The Test Trip of 2004 - Flashback Friday

No, Hurley Travels isn't closed down just yet.  Not ready to let this old friend be silent - just took a short break. But, let's kick it back on by a Flashback Friday.
I've been filtering out photo files on the computer and I'm coming across some I've almost forgotten about. Of course, then it's mandatory to stop to dwell on a memory or two. And some of those recollections take me a while.

Anyway, I was hanging around in 2004 and realized I actually have a couple of photos of the first day of our RV Fulltiming Test Trip - Jan 12, 2004. That would be when we closed up our condo in Indy and went out to make our decision whether we could and would live for whatever time frame in our new Sunnybrook fifth wheel. 
Thankfully there wasn't snow and ice on the roads as we traveled south on I-65 that January.   Jerry and I planned that we'd stop overnight in Haskell, Tennessee, at an Escapees RV Park.  A nice distance to travel and still be in daylight, so that we could clean out the antifreeze that we had in the lines from winterizing the trailer.  We pulled into the park in time to get one of the two last spots available.  Everything was cool!  Electric hooked up, water lines cleaned out, before it got dark. In fact we were watching TV when a park employee knocked on the door.  It was nice of him to walk around the campground alerting us all that the forecast was in the teens that night and we shouldn't leave our water lines connected.  Wouldn't want to have frozen lines!  No problem.  Jerry took care of adding water in our holding tank and disconnected the line.  We were cozy for the night.
But…..actually, we laughed the next morning when we both realized how silly it was that we didn't roll up our hose and store it away so that it didn't freeze in the extended position. LOL!  We had to wait a while in the morning for the sun to heat it up so that we could bend it enough to store it. No harm done. And it was good for a smile as we shared the story down the road at happy hour with RV friends. 
Oh yeah, the test trip proved positive.  Those four months resulted in the decision to sell our condo and live on the road. And the rest was an adventure that took us to unbeatable places, people and events for ten years.
Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels. Stay safe.

copyright © Nancy Hurley

Making More Transitions

     When last I wrote for the Hurley Travels blog I talked about being fluid, exploring a different phase in life for Jerry and me.   Well, quite a bit of that changing and flowing has happened in the last four months.  Also, I took some time to consider whether our Hurley Travels blog should have its last chapter.   If we were ceasing our life on the road, did I want to also cease writing here about our life???   It took me a few months, but I've decided there are still episodes to record. We are planning to keep on exploring in various ways.   So, here I am moving along into the next mode for Hurley Travels.

     But first, it just wouldn't be right if we didn't say a few words about turning this corner away from RVing.  Jerry and I absolutely loved our ten years of being on the road.  There are volumes of wonderful memories that we couldn't have experienced without the culture that is available among RVers.  We appreciate the people everywhere along that road that are the special ingredients.  There are so many unique, interesting and indescribable facets of those ten years that make us smile all the time.  

     This past winter was quite a moment in time for us.  We had the feelings of uncertainty last fall about how many more roads we would travel in Ferd.  But neither one of us was ready to say yet.  Regardless of where the next spring would take us, we began our travels in November with repairs on Ferd and also had him polished up nicely in Nacogdoches at our favorite facility, Motohomes of Texas. That 1995, 36-foot, no-slide, Foretravel diesel pusher was feeling and looking good.  It turned out to be a very nice last winter in Texas and Alabama.  After considering a trip to Florida, it seemed best for us to make the winter stop in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  While settled in our spot at the Gulf Shores State Park we contemplated how much longer we'd be traveling as RVers.  We had some time to discuss and vacillate about what our next steps would be.  We came to the conclusion we would end our RVing adventure.   But I have to say we'll miss those desert gatherings and stops along our route to see old friends. Those times can't be matched.  Thanks friends!  You know who you are.  There will be other ways, I hope, to stay in touch and visit occasionally.

     Once we adjusted to our decision to sell Ferd, we started making plans for the change.  The story isn't quite this simple, but to keep it short and sweet,  we returned to Indy, found a buyer and turned over ownership in a matter of a couple of months.  We did hold onto Ole Yeller (the loyal towed Jeep) for a while.  It was hard to cut that final string.   But actually, the good result was that the same young family owns both the motorhome and our Jeep.  We're glad to see them enjoying the fun that connects them.

     It will take some getting used to this new phase in our lives.   But…onward we go.  Pretty quickly we made more plans. We're thinking we'll still travel… to those places we missed in the motorhome, right?  So we need a "highway car" that's roomier and more comfortable for those trips when we'll now be  staying in hotels.    Anyway, we took that step, too.   Here's a shot of Jerry making the transition from Ole Yeller to Vinny (the new CRV). 

