May

The day started out with a false start. We negotiated the roads out of El Paso and onto the road to Guadalupe Mts National Park. About 20 miles out on the road it seemed increasingly isolated. As we had intended to gas up on the road we started to worry. Would there be any petrol stations on this road? We had to stop at a Border Patrol Station. This was our second we had stopped at and they are essentially checking that we do not have any illegals trying to sneek from Mexico into the US. I asked the officer if there were any gas stations on the road. He told us the nearest gas was 100 miles up the road! We had no alternative but to hook a “U” and return to the outskirts of El Paso, about a 30 mile round trip. The Guadalupe National Park was at the top of a pass at 5850ft. We checked in and will spend a few days here walking the many trails. It is quite cool here.

4 May

It was cool in the night and we had to put on an extra blanket. After watching many groups setting of to climb Mt Guadalupe (the highest Mt in Texas), we packed our lunch and set off for a nice relaxing walk along the foot hills. We have done a few desert hikes now but each one is quite different. This walk had more trees and desert flowers

as there is more water here. We passed the old original ranch and headed up to a spring high in a canyon which was an oasis of maple, oak and juniper where we ate lunch. Back at “Ernie” went to the visitors centre to enquire about the uncovering of the Mescal Roasting Pit which will happen tomorrow.

5 May

An early start as they were uncovering the Mescal Roasting Pit and 0900. It was a ceremony involving the local Apache tripe. We gather around the pit (hangi) while an older lady blessed the 8 young girls

who had gathered the mescal. This involved marking the girls with pollen and then she delivered a very moving speech reminding them of their ancestry, their responsibility to provide, and always tell the truth. The pit was then uncovered (it had been down for 4 days) and each girl (with help from their family recovered the cooked mescal which is a cactus. We were all offered a piece. It was sweet and chewy and tasted a bit like hot pineapple. Back to “Ernie” to pack our lunch and set off for a 5 mile walk to the Devils Hall. We followed up a canyon to unusual rock formations ending at a flight of natural rock steps leading to a long slot like corridor. All very well named.

17 April


We said a sad farewell to Sun Life Resort. It has been a great place to stay while setting up “Ernie”. After one last visit to Cruise America to fix a minor leak in our black tank system (all free) we headed north to Tortilla Forest. We passed a sign that said the forest was closed for camping for the season.

Fortunately we had just passed a sign to Lost Dutchman State Parking Camping so hooked a U turn and found a great place with friendly rangers. There were over a hundred sites, some with power. As we wanted to try “Ernie” out “boondocking”, we chose no power. The sites were great, all with stunning views of the Superstition Mountains. Each site was raked gravel with a fireplace and a barbeque. The desert was all around us with beautiful cacti. The sunset was spectacular. The mountain went gold then red then copper as the sun went down. The huge Saguaro (pronounced Sah-Wah-Row) cacti are everywhere. Most of them are over 50ft high and over 100 years old. The temperature is cooler as we are over 2000ft above Phoenix. We had to put on a jersey and track pants for the first time in the US. There is someone missing up the mountain and there have been helicopters and search parties working just up the road until dark.

18 April

Another cloudless day. We packed our lunch and headed up one of the many hiking tracks towards Flat Iron Peak (highest point of the Superstition Mountains) following the Siphon Draw Trail. The track got steeper the higher we got, but with spectacular views, back down the gorges and up to the peak, was worth the effort. We climbed about 1500ft and the return trip was 5 miles. We were away for about 2.5 hours.

What a great walk! Sitting at our site the wildlife was everywhere. We saw lizards, jack rabbits, desert squirrels, humming birds, cactus wrens, and eagles. We even have a cactus wren’s nest right by “Ernie” with both parents feeding the chicks all day. After a relaxing afternoon we went for a shorter walk thru the desert again. Another spectacular sunset!! The search is still for the missing person with helicopters flying overhead all day.

