Still in San Diego

View of harbor from the Coronado Bridge

It has been a great couple of days for me---we haven't moved and I've gotten to catch up on my cat naps while my humans have been busy out running around. Yesterday they drove up to Oceanside and then came back along the ocean.

Harbor Seal

When they got back they went to the Maritime Museum at the harbor downtown.  After hearing all about their trip and seeing the pictures, I think I might have enjoyed the tour of the boats at the museum.  All of the boats there still  are taken out at least once a year.  Some of them are huge, like the 212' Star of India, that was built in 1863.  She was first used to transport emigrants to New Zealand and then she was used as a lumber and cargo ship.  There are two submarines, the Surprise looks like a Pirate ship and there is a Victorian  1898 steam ferryboat that is beautiful.  It even has colored glass windows.They took a ride around the harbor on the 1914 SD Harbor Pilot. While they were on the boat ride they got to see a harbor seal sunning on buoy and the tall sailing ship, California coming in from a charter.  After that, they made a grocery run and we all ate supper together.

Today they took a ride over to Coronado Island and had lunch.  Then they walked around the Old Town area of San Diego.  They got home mid afternoon and it is a good thing that they did.  The circuit breaker had tripped and my air-conditioning had turned off.  It kept tripping and finally Ron tracked it down.  Some of the wires in the circuit box had gotten crossed and the connections melted.  I thought I smelled something burning or maybe melting.  Ron got it fixed and straightened out all the wires in the box, so it won't happen again.

Tall ship California

Boats in dry dock.  Note how the various parts were wrapped in shrink wrap.

There is a heat wave predicted for the next few days, so I bet it is going to be a beach day!

California...Here we are!




Pacfic Ocean

 
 

Sunset over the ocean

 We made it to San Diego California yesterday.  It was a short trip, so they didn't even put my liter box in the truck.  After seeing all the traffic, I think Ron could have used it :).  We are at a campground right on Mission Bay.  It is all asphalt with little strips of grass and trees.  After we got set up R&N took a bike ride around part of the bay.  There are lots of bike trails here and I bet they take more rides.  They said I could go along in a basket, but that looks scary to me.



Speaking of scary....they brought me back the pictures they took at the San Diego Zoo today.  Sure glad  that I didn't go along.  The place was huge and there were a lot of animals to see.

Orangutan

Gerenuk

Giraffe

3153 Miles and Counting..........

Today was a travel day so I spent a lot of time curled up in the back seat.   We went from Kanab, Utah to Hesperia, California.  We drove through three states, went over two mountain passes, and through the Mojave desert.  Tonight we are in the high desert of California.  On the way we stopped in Baker CA to see the worlds tallest thermometer.  By the way, Baker is very near the town of Zzyzx ,CA.  Interesting name for a town.  Apparently the gentleman that named it, Curtis Springer, said that he wanted it to be the last word in any dictionary.  Tomorrow we are off to San Diego.





Mojave Desert

 

Worlds tallest thermometer





Lots of Rocks and Canyons!

It has been a busy three days---at least for the humans!  I held down the fort at the camper while they spent lots of time at three different National Parks, 1 state park, and a pet rescue center.  Now I have tons of pictures to sort out and lots to tell you about.

Their first stop was North rim of The Grand Canyon  on Saturday.  There are no words to describe how impressive it was. They walked out on a couple short trails to get some good pictures and listened to one of the ranger talks.



North Rim of the Grand Canyon



After they got back to Kanab from that jaunt they stopped by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill pet rescue center here in Kanab.  They expected a small building housing just a few pets---boy they were the wrong.  What they found was a state of the art facility housing not only cats and dogs, but also birds, pigs and horses.  R&N were able to go on a hour and a half tour and were very impressed.  They have 500 paid staff members and lots of volunteers.  When they take on the care of an animal, they make a lifetime commitment to the pet, no matter what its disability or problem.  The ultimate goal is to find it a forever home, if that isn't an option, the pet lives at the facility for its lifetime.





Sunday they took a longer drive to Bryce Canyon National Park.  Again, a beautiful place and well worth the drive.  The park has shuttle buses so it was easy to get around and see all the different outlooks.  Bryce has lots of hoodoos, spires of rock that have been formed by erosion over millions of years.  Some of the hoodoos are at least 500-600 ft. tall!



Sand Dunes



On the way home they stopped to see the Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park.  Wow----what a great big litter box!  It looked similar to the sand dunes in Michigan, except they were pink.  People can drive four wheelers and dune buggies on them, but not passenger cars.  It isn't busy like the Michigan dunes.  One can just get on them off the road and there are no rangers or anyone checking flags etc.



Today's trip was to Zion National Park.  This park was totally different in that instead of viewing the park from the rim of the canyon, you drove down into the canyon and looked at the beautiful formations by looking up at them.  I'm sure glad I didn't go along---they had to take a steep road with lots of switchbacks to get to the canyon floor.  I probably would have gotten carsick.  Then they had to go through a mile long tunnel.  Once they got to the welcome center, they had to take shuttle buses to see the rest of the park.



Zion National Park



Busy three days!  Tomorrow we head towards California.



(Don't forget to click on the blue words if you want to read more about anything I've mentioned)



Zion National Park



Kanab, Utah (The Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and More)

Friday we traveled up Rt. 89 to Kanab Utah. It is centrally located to some of the things R&N wanted to see.  They parked the camper  at the Kanab RV Corral so I can have a few days of rest while they run around.  It is a really pretty little campground in the shadow of the mountains with a pool and wifi.  On the way we stopped at the historic Cameron Trading Post for lunch and then on to cross thru a pass near Lake Powell.  We stopped at the Glen Canyon National Park Welcome Center to learn more about the area.  Saturday the humans were off to see the Grand Canyon and more.