     Speaking of transitions, we made a major one in mid-July. We purchased our new home, just a few miles northeast, in Fishers, Indiana.  Our little condo was just right for the time we were on-the-road, but we were looking for more space now that we didn't have our home on wheels.  Usually older folks downsize, but these two went the other direction!  We now have a home with a big garage that has space for the cars, a motorcycle, a workbench for Jerry and the extra refrigerator.     And we have more room inside for visitors and to store those things we're accumulating again.   Besides, we're also pleased that Krissy bought our cute little condo.  It's perfect for her!  So now I should post a pic of the front of  the house,  right? Instead of one of those, I think I'll insert one of the flowers on our hibiscus tree that is among several flowering plants, bushes and trees we are enjoying at our new place.    

     I could also write many happy words about this summer's activities that didn't involve the chore of moving. We've had more than our share of good times.   For instance, there were super visits with old friends that came through Indianapolis, fun family reunions, several special birthday celebrations, helping with our grand dogs, hanging out on our new deck, setting food on fire on the grill and meeting new neighbors.   I won't try to describe those experiences,  just keep doing more.  This short story will have to suffice as the catch-up on Hurley Travels for now.  The leaves are falling and it's time to move on. 

     Thanks for sharing some time with me.  Check in here at Hurley Travels again as we see where this path leads us.

Last Hurrah in Alabama and More

The winter weather in the north is finally finishing up  -- taking its sweet time!  We’re enjoying the last few days of temps in the 60s and 70s in Alabama while the weather in Indiana keeps improving. We’ll be winding our way back home soon.  So, I thought I’d write the “Last Hurrah in Alabama.” 

We’ve enjoyed being in the community of Gulf Shores, becoming used to the surroundings as you do over a three-month stretch.  There have been many sunny, 60-deg. days, but also some tremendously wet days. A few days the rain pounded so hard on our roof it hurt our ears.  I’ve written about some of our days when we checked out the beach, the parks, and the various goings on. (See Alabama link on right)  We even made it to a movie - American Hustle was a great surprise!  We’ve had some good times trying out the local cuisine, the seafood and sausage dishes are great.  I’ve walked the routes around the 496-site campground many times, observing the array of license plates from Alabama to Ontario.  Many of the people we’ve been parked with in the monthly-section here have made this their winter home for a number of years.  They reserve their spot for next year as soon as reservations open.  You see gatherings of old friends everywhere along the roads as you are coming in or out of the campground.  We are surrounded by folks from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, as well as from Florida and Alabama, and the many Canadians.  They all agree that this winter has been colder than usual.  But, it’s a very nice place to be.

I do have one more food story.  In our exploring of the great seafood in the Gulf Shores area we noticed that there are “Reds” on the menus.  Since we haven’t spent any time in this area we weren’t really sure what this was. Red snapper first came to mind, but they wouldn’t call it that, right?  So, we googled it. We learned that these are a special kind of shrimp found in the deepest areas of the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. They’re very popular for their lobstery taste.  The other day we decided it was about time to try them. We were planning to share an appetizer of a pound of Royal Reds that we found on the menu at Mikee’s, one of our favorite spots.  Then, we inquired about how they were served.  And you know how Jerry doesn’t like to “work on his food,” unless he’s the chef.  When the waiter explained that the “Royal Reds” were served whole, with heads, tails and shells, Jerry said “never mind for me.”  Well, I decided they sounded too good not to try them. I ordered the pound as my meal and got busy pulling off the heads and peeling the shells. Yes, they are pretty messy.  But, Oh My My!!   They do taste like lobster, mild and juicy.  And they are served with the melted butter, too. Yummy, yummy.  I think the waiter was surprised I ate them all.  But I thoroughly enjoyed my feast!

To wrap up my Last Hurrah I wanted to post my video of the ocean, lapping away at the shore.   It’s really beautiful - spectacular! (LOL)  But, for some reason I can’t get YouTube to upload it.  Tried it from my phone and from my laptop…no luck.  It’s frustrating.  I’ll figure it out later.  (Instead I guess I’ll post my selfie at the beach!)

As we’re making plans to sell Ferd soon, we’ve been talking quite a bit about how fortunate we’ve been.  These years on-the-road in the RVing lifestyle have been tremendous for us.  The fun experiences, the fabulous people, the beautiful scenery and unique places - they’ll never leave us.  Thanks to everyone who shared with us and made our time special.  And thanks to our families who encouraged us to enjoy ourselves!  We’re winding up this phase of our lives, but not Hurley Travels.  There are more travels to come, just a different type.

We could never choose the best of all those memorable stops, people and events. Many of them are in our posts for this blog in the right column, all fixed up with a title and attached photos.  Some of them we have to remind each other about.  Then we can smile again, sometimes even there’s a cringe,  while we describe what we each think we recall.  But, just for fun, here’s a brief photographic sampling of the last ten years at Hurley Travels:

 

Hurley Travels Memories VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Be safe.

