11/28/99 – Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Two 1-mile walks gave us a good appreciation for the beauty of the caverns. You are surrounded by incredible stalactite and stalagmite formations.

11/29/99 - Well, guess it was bound to happen – a bad day on the road. We finally found a Chevy dealer to work on the RV. We were only interested in the basic routine service stuff – oil change and tire rotation. You would be surprised how difficult it is to find someone to even perform those items on a RV. We arrive to be informed they can’t do the tire rotation. Seems their new building wasn’t built with a bay tall enough to accommodate the rig. The oil change was a major effort as Tim had to explain to them where to find the oil filter. This isn’t brain surgery here folks! After 3 ½ hours of frustration we leave. We decide to go to the library to check out weather information for the Grand Canyon.

Seems Elise wins the Library Freak Magnet award. Some of you may be aware of the type of friends Elise made at the Library in Tampa, FL. Once Elise stopped working, she decided to spend her days at the library to perform research for the Europe trip. The library is a wonderful place – vast amounts of information at your fingertips in a fairly comfortable environment. Unfortunately, the bums in the area have caught on to this public luxury. They spend their days relaxing in the air-conditioned facilities catching up on their reading. Some have even mastered the art of taking a nap and not being caught by the head librarian. Now granted, a public place is indeed open to the public, however finding a place to sit and perform research is difficult when you are surrounded by individuals who have not used a bar of soap on their bodies for the past 2 months – get the idea. Seems Elise had caught the fancy of one particular individual - a classy dressing bum decked out in sweat pants and an orange knit cap. He would laugh out loud and verbally debate with himself the insufficiencies of the welfare system. After a few more chuckles, he proudly paraded in front of Elise displaying "his very excited friend" in his sweat pants. A few weeks later, Elise returned to the library, not to work, but just checkout materials. To her horror, she was being followed in the aisle by Mr. Sweatpant man. Immediately she reported the man to security and the staff only to find out he has been a constant problem. He has since been banned from entering that library. Parents – Libraries may appear to be a very innocent place, which makes it a perfect opportunity for some wacko to take advantage of your child. Please always supervise your child when in a public location.

Well – the Library Freak Magnet didn’t stop in Tampa. Seems a small town library in New Mexico has a resident weirdo. Tim and Elise were sitting across from each other researching locations on the internet when a middle-aged cowboy sits next to Elise. He begins a conversation (that continues for 30 minutes). He’s not getting the hint that Elise isn’t the slightest bit interested as she continues with her work and ignores the man. He proceeds to tell her about the outlaw relatives he had and all of the "clothing optional" hot springs in the area. The librarian slips Tim a note indicating to "be careful with him". GREAT! With that fair warning, we end our research and leave. Who knows, maybe to start protecting the "normal citizens", we will start to see librarians packing guns while on post next to the card catalogue file.

11/30/99 – After our bad day of adventures with simple things in life (like the car dealer and the library) we head to the missile range – White Sands National Monument. Actually, outside of the fact that they close this National area periodically for missile testing, this place was incredible. Driving out of the mountains, we saw what appeared to be snow in the valley. What we were seeing was the white gypsum sand dunes. Driving through the area began to play tricks on your mind. The sand was so white, you started to think you we in the middle of fresh snow. Plows were used to keep the roads clear of drifting sand. Hiking the dunes was a unique experience – a bit of a challenge on the climb up but an entertaining slide on the way down. Pretty awesome!

12/1/99 – 12/2/99 – Sante Fe, New Mexico, home of the Georgia O’Keefe museum. We really enjoy her work but were a bit disappointed that the exhibt was minimal. For the museum to generate interest, they feature other artists. So we were expecting to be consumed with Georgia O’Keefe and instead we walked away with a small sampling. But hey, some is better than none. Sante Fe is a pretty art community but not designed to accommodate RVs. The roads are very narrow and parking is scarce. We decide to drive out of town and visit Bandilier National Monument. On the way we see our first trace of snow. Bandilier is a wonderful place to experience the ruins of cliff dwellers. You could actually climb the ladders and enter the dwellings and Kivas. We enjoyed the area so much, we considered staying another day. The threat of a major snowstorm and getting stuck on the mountain changed our minds so we drove back to Sante Fe for the evening.

