Back Home in the Bighorn

It has been many weeks since we have posted a blog, as the last few weeks have been very busy and stressful. Celia’s father fell gravely ill and died in December. We needed to change our plans and fly to North Carolina to celebrate and commemorate his life. The church and Hospice community was wonderful and very supportive during this difficult time. We also visited family, doctors, and friends in Tampa and Richmond while on the East Coast, before flying back to Phoenix, AZ.

We are now back in the Bighorn and parked in the desert for a few weeks near the famous small town of Quartzsite, AZ. We are camped with the Escapees Boomers group and are having a great time meeting new friends.

We will write a post about our Quartzsite experience soon.

After spending the winter in Florida we made our way across the country. We saw an Atlanta Braves game in Atlanta, visited Rock City in Chattanooga, enjoyed “hot chicken” in Nashville, ate delicious BBQ in Memphis, camped right on the Arkansas River and took in the Clinton Presidental Library in Little Rock, visited the amazing Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, remembered the fallen in Oklahoma City, and explored in Santa Fe.

One of the great adventures of full-time RVing is all the special places where you are able to park. We have had a great year of traveling and have been able to stay long enough at most locations to really explore them. We stayed about a month in the Enchanted Circle of New Mexico and another month in Colorado. We also camped in the area where Georgia O’Keeffe painted for many years and eventually made her home. We had planned to stay near her home place in Abiquiu, NM for two days and ended up staying two weeks.

We really like the state of Oregon and discovered wonderful towns such as Bend, Sisters, and Ashland. Every year we try to stay in Portland, Oregon near our youngest and this year did not disappoint. Our time in Portland gave me a chance to explore some of the Oregon Trail history. My interest was piqued earlier when we stayed for a few days at Three Island Crossing State Park in Idaho, a well-known Oregon Trail river crossing. We also made a trip to the Oregon coast and saw a beautiful lighthouse as well as a number of whales and harbor seals. There is still much of Oregon that we have yet to see.

We are not sure what this year will hold. Less and less do we make detailed travel plans as we are enjoying the spontaneity of traveling without set plans. We will probably stay in AZ for most of the winter season and perhaps head toward Wyoming as the weather warms up.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on Manzanar, Lone Pine, and Quartzsite.