Sticking Around in Gulf Shores, Alabama

Why not hang around when you have a comfortable and interesting place to be?!#%  That’s what we decided about the Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama.  So, we moved out of our short term spot, #474, into a monthly spot, #262. It’s obvious here that there’s a good-sized group of snowbirds.  On our drives through we see many Midwest license plates; Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are plentiful. Although, there’s also no lack of folks from Canada, Tennessee, Missouri, etc.  We’re only a few roads away from our first spot, but the differences in our new neighborhood are obvious.  From day one, about a week ago, we noticed that people wave at each other, stop on their walks or cross the road from one parking spot to another to visit.  A brief conversation with a few of our fellow winter residents informed us that there are many who come here year after year, making friends, acquiring repeat parking spots and living alongside one another while they escape the cold.  It’s not too surprising since one can reserve a spot for $475 a month, inclusive of electric.

But, why here for us?  First, we’re also dodging the weather.  As it turns out we’re missing the horrendous blizzard that’s going on up north right now.  Indianapolis is frozen in, with temps in the teens and at least a foot of snow and ice. Hang on, you guys, it will be over soon! Since just about the entire country is experiencing the cold snap, staying here in the colder than normal conditions for a brief time, 40s in the day and 20s at night, was acceptable.  We’ve been a little less active for a while, waiting for nicer weather.  But meanwhile, we got comfortable. We’ve started by searching out local restaurants in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. The shrimp, seafood gumbo, fried pickles, fried meatloaf and even the Tasso in my omelet, all were excellent.  Some of those restaurants, for the record, are: Wintzells, Zen, The Hangout, GooRoo’s Grill, Mikee’s Seafood and Brick & Spoon. (Especially for my cousins who plan a vacation in Gulf Shores this year.)

While we’ve had a little down time with cooler temps, there’s been no lack of ways to entertain ourselves. Besides sampling our share of local food, there’s football games, reading, walks in the park and on the beach, cooking, movies, Book TV, writing blogs, crocheting, jewelry-making, family history and of course, the Internet in general.  I’ll let you guess which of those activities are assigned to each, or both, of us.  Walking on the beach isn’t quite as much fun in cooler temps, but some of us still do.  Here’s a glimpse of the folks by the ocean in December, warmly-dressed families, one metal-detecting guy and a lone surfer in his wet suit at the right. 

For instance, since we’re in the middle of seafood heaven, we (both of us) tried our hand at cooking our own seafood gumbo with the fresh shrimp, crab and scallops from Blalock’s Seafood Market.  And learned about file powder (accent over the e in file), the sassafras leaves seasoning that most people in these parts use in their gumbo that adds a nice distinctive flavor.  The recipe was judged a success by the two of us.  Also, Jerry’s got a new toy – his Nexus 7 tablet – that he’s putting to the test every day with his surfing, streaming and inquiries.   So far, this new technological addition is fitting in well.  His iPad is being neglected for a faster, lighter-weight, smaller-screened friend.  Here’s a photo on the left that  he slyly snapped on his new tablet while I was completely unaware!   The only complaint I’ve heard is that there’s no Flash Player, so one of the sites he reads won’t load.  But there’s probably a fix on the way for that ~ surely~

What now?  Well, since the temperature is moving on up, we’re planning to have a few day excursions into the areas surrounding us.  Then, we’ll meander over to Florida. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm.  Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels. 

Goin Up Around The Bend -- Indiana to Alabama

There’s a place up ahead and I’m goin’…..Come along, come along with me………

We’ve had fun over these past nine years of travels goin up around the bend with this CCR song. This one just fits – and there are plenty of memories connected.  So now there’s another place up ahead.  We’re on another winter road trip, south from Indiana to Alabama….so far that is.

This trip started a little differently.  We were both indecisive in the weeks leading up to our late-November departure about our destinations and which roads we wanted to take to those places.  We gave ourselves options……Texas or Alabama or Florida, or maybe all three.   So, we just headed south from Indianapolis on I-65,  with our first night’s stop chosen  - Nashville, Tennessee.  

As we hit Nashville, the reports started coming in about the huge winter storm heading east that could cause highway concerns. So, it was easy then to decide to take the shortest route to warmer temps in the Gulf Shores area of Alabama.  The ride through Tennessee and Alabama was smooth and mostly sunny. 

No matter how many times we travel the same road, though, there’s usually something new, to us anyway.  You know how you aren’t always looking at the details?  I know I’ve been there, but this time I paid attention to the rocket at the welcome center as we came into Alabama.  Actually, it’s a Saturn 1B and it’s located in Elkmont, Alabama.  This is just right there along the highway.   And just because, here are a few details I found:

Installed in 1979, the 224 foot tall Saturn 1B was a forerunner of the Saturn 5 launch vehicle for NASA missions. It boosted unmanned Apollo modules and a few orbital trips.