12/3/99 – The storm is moving in fast. We drive into Albuquerque to visit the Petroglyphs National Monument. We dress warmly for our hike along the canyon floor as we see the snow falling in the distant. The hills are strewn with huge boulders covered in a black mineral deposited by an ancient volcano. Indian drawings were chipped away into the black mineral on the boulders. It still amazes us how we can decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics, yet we still don’t fully understand the entire meaning behind these works. We finish our hike and the snow storm hits. We take a break and stock up on supplies and decide to brave the storm. The highways were in good condition, however the snow continued to fall and accumulate on the ground. Driving towards Gallup, numerous vans/trucks towing trailers and balloon baskets passed us. Tim wanted Elise to get on the CB to find out where they were going, but Elise wasn’t releasing a hand from the steering wheel as the snow began to fall harder. We arrive in Gallup to be informed a major balloon festival was taking place. 7:00 AM the following morning, the balloons were scheduled to launch. We decide to call it a night and rise early to catch the festivities.

12/4/99 – We wake up around 6:00 and it’s butt cold! We open the curtain around the front windshield to find the window covered in frost. Tim ventures outside to inspect the frost only to return and report the frost is on the inside of the window. We weren’t prepared to be travelling in weather this cold, so we didn’t pack an ice scraper. Elise takes to the task with a plastic spatula. That lasted about 3 minutes until she busted the handle off. Time for the heavy-duty equipment – a wooden spoon. A few minutes of scraping and the windows started to clear up. Now all we need is a nice hot cup of coffee. That’s a great idea, considering the temperature outside is 7 degrees and it doesn't feel much warmer inside. Tim turns on the pump, but no water. The pump is frozen. Well, we’re awake now, might as well head over to see the balloons. We couldn’t imagine the other spectators took great care in personal hygiene that early on this frigid AM, so the fact that we didn’t bath and brush our teeth may help us fit in. The Rig takes a little prodding to finally turn the engine over, but we’re finally on the road again – frozen pipes and nasty breath.

We arrive a Red Rocks State Park, NM to find a fair showing of spectators. The balloonists are beginning to unpack and set up. We both have never been this close to a hot air balloon and are fascinated with its size and the teamwork needed to inflate one of these mammoths. We watch the preparation and Tim snaps a few photographs. We walk around the area and a man standing on the back of his pick-up asks if we were some of the volunteers. We inform him that we were not, but if he needed help, we would surely lend a hand – even though we had no idea what we needed to do. This didn’t bother the gentleman at all, he was just happy to have some extra hands. We were greeted with a great big hug and quickly put to work. Soon some additional volunteers joined our new balloon friend, and the set-up began. Cowboy Bill, the pilot, was very patient to explain each of our roles and instructed us through the entire process. Elise helped to hold the small mouth of the balloon open while a fan was used to force air inside. The temperature outside was slightly above 7 degrees and the wind generated by the fan made it feel like a "negative something" wind chill. Tim was responsible for helping this massive balloon take its’ shape. Next came the scary part – as Cowboy Bill fired up the propane burner. Bill’s girlfriend Barbara, and Elise were instructed to hold the mouth of the balloon open as wide as we could while he extended the flame and forced hot air into the balloon. Elise was afraid the flame would touch the balloon and start a fiery inferno or catch her hair and turn her into a flaming Popsicle. Neither happened, but the balloon slowly began to lift off the ground and Bill instructed the other volunteers to get their weight onto the basket to keep him on the ground. With the balloon upright and basket still secure on the ground, Cowboy Bill instructs Elise to get into the basket. She gave Tim a fearful look and Tim inquires whether he was coming along. Tim figured if we were both going to take a risk – we would at least do it together. Bill made room for both of us to climb aboard, then the fear struck. What the hell are we doing. We don’t know this guy from Adam. For all we know, he could be some crazed lunatic and we’re going to go float around in the sky in a little wicker basket with him. Before we could protest our decision, the basket started to gently lift a few inches off the ground. With a few forceful blasts of the flame, we began to lift off. We were actually doing this and it was exhilarating. The sun was shining and the blue sky against the red rocks and light dusting of snow on the ground offered incredible scenery. Soon the sky became dotted with beautiful splashes of color and designs from the other balloons. The feeling of floating in a balloon is difficult to explain – other than being extremely peaceful. The ride was actually warm from the heat of the burner and we started to feel sorry for the people on the ground – in more ways than one. Tim took every opportunity to shoot up 3 rolls of film, for this was one moment we may never experience again. Our ride was nearing a close as "Cowgirl" Barbara and her band of volunteers drove the chase pick-up truck to retrieve us. The landing was incredibly smooth and we gently touched down. We exited the basket and made room for some of Bill’s volunteers to take a ride. We took our turn in the chase vehicle and followed our new friends through their journey. After packing up the equipment, we were invited to a tailgate party to celebrate our incredible flight. Champagne toasts followed our ‘special’ initiation - which is a tradition for all new flyers. We’re not giving away details, as each new ‘flyer’ needs to experience the initiation for themselves. What a special day!