Lake Powell



Pass near Lake Powell




Pretty Scenery along Rt 89 between Flagstaff AZ and Kanab UT

 I'm yawning and it is time for my nap---so I will fill you in about their adventures in my next post.

Amarillo TX to Albuquerque MN to Holbrook AZ



Painted Desert National Park



Cadillac Ranch (10 Caddys (covered with graffii) buried  in a field along Rt 40



I'm sorry I didn't get to update you all last night. After we got set up at the Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque last night R&N met a really neat couple from Texas who were parked beside us and ended going out to eat with them.  They ate at Monte Carlo Steak House ,a place that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food channel. Good food, especially the french fries.  The brought me a kitty bag and I got to sample the meat and fries!  One of the neat things about the couple we met---he is a seventh generation Texan! (There are not a lot of people that can claim that their ancestors have lived in the same state for seven generations.)  The RV Park at Albuquerque has vintage campers that can be rented.  They really looked like they would be fun to take a cat-nap in.

Today we drove from Albuquerque to Petrified Forest National Park and then took a drive thru that and the painted desert.  Really some beautiful scenery.  I thought the Painted Desert would be all sand and rocks---not so.  There is quite a bit of stubby grass covering the ground.

 

  

Click on this to enlarge so you can see the petrified tree pieces all over the ground




I'm sure glad I'm being held---it looks like a long way down!





Tonight we are in the OK RV Park in Holbrook AZ.

Amarillo Texas



OOPS, looks like we are not leaving Oklahoma City as quick as we planned.



Tonight we are at the Amarillo Ranch RV Park.  Nice place.  A little too close to an airport for my liking, but there aren't many planes.  I got to sleep in today.  Ron went out to hook up the trailer and discovered that we had a flat tire!  So AAA was called, they came in less than an hour and they put on our spare. We went to a local tire store and they were able to fix the hole (finishing nail).    If you are ever in Oklahoma City OK and have a tire problem, check out Express Tire and Wheel on Reno St.  I was flabbergasted when I went in to pay the bill and they said---no charge, we fix flats for free!  Not only did they fix it, but they took off the spare and put on the fixed tire and then put the spare back on the rear of the camper.



Nancy and Gracie at the Route 66 museum in Clayton OK



We spent the rest of the day following RT 66 through Oklahoma and into Texas.  We took a break in Clayton, Oklahoma and R&N visited the Rt. 66 Museum.  Very well done displays and a short movie about the "Mother Road"...very interesting.



An older part of Rt. 66 in Texas

Lots of windfarms all along the way.

After we got to Amarillo, we got set up and I curled up for my evening nap while the humans explored the town and then went out to eat at a very popular steak house called The Big Texan.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma



BrickTown Canal

Fence outside Federal Building

After leaving Lake of the Ozarks we drove to Oklahoma City and we have ended up spending two nights here.  It is fine with me---I needed to spend some time not in the car and while I rested up, Ron and Nancy got to go sight-seeing.  We are staying at Rockwell RV Park.  It is  convenient to everything and has an indoor pool and hot-tub. That is fine with me, if I don't have to go in it!  Why would anyone in their right mind go into water,   Especially hot bubbling water?  My definition of swimming is staying alive in the water.  There are also some buffalo here, in a pen, which luckily I can't see!

Sunday night they drove around downtown and checked out Brick Town and the shops along the canal they are building there.  They also drove by the federal building where the tragic bombing took place several years ago.  It is surprising that memorial items are still being left to honor the victims.

Pig races



Longhorn



Pets Overboard- a show using all rescue animals: cats, dogs and white rats



Blake Goode and Brahma Bulls, Apache and Geronimo (click on names to see them in action)



Wild West Review

This morning they were off bright and early the to Oklahoma State Fair.  They were impressed at the size and variety of the displays and activities.  Apparently they had a good time, because they were worn out when they got home.

On the Road Again

First night--in El Paso Illinois

We are off again---I couldn't tell you sooner because we didn't have wifi last night.  Nancy got it going after we got settled, but by then it was time for me to go to bed---so I will catch you up tonight.

I hear that we are heading West.  I'm not sure how far, but I think I heard someone say something about the Pacific Ocean.  You all know how much I like water----so I'm hoping if we do get that far, we won't be staying too close to it.  So far we have made it to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri..  Tonight we are staying beside the river, but I can't see it from the camper.  We do have a little pond that divides the campground.  I can see that and all the neat ducks in it----boy would I like to get my claws in one of them!



Bike week-end at Lake of the Ozarks



After we got here and got set up, we discovered that it is Bike week-end (along with a classic car cruise and a Civil War reincactment!).  They told us that there are 15,000 bikes in town for the event.  R&N took a ride downtown and saw a lot of them.



On the way here we stopped at Hannibal Missouri.  They parked the camper in the RV lot and left me to guard it.   That was a really bad idea---it was between a busy railroad track and the Mississippi River.  OK---I'm terrified of trains, hate water and scared of loud noises (like riverboat whistles)-----I did not have a good afternoon. While I was trying to make myself invisable in the truck, R&N went out for lunch and checked out the tourist shops in downtown Hannibal.



Riverboat at Hannibal Missouri



Last night we spent the night in El Paso Illinois.  Nice shady campground.  Only problem is that it was next door to a shooting range.  They shot trap and pistols until after dark!  It took me a while, but I finally figured out that they weren't shooting at me and I was able to come out from under the couch and enjoy the evening.







Tom and Becky







Tomorrow we are off to Oklahoma City---more later.



Did we take a wrong turn?