In the late 1990s, you could stop at this Alabama border Welcome Center, stand under the engines and imagine how the blast of takeoff would feel (like Alabama in August?). Renovations to the exhibit since then prevent strolling under the rocket.

Anyway, after a leisurely two-and-a-half-day ride from Indy, we arrived on Monday, November 25, at the Rainbow Plantation Escapees Park in Summerdale.  The park makes a nice stopover spot, comfortable parking on grass in a quiet area.  Although we don’t like the slow Internet much. But, since we were both still recovering from coughs and colds, it was nice to just settle for a while.  And we also were thinking it would help to find some of the good shrimp etouffee we remember from our other visits. 

We’ve had a nice time checking on the ocean at Gulf Shores, exploring a future parking spot at the Gulf State Park and eating fish/seafood. Oh yeah, we had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner in our little home, steak, mashed potatoes, salad and chocolate crumb cake.  And the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn fans are very evident in this region, to put it lightly.  They’ve been preparing for the excitement of that big game, decorating their cars and getting ready for the huge event last Saturday.  Well, if you didn’t see the last few seconds of that one, I can’t begin to describe It!!!

Meanwhile, there’s another project that was on our planning list; Ferd needs some maintenance and repairs.  So, now we’re making phone calls, pricing and planning for that.  If possible, we prefer to have maintenance done in Nacogdoches, Texas, home of Foretravel.  Besides, we haven’t visited Livingston in a while, our “rving home,” that’s along the way between Alabama and Nacogdoches.  So, we’ll be taking a northwesterly route to do some necessary stuff.  We’ll look for a few new turns in the road through southern Louisiana and Mississippi as we go.  See you later.  

Goin Up Around the Bend

Songwriter: JOHN FOGERTY

There's a place up ahead and I'm goin'
Just as fast as my feet can fly
Come away, come away if you're goin',
Leave the sinkin' ship behind.
CHORUS:
Come on the risin' wind,
We're goin' up around the bend.
Ooh!
Bring a song and a smile for the banjo,
Better get while the gettin's good,
Hitch a ride to the end of the highway
Where the neons turn to wood.
[CHORUS]
Ooh!
You can ponder perpetual motion,
Fix your mind on a crystal day,
Always time for a good conversation,
There's an ear for what you say.
[CHORUS]
Yeah!
Ooh!
Catch a ride to the end of the highway
And we'll meet by the big red tree,
There's a place up ahead and I'm goin'
Come along, come along with me.
[CHORUS]

What’s Up After Our Winter Travel ?

We did a “study” this winter -- just low key and personal, that is.  A few of our questions are at least partially answered.  Do we want to continue our RVing now that we have another home in Indianapolis? Is the lifestyle still as attractive?  Or are we ready to hang up Ferd’s keys?   

How did we feel about taking to the road again?  Did the traveling still have its attraction? 

Honestly, after the 18 months break in 2011-2012, we easily readjusted to our life in the motorhome last Fall.  Seeing some old friends and traveling to a few new places was very enjoyable.  And missing the ice and snow in the Midwest was a no-brainer!  We had a great time out on the road over the past five months.  Ferd continues to make a nice home for us and is comfortable for traveling.  Leaving the condo seems to have worked out without problems…at least for this winter. 

Results of the study are: We are still feeling fortunate to be able to move around in Ferd at our leisure.   We’ll continue to maintain this two-sided way of living for now. 

So anyway, we are resettled into our little place here in Indianapolis for a while. Unpacking Ferd was not fun, but we survived.  There are many projects on the to-do list for our condo.  One aspect we were considering was a new TV satellite or cable service. Whether we wanted to put the Dish Network TV satellite “on vacation” and get something different for home.  Check that one off! We investigated, evaluated, arranged and overcame the headaches of the process. We not only have a new Uverse modem and DVR, we are enjoying new selections on our Amazon account.  Thanks friends for the input we received this winter from those of you who were way ahead of us on these options. It’s great!

We’re also  busy remembering where everything might be and finding those things that we left undone or developed over the winter.  For instance, the weeds went crazy with all the rain. I’m pulling weeds and planting.  Jerry’s fixing indoor lights and planning a workbench in the garage.  No hurry though. We’re taking it slow.

One of the projects that was on my agenda was to scan, organize and backup computer files, especially the scads of photos that were in storage. I’ll never really finish this little endeavor.  But, I always have fun looking back at the oldies. 

So now, my brain’s busy coming up with other ways to have fun with these old photos. Some of you know I’ve started using these days-gone-by pics to create  cards with a little different wrinkle. Now, I’ve decided to reuse a few as Facebook cover and profile pictures.  I started with one of Jerry and me with Ole Yeller from a few years ago.  You can see it on my FB page. 

But all this scanning has to lead elsewhere, right?