19 April


After dumping we headed south the 100 miles to Tucson. We were not on the main road but it was a good surface very much like NZ roads. It was desert most of the way with more cacti. For the last 20 miles it became increasingly populated with shopping areas. We found our pre booked RV Park. (We booked because we heard that the Beach Boys were playing in Tucson.) We did not need to bother as there are plenty of RV Parks and no sign of the Beach Boys. The Park is basic with many permanents. The railway and the motorway are close so it is quite noisy. The freight trains that pass are huge. 3 huge diesel engines at the front, 2 kms of freight cars and 1 diesel engine pushing at the back. There seems to be a need to whistle as they pass us. Fortunately they stop at around 10:30pm and do not start again until 6:00am. Tucson is a large city (520,000) but like many US cities it is very spread out with only a small business/government centre.

20 April

There are two Saguaro National Parks either side of Tucson. We headed off the West Park. On the way we stopped off at the Arizona Saguaro Desert Museum, admission $14.50. It was a great insight into the plants and wildlife we had seen at Lost Dutchman S.P. There was a reptile area with all the snakes, lizards and scorpions. The rattle snakes (the only poisonous snakes here) are much smaller than we thought.

There were also many other desert animals on display including, bobcats, javelina (pig like) porcupine, coyote, Mexican wolves and even a beaver. The cacti were beautiful with many of them in flower. It was interesting to see the number of locals lined up to hire mobility scooters to navigate the short walking tracks!! Boy there are some large unfit folks in this country! The whole experience was worth the admission. We continued on to the National Park and bought a years entrance to all the National Parks ($80) but well worth it as most of the parks are at least $15 each. We took a short drive into the park and had our lunch in the desert. Two deer ran across the road in front of us. Back at the camp the internet worked at last so we skyped the kids.

21 April

Another lovely hot sunny day 92F, so we cycled into the centre of Tucson. As it was Sunday, the roads were quiet and we mostly followed cycle lanes. The business area was very nice with some green spaces but very small considering the population. After lunch back at “Ernie”, we headed to the East Saguaro National Park and after watching a short informative video at the visitors centre, we rode a 10km loop thru the desert of which 5kms was on a mountain bike trail. It was quite challenging.

The rangers were slightly concerned as to our fitness and preparedness for this ride. It was hot, but a piece of cake! Driving back to the camp we used our aircon for the first time. The beers at sunset were much deserved!!

22 April

A fast 50 mile dash down the I10 to Benson where we stocked up with food and bought a security system for “Ernie”. Hopefully this will be last of the setup costs. Parts of the Interstate highways are 75 MPH limit but we felt comfortable at around 60 MPH. This speed in the RH lane does not seem to be a problem. We checked into Kartchner Caverns State Park for 2 nights. The price was the same whether we had full hookup or not. The sites are in the desert again, but as the altitude is now 4700ft, the cacti are quiet different with even some stunted trees. At sunset, we enjoyed a good 3 mile walk around the foothills of the park where the caves are. Tomorrow we will visit the caves.

23 April

A nice quiet morning sitting in the shade, reading and fixing a couple of minor things. After lunch we walked down to the visitors centre and joined our tour thru the caves. They were only discovered in 1974 and the environment has been strictly controlled. We were not allowed to take anything into the caves and had to enter thru a series of airlocks to preserve the atmosphere. The guide was great with the right amount of information. We have been in many limestone caves in NZ and Europe but these would have to be the most pristine. The delicate soda straw stalagtites and the colourful ribbons formed by the calcium and water were fascinating and the climax was the huge formation in the “Throne Room”. Well worth the $22 admission!

24 April

Only a short drive to Tombstone. We had not decided whether we would stay here or just visit and move on. After a quick stroll down the main street we decided we had to stay and found the Wells Fargo RV park at the end of the town. Tombstone was made famous as the sight of the gun fight at the OK Corral which involved Wyatt Earp, his brothers Virgil and Morgan and Doc Haliday fighting the McAuley gang.

