the Enchanted Circle Drive

The Enchanted Circle Drive circles Wheeler Peak, the highest mountain in New Mexico.

We took this very scenic drive this morning ending back in Taos for a nice lunch before coming back to the trailer.  The local tourism bureau call this drive the Enchanted Circle which begins in Taos then to Questa, NM, across through Red River, NM to Eagle Nest, NM.  We extended the recommended drive at this point to head back eastward through the Cimarron canyon that we saw on our way to Taos last Sunday.  It was such a pretty drive but we couldn't stop for any pictures with the trailer in tow.  This morning we did make several stops to get some pictures of the Cimarron river and the bluff side walls of the canyon.  After the drive out through the canyon and back to Eagle Nest it was then a completion of the circle to Taos.

Our pictures for today

a calm day

After the excitement of yesterday we didn't get in any hurry to get around this morning.  We did go into town and walked/shopped through a few of the quaint shops.  We had a nice lunch in town and then back to the trailer for a calm afternoon.

Our big day aloft

I usually don't set an alarm clock as I'm awake and up by 6:00 am every day, due to my internal clock.  This morning was different as we had an appointment across town at 5:20 so I set an alarm for 4:00 am.  That appointment was with our hot air balloon ride pilot.  The lift off was scheduled right at sun rise and we needed to get the rig to the take off point and get it set up.  The temperature was 34° at the start and near 70 at the finish so therefore the shedding of our coats.

There was one other couple going on this ride with us that was celebrating their 1st wedding anniversary.  We told them they only had 54 more years to go to catch up with us.  There were two men and one lady on the ground crew but they recruited me and the other man in our party to assist in filling the balloon.  Jo and I took several pictures plus the lady with the crew was taking pictures and she will provide us with a CD of those pictures that we should get tomorrow.  Below I have posted our pictures from today and when I get that CD I will post a bunch more.  It was a super enjoyable experience as we lifted off on the rim of the Rio Grande Gorge and then flew down the rift and lowered to the river following the prevailing wind currents through the gorge.  Our pilot told us the intention was to drop down to the river and just touch the basket to the water before rising and traveling between the walls.  The wind currents didn't cooperate so we didn't get to experience the touch down on the water.  We did see a deer along the way and at the landing there were two big horn sheep and our photographer did get a picture of one that should be on our CD.  The touch down was exciting as we bounced along dragging across the sage brush for a bit.  Then all hands, their crew plus all four passengers, assisted in folding up the balloon envelope to get it back in its storage bag.

Following a long time hot air balloon tradition we had a champagne toast and a nice brunch that was set up on a table at our landing site.  This tradition goes back to Paris France and the very first mans flight in a balloon.  We also got certificates of our adventure and Jo found a very pretty set of balloon ear-rings to commemorate the occasion.

After the great ride we drove to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and took a few pictures there.

Click on the text below the image to go to our album for today.  When you get to the album just click on the first picture to then step through all or go to slideshow.

 

click to view our pictures 

click here to view pictures from the CD 

Santa Fe Trail

Most of today's route was following the Santa Fe Trail with most of it along desolated two lane roadway with many miles of nothing but a couple of prairie dog villages and several antelope.  There was hardly any traffic and miles between houses/ranches.  The last stretch was simply beautiful between Cimarron, NM and Eagles Nest, NM through the Cimarron river canyon.  This route was twisty with 20-30 mph curves and a climb of around 3000 feet.

Tonight we are in a very nice campground in Taos, New Mexico and looking forward to a week of adventures.

panhandle

Finally left Kansas a little after lunch today and now settled in the panhandle of Oklahoma.  Our campground is the Coral Drive-In RV park in Guymon, OK which is one of the last in the country, outdoor drive-in movie theater.  We are near the screen and could just sit outside under our awning and watch the show.  Except for the bypass around Wichita this morning our route was again all on Rte 54, these past two days it has been hard to get lost.  In the morning we get off of 54 and take out westward from here in new territory for us.

On the road again

We're back in the RV and headed toward northern New Mexico.  Our first day's drive was all US highway 54 and tomorrow will be another day of the same.  We have traveled this route on our way westward a couple of times in the past and it is a good easy drive, mostly good two lane instead of four lane divided like the interstates.