How about we do some time travel to the past here on the blog?!  I’ll dig out one or two old photos each week for a post. Who knows what will pop up!

Since this special lady’s birthday is this weekend, I’ll kick off with Krissy.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Krissy.  Love you lots!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.

Road Tripping–Then and Now

What’s new? What’s the same old, same old?  During our recent 4-day road trip across New Mexico and Texas we got to talking about the differences and the constants in our rving lifestyle over the past nine years.  Since memory is challenging and in case we want to revisit this in another nine years, I think I’ll write down a few of those recollections. (We would welcome hearing other people’s experiences, too.)

First of all, technology plays a larger role in our day-to-day lives than in 2004. For sure!  Just to go with the flow, I decided to try using only photos I took with my Galaxy SIII smartphone for this post. I think the phone did pretty well. But I’m not going to include some of those on the highway at 65 mph through the buggy windshield. Yuck! My conclusion: the Canon digital camera is still  the winner, even if less convenient.

Speaking of phones, in 2004 when we started our fulltime rving we had one dumb cell phone with limited minutes.  We even used a calling card sometimes for long distance. In order to communicate by email we found the local library.  We tried using the Verizon Internet service through our cell phone, but it was so slow you could prepare and eat dinner while the email downloaded.  Within our first three years, we found first the Hughesnet  satellite Internet dish and then the Verizon air card, amping up the speed and convenience as we went. 

Here I sit using the Internet through our air card in the motorhome, while Jerry reads his Twitter account feeds and Instagrams…very quickly. Oh, now I see he’s watching Netflix on his iPad! And we text with our family and friends whenever we feel like it. I know, everyone relates to this stuff!   Having two smartphones, two iPads, two laptops and two GPS devices for one couple of Baby Boomers is probably just a sign of the times, right?  We notice that we now consider whether a parking spot for more than one night has good Internet reception. Also, we were noticing as we traveled I-10 and I-20 in Texas this time, after a couple of years break, that the digital signs along the highway have this message: “You Talk, You Text, You Crash.” That’s a new one. But not surprising.

Also on I-10 in Texas we were required to stop at one of the border patrol stations. (Not near the border.) There we were asked if we were American citizens. Do you remember when you could drive across southern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona without someone stopping you to ask that question? My question is: What if I’m not an American citizen? Can I not travel on that road? Will I have to prove my reason for traveling there? Oh, this is not a political statement….just thinkin.

Another sign of the times that we specifically noticed between Pecos and Fort Worth, is the booming oil exploration. We stopped at the Escapees RV Park in Pecos. Previously we would have been one of four or five rvs parked there.  We wondered if the park would survive. Now, it is bulging at the seams with trailers housing workers, and additional parks have sprung up. Pecos used to be just so sleepy, but this industry has given it a wake up call. The affects of the pumping rigs stretching along that path of west into central Texas are everywhere. Business must be improved for many. Although judging from the trash along the highway and folks working at the rv park, all the change may not be welcomed by some residents. Our accommodations were adequate. We just had more company.  

The next overnight stop in west Texas, at a WalMart in Eastland, reminded Jerry of an early change we made that progressed our rving lifestyle considerably.  That’s solar energy. We learned within the first few months that we wanted to have solar panels so we could be free to park without hookups, “boondocking.”  By the time we switched from our fifth-wheel to a motorhome in 2006 we had 640 watts on the roof.  Solar energy definitely made a difference, brought us to many more convenient and scenic places… comfortably. Not only one-night stopovers along the highway, but we couldn’t have had the same experiences soaking up the scenery in all parts of the U.S. and Canada without it. 

What about other changes on the road? Costs have risen, but we’ve developed money-savers as well. When we sold our “stick home” and became gypsies fuel was about 1/2 the cost that it is today.  This has resulted in some people traveling less, or not at all.  For us, although our savings account isn’t as high as it might have been, we wouldn’t trade the experiences for the extra bucks. On the other hand, since we began this lifestyle we’ve learned a lot about how to save on overnight parking fees.  Not only do we sometimes stop at WalMarts for quick overnights and shopping, but we joined the Elks a few years ago and enrolled for Jerry’s “Golden Age Passport” as soon as he became 62. We find Elks lodges in many towns that are convenient, friendly and reasonably priced or free.

Using the “old guys pass” (as Jerry calls it) at Corp of Engineers parks can be a double plus.  It allows 1/2 off the regular fee and we haven’t found a park yet that wasn’t roomy, clean and pleasant. Right now, we’re in the East Fork Park at Lavon Lake near Wylie, Texas, where our full hookup spot is $14, just up the hill from the lake. (See photo right.  This photo was taken a little late and distant for the smartphone camera, but you get the idea.)

Lastly, we can’t end our thoughts on parking without mentioning the uncounted number of special parking locations that generous rving friends have shared, helping these nine years develop in many directions.  These gems have not only saved us money but made these years that much richer from the experience. 