12/5/99 – 6:00AM and it’s butt cold AGAIN! After we finally got our water pump thawed out on Saturday (with the help of Elise’s hairdryer), we wised up and drained the pump before the temps dropped overnight. Final day of the balloon festival and we drive back to Red Rock State Park to help Cowboy Bill set up. The morning sky was covered once again with the colorful designs of the balloons. The weather was more conducive for canyon hopping – where the balloonists perch on top for the canyon fingers then lift off and float down into the valley of the canyon. Watching the chase vehicles zigzag around each other to keep in close proximity with their designated balloon was entertaining. They needed just about as much skill navigating the dessert flow and ravines as the pilots did navigating the air currents.

We bid farewell to our new friends and made our way into Arizona to see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. The Painted Desert was pretty with the pink and purple hues striping the mountains. Looks like one of those glass bottles filled with colored sand art. Some mountains are so perfectly colored in straight lines it’s hard to believe nature was so exact in her design. The Petrified Forest was even more spectacular. You are walking among trees that are 225 million years old that have been turned to stone. As you touch these beautifully colored remains, and let your mind transport you way back into time, you get a chill of excitement as to the history lying at your feet. 225 million years old – can you even fathom that time? Think about it - dinosaurs, volcanoes, glaciers, and the history of American man up to the present day. It boggles the mind to know you are touching time millions of years old. Remember, look and touch but do not take. There are strict fines and even jail time to be served if you dare to take a piece of this history home in your pocket.

12/6/99 – Walnut Canyon is home to another group of cliff dwelling Anazai Indians. The altitude at this location actually made us a bit winded during our hike. Walking along side of their homes built into the sandstone mountainside made you appreciate the physical demands these people faced. Daily climbs up the mountain carrying water to the homes and hikes to the mountaintop to farm the land. Homes were built in the direction to take advantage of the warm sun during the cold winter days. It amazed us the different microclimates found on the same mountain. The side facing the sun was populated with desert dwelling plants, while the shaded side was covered in evergreens. Temperatures varied dramatically from one side to the other.

We drive into Flagstaff to spend a relaxing afternoon. After a visit to the library to research the Grand Canyon, we learn a major snowstorm is in the forecast. If we want to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon we need to move the RIG out now! We arrive at the Grand Canon just before sunset and it is magnificent. Many people before us have attempted to describe the canyon, so we won’t try, as it wouldn’t do justice to its grandeur. We took a short hike around the rim during the sunset and enjoyed a show of fiery pinks and purples. A portion of the history of the earth is laid out at our feet, as rock layers at the bottom of the canyon date back 1.7 billion years.

12/7/99 - It’s a cold morning and we prepare to take a few small hikes. We start out on the West rim from Hermit’s Rest and hike to Pima Point. The trail is rough and narrow in some spots and looking out over the canyon, you feel so insignificant. We loop back to finish back at Hermit’s Rest. There is a small cabin turned into a gift shop. Take a minute to stop there and admire the incredible stone fireplace. That morning a fire was blazing and it was difficult to tear ourselves away from its comfortable warmth. We make our way over to the East Rim and hike a small section of the Grandview trail. From there we see a forest fire burning on the North Rim of the park. The snowstorm is moving in and is expected to arrive tomorrow, so we decide it’s time to leave. We would like to plan to come back during the spring and hike the North Rim.

12/8/99 – The weather forecast is not looking good. We need to get below Flagstaff to stay warm. The mountains around us have a fresh covering of snow and more is predicted. We hit the road and stop at Waupatki National Monument to view the Pueblo dwellings. A few miles down the road we stop at Sunset Crater National Monument. This location is remains of an ancient volcano. The snowstorm has already passed through, and the black volcanic rock is covered in a fresh layer of pure white snow – what a sight. We hike through the park and are intrigued by the lava tubes and pretty black and reddish porous rock. As you walk around and experience this unique place, it’s hard for us (PA natives) to believe this location is in the USA. We are use to soft rolling mountains and lush green farms, not volcanoes and lava fields. Very glad we stopped here – an experience we will remember. We continue our drive into Sedona via Oak Creek Canyon. A note to Rvers - The scenery through Oak Creek Canyon is incredible, however the road is extremely steep, winding and narrow. Be prepared for low gears and a white-knuckle drive. YES folks – Tim was in the drivers’ seat for this challenge.

12/9/99 – We decided to take a day off and relax, clean and address X-Mas cards. Life is tough....