There was one time this morning that we just barely avoided a catastrophe.  Not far in front of us there was a skunk ambling across the road from left to right.  I don't think they can run but just kind of wobble.  I had to slow down and since there wasn't any oncoming traffic I was able to swerve into that lane and just barely saw the white stripe clear our truck tires and had to hope that it cleared the trailer tires.  When we got out for lunch we sniffed around our trailer tires and no lingering odor so that is a good thing.

Our campground for tonight is just east of Wichita near El Dorado, KS.

Scenic trip

For today's trip we left the interstate and took cross country through Missouri's eastern mid-section.  Because of curves, hills, and small towns it isn't the fastest way to go but it definitely is the most scenic.  Even in the light rain most of the way it still was nice with the red-bud and dogwood in bloom.  Around peoples homes there were lilacs, wisteria, pink dogwoods, and flowering crabs.  Our route was through Farmington, Potosi, Steelville, and St. James mostly along Missouri route 8.

Now we restock and get ready for our next excursion which is now scheduled to begin on May 10th as we head toward northern New Mexico around Santa Fe and Taos.

Throwed rolls

We're back in MO and our campground is within a 1/2 mile of the original Lambert's.  We were here in this same campground in April '08 and that evening Jo and I did go to have some rolls tossed at us but we don't have any interest, after a few experiences.  The food is good and there is plenty of it, more than you order, but there usually is too long of a line waiting for seating.  Today's drive was beautiful with full sun light, no showers, and plenty of blooming azaleas, dogwood, and other spring color showing.  We drove north from Tupelo on US-45 which was 4 lane divided most of the way and a very good highway.  As we crossed into Tennessee there were signs designating our travels along the Rockabilly Highway.  In a town along the way there was a civic center named for Carl Perkins, the original Rockabilly who  was born in that part of TN.

Back in MS

By waiting for a late lunch today's drive was timed just right.  Checking the weather forecast this morning we left Montgomery around 8:30 and when we arrived in Birmingham so did the showers.  We drove through rain from then until we crossed the Mississippi line when it stopped.  That was a little before 1:00 but the welcome center rest area was a welcome stop for lunch.  A short drive from there to our campground in Tupelo and it was dry for our setup.  Tomorrow we make it back to Missouri.

nice quiet day

It has been a nice quiet day in the campground as we didn't have any tours or excursions planned.  The campground is still very quiet without any additional sites occupied but there have been several fishermen on the lake trolling around this arm.  We haven't seen anyone catching any big ones but it looks like a good place to try.  Tomorrow we begin our trek homeward with the first leg going to Tupelo, MS and then to Sikeston, MO  before we back into the Martin Manor RV park on Friday.  Our trips have changed since we have visited all 48 of the lower US as now we can just sit back, relax, and enjoy our days without having to spend our time visiting the local attractions.  We will visit any attraction that is new to us and have some varied explorations on our agenda for the rest of this season.

Hank

This morning we drove into downtown Montgomery to the Hank Williams museum. This is a fairly small self guided museum but we had a nice time browsing around the displays while Hank's songs were playing in the background. They had the blue Cadillac convertible on display that he died in on the road to a New Years day concert in Ohio.  They had many of his performance suits, boots and guitars along with some from his band members.  They didn't allow photos inside the museum but I took these two in the lobby.
 

on the move

Today's drive was short being only about 4 hours including a 30 minute lunch stop.  We are now in a COE campground near Montgomery, AL deep in the woods.  After getting setup I checked the location for our satellite TV connection and all I could see were tree trunks and Spanish moss.  We are camped on the banks of an arm of the Jones Bluff Lake a little bit West of Montgomery.  The campground setting is very nice and quiet with no nearby neighbors and without TV for the next few days it will be like camping in the woods.  We do plan to trek into Montgomery for an exploration or two but we shall see.

These are pictures from our site in this campground.