We went to a re-enactment of the fight at the original site. It was very well done. Tombstone was a mining town which suffered two fires and the various mining floods, but still survived until the mines closed. The town was deserted until the movie “Tombstone was made and the tourists flocked in. The main street buildings are original and have been converted into tourist shops. Walking down the street you were likely to meet the sheriff or many other characters. We enjoyed the Bird Cage Theatre. It has not been touched since its closing. The card tables and bars are still in place. The name “Bird Cage” originates from the velvet curtained boxes where the prostitutes plied their trade. The song “She’s Only a Bird in a Gilded Cage” originated at the Theatre. Many famous singers performed at the “Bird Cage” including Sarah Bernhart, Lily Langtry and Caruzo. In 1881 it was said to be the wickedest place on the planet! In the evening we walked to the Crystal Place Saloon for a burger and whisky (what else). The salon is as it was at the height of Tombstone’s popularity. The atmosphere was great. It was karaoke night but the locals could really sing the country music! Although it is set up for tourists, we really enjoyed our “Tombstone” experience.

25 April

We drove some long narrow back roads climbing steadily to Chiricahua National Monument Park. At one stage we drove thru a dust storm! We even saw a road runner (looked just like the cartoon – beep, beep!). This park is beautiful. As we are over 6000ft above sea level the desert has changed and we are now in forests of Juniper, Oak and Ponderosa Pine and Cypress. The

bird life is great with very curious Gray Breasted Jays hopping around our site. We even saw two deer as we went for a walk. Tomorrow we will catch the free shuttle up the road for a long hike. An early start so we will have to set the alarm!



26 April

Up with birds (well almost. Dawn is at about 5:00am) and, with a packed lunch, we caught the hikers free shuttle up to the top of the park for 8 miles (6800ft). Near the top we got off and headed off thru most of the best trails recommended by the ranger for a 15km hike back to “Ernie”.

The rock formations were staggering. There was a wow around every turn in the track. Some of the balancing rocks defied gravity. How these huge pillars and rocks remained balanced is unbelievable. The wind alone should have blown them down. Obviously no earthquakes in this area. Thru an area called the rock garden there were many named rock formations including, the Kiss, The Duck, and Punch and Judy. At one point we were 7200ft above sea level. Possibly the highest we have ever been anywhere! The track followed several canyons down thru different vegetation until we reach the camp. What a hike!!! All the trails in this park have been built in the 1930s by men out of work during the depression.

      

April 27

We have decided to stay an extra day here as it is so nice. As it is the weekend, many family groups have arrived and are setting up camp. We have discovered that some Americans talk very loudly and all the time. Perhaps, when you are large you are also deaf! After a relaxing morning we took an easy track down the valley to the original homestead. Like the other parks we have been, the areas have been donated by families. A nice relaxing day!

USA TRIP 2013

9 April (NZ)

Here we go again!!! Kate (good friend) took us to the CH airport for a 4:30pm flight to Akld and on to L.A. Fortunately we had a free upgrade to Premium Economy. Lots more leg room (wasted on us) and a better meal. The flight was not bad and we landed in L.A. at 1:30pm local time on the same day as we left. We were picked up by our hotel and transferred to the Travelodge LAX. If it was not for our bags, we could have almost walked; we were so close to the airport. Kate had told us to take a bus to the beaches. (great tip). We had a free ride as we had no change but the driver told us to hop on for a courtesy ride. Passed some nice beaches to Redondo Beach where we walked around some nice piers and harbour with a big sea pounding in to a bar/restaurant where we had a beer and burger before catching the bus back to our hotel. We were pretty tired but did not sleep very well as the room was noisy (thin walls) and over excitement!

10 April (US)

After a typical US free breakfast, we caught the free shuttle back to the airport for our flight to Phoenix (1 hour) where we were transferred by the Cruise America taxi and taken to their H.Q. We were met by David Jones who we had done all the dealings for our RV (camper) with. We recognised him as he stars on their web site. He was great taking us thru all the features and operation of our RV. Because our expectations of the camper in the UK had been exceeded by reality, we thought that this time our hopes were high and we could have been disappointed. WE WERE NOT! The R.V. is great. Everything has been replaced or updated and the end result is a very tidy unit. Thanks David. At about 2:00pm we drove very carefully to Wal-Mart (the Warehouse on steroids) for a shop for the essentials for our first night. The RV is slightly longer than our NZ camper but a lot wider! It is a 2006 Ford, with a huge V8 (5.4 litres), automatic and petrol (we will find out how bad the fuel economy is). Very smooth to drive but takes up a fair bit of the lane! The RV Park we had pre-booked was easy to find. Most of the camp seems to be permanent mobile homes, owned by people from the northern states, which are empty. (most of the snow birds flew back north last weekend)