12/10/99 – In the Camp Verde, AZ area, be sure to visit the V BAR V ranch to view the Petroglyphs. This is now run by the National Forest service and you can only view it while in the presence of a park ranger. It’s sad that you need to be "babysat’, however ignorant people have been know to deface these ancient pieces of work. V BAR V is indeed a special place to visit. Our next stop is Montezuma’s Castle, which is a large cliff dwelling. You are only able to view it from a trail on the ground below, however it was still impressive to see this structure build into the side of the mountain. The most amazing fact is that 90% of the 3-story structure is still original. Our drive through Phoenix and into Mesa helped to remind us why we left the rat-race of city living. Lots of traffic and trash along side of the roads.

12/11/99 – Well, another rough night’s sleep in a parking lot. The Zambonie man cleans up at 12:30 and the garbage man arrives at 5:00AM. The challenge of a ‘free’ nights sleep – and the word sleep is used very lightly. We contacted another car enthusiast for what we anticipated would be a 1-2 hour visit. Instead it turned out to be a wonderful 2 days. We arrived and enjoyed coffee on the outside patio while, we were entertained by the local birds. Our new friends offered advice on local attractions and we took advantage of a hike behind their home through Saguaro National Forest. This was Elise'’ first real encounter with a Saguaro cactus and they were incredible. Each cactus had its own personal in its size and shape. You feel so small next to one of these 12-15 foot old giants. Our hosts had plans for the evening, however we returned to the RV to find a ton of videos and a wonderful bottle of wine waiting for us. To top off the day, we found out we are now Aunt Elise and Crazy Uncle Tim as Tim’s sister gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Wow – life is so special. But it seems strange that his younger sister is now a mom.

12/12/99 – We were invited to join our new friends and another couple for brunch. (Which we later found out was a Birthday Brunch – many wishes for a great year!) We thought it would be fun to transport the gang to brunch in the Party Rig. The Rig was a little slow on the hills, however great views and conversation were enjoyed by all. Thanks for the incredible hospitality and special friendship. We truly enjoyed our time together and hope our paths will cross again. Please keep in touch should you choose to visit Europe – we’ll provide any help/suggestions we can. Now – close up the house for a while and get that camper rolling! Thanks again.

12/13/99 – We drive into Saguaro National Park and make plans for hiking tomorrow. Today we decide to visit the Sonora Desert Museum. We had no idea the museum was really more like an outdoor zoo/garden. It was excellent and we really wished we allowed more time to visit it – to really enjoy the museum, plan for at least a ½ day. This is a good family activity as well as they offer activities for children.

12/14/99 – We hike through Saguaro National Park and are surrounded by these beautiful giants. The Saguaro cactus grows very slowly – only stands a few inches at 5 years of age. It sprouts its first arm when it is at a young age of 75 years. So when you view a 12-15 foot cactus with a few arms, you know you are looking at a piece of history. We hike along a wash and spot some petroglyphs. We continue our hike and walk slightly off the trail to enjoy our lunch. The spot we selected had a few small stones covered with petroglyphs. What is interesting is, we may be the only people in recent times to have spotted these remains.

12/15/99 – Another beautiful day in the desert and we take another hike along the wash to take some photos.

12/16/99 – Our 6^th month anniversary on the road and it’s a bitter-sweet feeling. So excited about everything we have accomplished in the past 6 months, yet apprehensive in that our travels are half way over. We travel to Chiricahua National Monument - the land of balancing rocks. The description suits it well. The sandstone mountains have eroded away to create spires and boulders that balance on one another. The rock formations are incredible against the blue sky.

12/17/99 – We drive into Tombstone, AZ to find some of Tim’s family history. Tim is distantly related to a member of the Earp clan. We were able to speak with the local historian and he gave us some interesting facts about the town. We then became a spectator, for one of the daily re-enactments of the "Shoot out at the OK Corral". The town still held a lot of the character of living in the old west. We reviewed some of the casualties buried on Boothill and made our way back to Tuscon to meet a friend.

12/18/99 – While we waited to meet our friend in Tuscon, we decided to park the Rig at the local shopping mall. A few days before Christmas and this place was a mad-house. Elise was starting to feel a bit sad not participating in the holiday festivities until she witnessed the craziness surrounding her. People flocked to the mall by the hundreds. They were like vultures in the parking lot trying to find a parking space. The thought of them waiting in line at the cash registers was sickening. What ever happened to the meaning of the holiday. It seems so crazy the amount of money that is spent during this time of year and why….Will it ever have the meaning it should – of being together with loved ones and sharing eachothers’ company and friendship. Think about that when your credit card comes in the mail. Love and friendship doesn’t come with a 21% interest rate.