Well, that’s all the contrasts, then and now, that we came up with as we traveled this section of the road.  We’ll probably add to the list as we continue on our way in a couple of days.  But one thing is surely clear. One of the best changes in these nine years are all the great people we’ve met.  Thanks RVers for being friendly, sharing and fun.   

 

Thanks for visiting with us at Hurley Travels!

Returning to Sidewinder Road

There are places in our lives that draw us back.   You know, a beautiful park, a comfy chair, a favorite walking path, a soft beach,  or even a peaceful corner of the local library. I hope everyone has a few of these places.

Most rvers that we know could make a short list of the chosen places they return to, or hope to at some time in the future.  The desert area off Sidewinder Road, west of Yuma, Arizona, is one of our spots. Why?  It’s the multitude of openness, the escape from the hustle and bustle and the view of the surrounding mountains and desert. There are stupendous sunsets, too.

So, here we are… back again.  We’re enjoying the peace and scenery at Sidewinder Road. Can you see Ferd and Ole Yeller off in the distance on the left side of this photo? I took this shot on a walk in the evening.

Knowing that some friends were probably  parked here was another bonus for this stop.  They are across from us in the photo. 

As anyone drives down the road they see groupings, or individual rvers, who picked a temporary home and are sharing this vast space. We can have as much company or privacy as we choose, and just hang out for a while in the warm climate.  Civilization is just close enough;  any kind of shopping, eating or entertainment is available by traveling about 15 miles into Yuma.  We are fond of the rumble of the train that runs by in the distance occasionally.  People go out to play on the trails or to do geocaching or hiking in the area. And sometimes a neighbor passes by on the way into town or to take the turnoff a few miles down the road to the Algodones, Mexico border crossing.  

Tomorrow we will be going to Yuma to visit with ten friends for the afternoon.  Karen and Mickey Bennett, Kaaren and Bill Payne, Jan and Chuck Moore, Ron and Sharon Mead and Jack and Jeanne Albers are all good people who share the rving lifestyle. They are in this area of the country for various amounts of the winter.  Each of these returners could tell their own tales of time spent at Sidewinder Road. 

How fortunate we are to have the opportunity to come back here as we move along in our journey. 

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Stay safe!

A Friendly Day in Congress (AZ)

When people reach out to include you they make you feel so good.  That’s how things are going here for us.  We have been visiting with our friends, Jerry and Dee Thomas, at their place in Congress, Arizona , at North Ranch RV Park.  It’s an outgoing group of folks that make this their home for various amounts of time during the year. (These guys to the left are included in that group.  But, hold on. We’ll talk about this splendid vehicle later.)
This morning Dee invited a few girls to her house for Christmas cookie decorating. She baked Jerry’s great grandmother’s cookie recipe, about five dozen delicious sugar cookies.  Then Marla and I got to create designs with icing and sprinkles.  Part of the fun was licking the delicious icing off our  fingers, of course. The guys took care of various “projects” all day long, too.  There always seems to be a project or two.  But first and last, there’s lots of good conversation, discussing the how to’s and why not's of it all. 
As we move around the country we are blessed to encounter people that are outgoing and enjoy life. This afternoon, as we were heading back to the lot where we’re parked, we stopped to say hi to Marla and Rick and found we had a mutual friend from their hometown of Sheridan, Wyoming.
By the early afternoon we had shared stories, sampled cookies, tweaked motorhomes, shopped for Christmas groceries and retrieved packages and mail from the local post office.  We received Krissy’s Christmas baked goodies gift today.  We aren’t finished sampling the new assortment for this year. But I have  to say the lemon truffles are exquisite.  And Jerry still loves the spiced nuts.
And, oh yeah, there was even time today for Jerry (Thomas) and his brother, Tom, to relax and reminisce as they looked cool in their family heirloom truck, “Big Red.” This 1955 Dodge (in the photo at the beginning of my post) worked for the Thomas's in their RV park business for many years.  I think that this vehicle might tell a myriad of tales of these two with their Dad back in Ohio.  Memories!
Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.