        

April 11

Yesterday was a long day! Despite this we still did not sleep that well. The bed in the RV was great so that was not the problem. We decided to have a lazy day today so after some grocery shopping (over the road from the camp) we went to the pool for a relaxing swim and a read. We returned to the pool area for happy hour. This is a senior citizens complex so we feel fairly young. A guy played some country music and a lot of the widows line danced, however we did not feel the need to join in!!

April 12

Back on the roads of Mesa again for more shopping for our setup. Ended up on a wild goose chase for outside chairs. We were sent from one Wal-mart to another only to find that they did not have the chairs we wanted in stock. Eventually found some great chairs at The Home Depot. Finding an electric jug and a coffee plunger was another challenge and we eventually paid too much for them at Bed Bath and Beyond.
We returned to Sun Life (our retirement home) exhausted and had a great swim in the pool listening to nice music (always country) at happy hour. Still quite a few here as it is snowing up north and everyone is delaying their return.


April 13

After a morning installing some of the stuff we bought yesterday we caught the bus to Old Scottsdale. We had two changes and the ride took 1 ½ hours! The desert valley containing Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe covers a huge urban area. (1.4 million) but it is all low rise housing. Old Scottsdale is made up of Arts shops, Mexican/Indian shops and Restaurants all housed in authentic Mexican style buildings. There we lots of locals and tourists wandering around giving the place a lively atmosphere. We will probably not go into the middle of Phoenix as it is just government and business buildings. We enjoyed a pizza for lunch. It was on the menu as small but when it arrived it was enormous. Nothing is small in the USA!! On returning to our resort where again we enjoyed a swim to cool off. It is now warming up. The temperature of course is in Fahrenheit (86F) which is 30C. News of our presence here has spread thru the resort. Everyone is very friendly and want to know about NZ and what we are doing.

April 14                                                                                                              

                                        

This was supposed to be a lazy day. We installed a NZ logo on the bonnet of the RV. We have decided to call the RV “Ernie”. This is not because it is the fastest milk truck in the west but because it is big and easy, just like Ernie Ells. (the golfer, for the less sporty of you) As we were about to have lunch a lovely older couple from Illinois (Vern and Marty) stopped by Ernie and invited us to go with them to a railway park they were visiting. As it was a model railway park, we jumped at the opportunity. The O gauge, HO gauge, and N gauge layouts were great, all in a large hall covering a huge area. We walked through an old Pullman carriage on display which was used by 5 of the US Presidents. The whole park was a pleasant area with families enjoying the train theme. Back to “Ernie” for a swim at the pool where we meet two couples from
Winnipeg.
           

15 April

We had intended to buy our bikes and bike carrier today but woke to find our engine battery was stone flat!! The emergency start system was also not working. We rang David Jones from Cruise America and he had people out to fix the problems within the hour. (new battery and some other minor problems). What a great service!! On the roads of Mesa again to purchase the bike rack and bikes which we achieved in record time. We have discovered how to use the freeways which makes the driving much easier and quicker. The bikes cost around $150NZ each for which we got a reasonable looking soft tail (suspension front and back) mountain bikes. We also bought a US cellphone. We had intended to just put a new SIM card in our phone but they only sell complete phones. The good news is that the phone only cost about $22 NZ!! Our new US phone number is +1 480 544 0284. Back to the resort and pool for the last happy hour of the season. It is slightly hotter today around 33C. All the news here is of the Boston Marathon bombing.

                                                                                                           
16 April

A nice quiet morning installing more stuff. Everything is now operating as we want it. After lunch we walked across the road for groceries which cost about the same as NZ. We spent 2 hours in and around the pool before trying our new bikes out, going on a short ride up and down the canal behind our resort. Tomorrow we leave here and will head to Tortilla Forest, about 35 miles north to try out “Ernie” boondocking. (US term for freedom camping.)