12/19/99 - Back to Saguaro National Park for a relaxing day preparing for the long drive to Organ Pipe National Monument.

12/20/99 – Organ Pipe National Monument has a campgroup without hook-ups. We investigate a few camps outside of the park and decide it would be nice to stay inside the park grounds to take advantage of the hikes. We make the 28 mile drive from town to the park and finally arrive at 5:00. We pay our fees and are faced with a big sign – generator use from 12:00-4:00 only. Our food supply was running only and Elise had thawed out meat to back a casserole in the oven. Note – our oven is not powered by gas – it required electricity (in this case – generator power). It would also be our luck that we were assigned the site next to the camphost. We pull the RIG into the paved site only to find that we can’t level the RIG. The site was built with a downward pitch and we couldn’t raise the nose of the coach high enough to even get half way level. We back the coach out and decide to back her in. We were able to level her out with in a few seconds. Now Elise gets busy with dinner -–knowing she will need to run the generator and already it is 1 hour past the designated use time. Our neighbor has his running so we figured the rules must be a bit slack during the dinner hour. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!! We have 15 minutes to go on our oven use and there is a loud pounding on the door. Elise opens the doors and sees the Camphost.

Elise – Good evening, may I help you.

Camphost – Yes – you can start by turning that generator off.

Elise – But Sir, we arrived late and I have only 15 minutes left for our meal to cook.

Camphost – I don’t care – turn that thing off now.

Elise – Sir, I don’t understand the rule as this is the dinner hour. All of the other National parks and campgrounds allow generators to be run until 8:00 or 9:00 at night. Why is this different?

Camphost – Because people want peace and quiet. Now turn it off.

Elise – But sir – You will ruin our meal as I only have 15 minutes to go. (Notice – Elise is stalling so her meal has a longer time to cook). I started our meal as soon as we arrived so I wouldn’t be running it so late.

Camphost – And may I ask why you have backed into this site.

Tim – Well sir, we couldn’t level it the other direction.

Camphost – Don’t you have leveling blocks.

Tim – Well actually sir we are equipped with hydraulic leveling jacks. Whoever went through the trouble to pave these sites didn’t bother to make them level.

Camphost – Well, you are violating fire code (Meanwhile, the dinner only has 5 minutes to finish cooking).

Tim – Fire code?

Camphost – Yes, fire code. All vehicles must park in the same direction in order to exit if there was a fire.

Tim – Well, sire, I wasn’t aware this was an issue. I suppose we can turn it around.

Camphost – No. Don’t move it tonight as you may cause damage. But make sure it is moved first thing in the AM. Now turn that generator off.

Elise –Yes sir – (sound of the Rig door slamming shut in the camphosts’ face). And 3 minutes left on the casserole.

12/21/99 – We wake up early to take a short hike. As we walk through the park, we hear a generator running. Wait a minute – it’s not 12:00 and a generator is running. Where is that @#^$* Camphost…. The Organ pipe cacti are pretty, but they are sparse in numbers. Against Elise’s better judgement, we decide to stay another day. As we walk back through the camp, we spot another camper parked in the wrong direction. Looks like he was having difficulty leveling out his camper as well. In addition, we walk past a Van from California with a strange odor wafting out of the windows – if you know what we mean. Damn that camphost – he busts up our dinner, but won’t address the other issues going on in the camp. Elise proceeds to write her 2 page letter to the National park service. (NOTE – it’s been 2 ½ months later and she never got a response. Surprised???)

12/22/99 – As we leave Organ Pipe National Monument, the ranger addresses with us the need to park in the same direction. This was all Elise needed to get into her list of issues with the park and the camphost Gestapo. She went through the neighbor running the generator at 5:00, the people running theirs at 9:00 AM, the guy parking backwards and the dudes smoking weed – so there! If the camphost is going to enforce the rules, then he needs to do so fairly and without the military attitude. She suggested that they post a sign at the entrance of the park stating the generator rules. That way people could make a decision before they drove 28 miles intot he park and then realized they were screwed. The ranger indicated, "the park system does not like to deface property with signs". Elise’s response to that was – "Well – pouring concrete slabs for 200 + campsites seems like a bigger defacement of property than one sign stating a park regulation." Thank you and have a nice day.

Here we go – on the road again. Destination – Joshua Tree National Park. Long, desolate drive, but we are greatly rewarded when we reach the park. The scenery is incredible. We look for a phone to call home, however quickly realize, the nearest phone is 30 miles on the other side of the park.continue on

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