Death Valley National Park–A Site To See

We recently enjoyed a few days in one of the most scenic and surprising places we’ve been lucky enough to visit.   Death Valley National Park is vibrant, colorful and diverse…even if it is the hottest place in the world.  We only covered a portion of the 3,000,000 acres, but we sure did get our eyes full of spectacular scenes. 
We chose to spend our time in the southern area of Death Valley, taking in that section of the canyons, views of the valley and mountains and interesting history and geology. We camped in Furnace Creek Campground where there are water and sewer hookups available at a reasonable price of $18, only $9 for us Golden Age pass holders.   From there we were conveniently located for the sites we chose. (Oh, BTW, if you see a promo for this national park, look for us at the information kiosk at the visitors center.  They filmed us as we used the self-help presentations for the park.)
To start off our Death Valley exploring, how about seven miles into Echo Canyon?!  Ole Yeller carried us easily over the mushy gravel trail as we were enjoying being out in the open again.  There are wind and rain-carved, colorful walls all the way through the canyon, displaying the results of millions of years of earth movement and exposure of the layers of minerals.  Sunshine and 60s made it a pleasant morning, ending with our lunch back at the entrance to the canyon with the valley stretched out in front of us. 
Our next path was through Twenty Mule Team Canyon with its caramel-looking mountains.  Some people describe them as mudhills. (Below)  We were curious about the makeup of these chalky-looking hills. They have a high clay concentration. When you grab a piece it crumbles in your fingers.  We could imagine the mule teams pulling the wagons of borax during the mining period in the late 1800s.  In the Death Valley Museum in the park we saw examples of the large wagons and other equipment used in mining and processing this product in these hills.
The next destination we chose was the Artist Drive located about 20 miles down another highway within the park.
Wow! The name of this four-mile road tells the story.  It winds through a continuous array of shades, almost as though an artist was gathering various paints for a piece of work.  At one point a road sign points to the Artist Palette where you can stop to view the mounds of greens, tans and rusty-reds of this volcanic formation.   As it turned out our timing was just right.  We came through between 3 and 4 pm, ending our drive just as the sun dropped behind  mountains to the west.  The natural lighting was bringing out the best in those shades of nature. Then, as we stood watching the lights went out and all the colors were subdued.
On another day in the park we decided to take the 52-mile-round-trip up to Dante’s View.  This was stupendous!    The view is breathtaking. (That’s the first photo as I began this post.) At the top you are 5500 feet above it all, with a view of the mountains sloping up from the valley.   But there is definitely a scary and chilly feature of this location.  We were battling very strong winds with a 15-20 degree drop in temps as we tried to stand at the viewpoint. Here I am trying to hang on to my hat and keep my footing at my wonderful hubby tells me to stand next to the “keep back” sign. But it was exhilarating and fun up there.  
From over-the-top to the underside – our exploration went to the Devil’s Golf Course, where the evaporated lake formed crusty mounds of salt down in the bottom of the valley.   These crustaceans are so eerie and unique. We just had to touch those rough, frozen,  mounds to sample the salt.  Lastly, we traveled about five more miles down the road to Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. There we took a walk out on the expansive salt floor. Here the erosion from the surrounding mountains has formed a 9,000 ft. basin of sand, silt, gravel and salt.  This is yet another unique experience, standing on a solid, smooth, foundation of what appears to be packed salt.  Occasionally a pond will survive after a rain and provide a home for small creatures that can somehow live in the saltwater. Today there was a small pond bubbling at the edge of the salt flat.
We were very impressed with Death Valley National Park, even though we took in only a portion of what’s there to enjoy. This is, for sure, a place we would revisit.  Below is a shot of the mountains as we stood at the Devil’s Golf Course.  In the foreground you can see just a small part of the dry lake bed of the valley that forms sharp, crusty, salty towers as the wind and rain do their thing over thousands of years. 

Thanks for spending some time with us in Death Valley.  Stay safe!

Which Way Did They Go?

Here we go again, on the road for the winter.  But this time there’s a new twist. Now we’re leaving a home and belongings behind after seven years of living within our rv only.   The reorganizing and planning for two places could be a little like Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter. Who knows which way to go?
Another new twist this year -  we were glad to have gatherings of family and friends in our home as we approached our departure.  Jenny’s November birthday celebration at our house was very nice.  As well as we were fortunate to have the chance to gather all of the Niehaus clan.  Special times and good memories.  Now, if only I had remembered to save my photos from these events to my cloud storage I could add a few of them to this blog post that I’m writing down-the-road in Oklahoma.  Oh well, just a small glitch. If they do turn up when I dig out my backup hard drive, somewhere in Ferd, then I’ll post an album just for the fun of it later.
So, which way did we go?  We’re venturing toward Arizona through Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico.  The trip has been sunny and 60-degrees as we traveled I57 and I55 south to I40 west.  The first two nights of our trip we’ve parked overnight in WalMarts. Here’s a photo Jerry took early yesterday morning in Conroy, Arkansas, while I was still asleep. He’s taking an early morning check of the neighborhood.   Really, he just made a fresh donut stop inside the store.
For tonight’s stop, we chose an Elks Lodge.  We are situated nicely in Midwest City, Oklahoma, just east of Oklahoma City.  For $10, and our Elks membership, we have 30 amp electric and water available.  It’s a friendly, roomy, clean location.  Here’s the humorous part… As I write this the jets are skimming over the top of the motorhome on their approach to the airport that’s just on the other side of the trees across the road.  What’s really interesting is that during the time that we located this parking area, discussed the parking with the maintenance man living on the premises, unhooked our Jeep, maneuvered into our spot, hooked up our electric and got comfortable inside.. there were no planes arriving.  There isn’t any sign of the airport that we noticed at all.  Then as we were relaxing and discussing what we might like for dinner, we heard a sound in the distance that could have been a train.   We looked out the window as the sound grew louder,  just in time to see the bottom of this airplane go over our rig and descend on the other side of the trees. Wow!  Surprise! Hilarious!   
What can you do.  Just get out your cell phone and try to catch a shot I guess.  Another day in Hurley Travels.  Thanks for visiting with us.  Stay safe.