Dauphin Island, Alabama

This morning we took a 45 minute ferry ride across Mobile Bay to Dauphin Island. There were a few items of interest that we wanted to explore but it just happened that today was some special celebration day and there were crowds of folks with no place to park at a couple of our destinations. We did get a parking spot at Gaines Fort which was a Civil war fort defending Mobile Bay from the Yankee navy. With Fort Morgan across the bay it was a tough passage for the union fleet but this was where it was said to "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" and the breach was made. It also was a special day at the fort with a gang of medieval days players putting on a tournament of knights in battle. That is were all of our pictures were taken. One of the other sites that we wanted to visit was the Estuarium, Dauphin Island Sea Lab. They were celebrating Discovery Day with special exhibits and no parking available for a quarter of a mile around. Another site we tried to visit was the Audubon bird sanctuary but their parking lot was small among the trees (go figure) so we just had some lunch and caught the 45 minute ferry (plus one hour wait time) back to Gulf Shores. The ferry was just one boat so the wait was while it made the crossing over and back.

What a day

We had planned to get out again today for a drive in the area but rain showers were happening at breakfast time. Clouds, winds, and showers have continued off and on so we didn't think it would be a nice time for that drive. Then with the TV on for the morning news the happenings have been ongoing all day. We just hope that this terrible tragedy ends soon without any additional casualties.

Howdy

Or as we say down here in the south hey y'all. It's nice, quiet, and warm down here except for when someone brings out the mandolin and then it's not so quiet. We didn't come here to do a lot of exploring as we have been to this same area a few times before and visited the gardens, plantation homes, and such. We do plan to enjoy the seafood some more beside yesterday's lunch and just might do that this evening. We see on the weather maps that the mid-west is stormy so hope that all is good back in MO.

The day after tax day

This morning we took a drive down to the beaches in this area.  The pictures below were taken at a fishing pier in the Gulf State Park.  Then we drove along the gulf road into Florida and back, stopping at a nice local restaurant for some lunch.  There were a few on the beaches sunning and a few kites flying along with a couple of para-sailing folks.

wow what a shock in Boston

If the person/s that caused the disaster at the race were wanting notoriety they sure received it by all the networks on line without commercials for hours.  While it is extremely sad that it happened and lots of people were injured (in my opinion) I don't know that repeating the same comments over and over again for hours is necessary.

After four days of travel even if they were short days it was nice today to just sit tight and relax.  I did get out to the local grocery for a couple of needs.

Now ready to sit for a week

 

Big storm clouds came over all of the mid-south last night and it was still coming down pretty good this morning so we just sat tight.  Looking at the weather map the forecast looked like it would be moving out later this morning and it did lighten up around 9:00 so I put my Gorton's fisherman's uniform on and we got ready to go.





It sprinkled on us all during the drive and just a small stretch with a heavy downpour.  We are now set up in a nice RV park in Gulf Shores, AL.  We have been to this area a couple of other times in different campgrounds and intend to enjoy the week with I'm sure at least a couple of gulf seafood dinners.  There is a Lambert's throwed rolls place here (the other two are in MO) but we didn't come down here to have bread tossed at us and will pass that by.

M, I, crooked letter, crooked letter, I

... crooked letter, crooked letter, I, humpback, humpback, I Mississippi.  That is surely a very hard way to spell where we are this evening.  We are just south of Florence, MS along US-49 south of Jackson.  The name of the campground is Wendy Oaks and the owner, Wendy, checked us in and right now she's on the lawn mower.  A little more than the $9.50 for last night but still very good at $25.  We haven't had to unhook the truck from the trailer yet this trip so far as each campground was level enough to not have to unhook and with only one stop for fuel that was yesterday at a truck stop just before we got to our campground.  Tomorrow we make it to Gulf Shores and our resting spot for a week.  I hope we can get into something that will be good for some pictures to post.

On the banks of the Arkansas River.

Today was a nice drive through Arkansas and our final stop is just south of Pine Bluff in a Corps of Engineers campground along the river banks.  We have enjoyed other COE campgrounds as they have been well maintained with easy access sites and good space between our site and any neighbors.  These pictures were taken just awhile ago and show the river just behind our site with barge traffic.  I'm sure that this weekend this campground will be occupied with fishermen as it looks like a nice place to wet-a-line.