Lockport, N.Y.- The Flight of Five and Our Flight Southwest

Did I say we were glad we chose Lockport as our home base for this New York trip?  Not only is the Elks lodge a $10 bargain, with 30-amp electric, water and nice, quiet surroundings, but we found several great restaurants and interesting places to investigate.  We were pleasantly surprised to find the Erie Canal with walking path is just across the road from our spot.  And Lockport, it turns out, is the largest lock site on the 363-mile Erie Canal system. This was the first transportation system connecting New York City with the Great Lakes.
The other day we decided to allot our day for exploring the history of the locks, taking the boat ride on the canal to experience the locks first hand and discovering a local restaurant.  We were successful, almost.  Guess what?  The canal boat ride ceased operating for the season a few days before we arrived.  Just our luck…again.  That would have been a nice addition to our visit.   But okay, there’s still a lot to see. The locks have their own history tour, etc.   We learned at the history center of the arduous work of building the canal, through the Niagara Escarpment.  The Flight of Five is the system of five locks that were built in Lockport to let boats travel from Buffalo all the way to Albany, across New York State.  In fact, the day that we chose to take in this history was the 187th anniversary of the opening of the Erie Canal that took place in Lockport in 1825.  The history center outlines in detail, including a simulated ride on a canal boat, the process of controlling the water so that boats can make the journey through 36 locks in the canal system, navigating a change in elevation of a total of 565 feet from beginning to end.  
The Lockport locks are still in use, but in the early 1900s the system of five locks was modified into two.  Now, Lockport is the only site on the western end of the Erie Canal that has an 1859 flights of locks parallel to a 1918 flight. You are able to see where the old locks were originally used with the tow-path for the mules to pull the canal boats along.
We learned that families lived on the boats in the summer season when they were operating their businesses up and down the canal.  The young people who  ran the mules that towed the boats or did other jobs were called “hoggees.”    Of course, tourist trade and recreational activities are the main use of these canals today in our day of trains, planes and trucks.  It’s interesting to reflect on this canal system and what part it played in developing industry and cities.  And, especially, to think of the people that played a role in each and every segment of these developments that impacted the entire country. 
But, so much for history.  Now it’s time as I am writing this for us to concentrate on current developments. Of all things that might occur in New York in October, we are watching the approaching Hurricane Sandy!  Our family is calling us with warnings and inquiries about the “frankenstorm” coming our way.  There could be 60 mph wind gusts near Lake Erie.  Okay! Forget the mail we ordered if it doesn’t arrive tomorrow morning.  Our wheels are turning southwest by noon.  By the time you are reading this we should be somewhere in Pennsylvania or Ohio, making our way to Indianapolis.
Thanks for visiting us at Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.

Good Times with Good People

Four people just going with the flow and enjoying whatever seemed like a good idea -  That’s how I’d describe our visit this past week with our good rving friends Chuck and Jan Moore.  They were passing through Indianapolis between family in Chicago and friends in Cincinnati.  So we lucked into having time with them for four days. 

We shared lunches and dinners, roamed in cemeteries searching for Hoosier ancestors, shopped for new electronic gadgets, toured the city a little, researched genealogy and challenged each other at pegs and jokers. Of course, some of the best times were our animated gab sessions  catching up on travel stories and laughing about life.

When we first met about three years ago in Quartzsite, AZ, at a Boomer RV rally, we all discovered we had a common interest in genealogy research.  So when Chuck mentioned he was seeking a few Hoosier ancestors nearby, we were ready to take part in his hunt.  We all had fun on our quests to locate graves within the spacious Crown Hill Cemetery in the middle of the city and at a remote, tiny family graveyard in Boone County north of Indianapolis.  And then we went downtown to search for a few more family history details at the Indiana State Library Genealogy Dept., make a quick tour of a few city sites and stop for lunch at Shapiro’s Deli with the yummiest corned beef sandwiches around. 

Over our few days of hanging out together we managed to squeeze in some shopping, jewelry-making for Nancy and Jan, discussions of campgrounds and rv life and plans for wintering in the Southwest.  We even found time for Mexican food at Toucan Annie’s in Cicero and Tijuana Flats in Fishers.    

How nice to have the good fortune to share good times with good people.  Thanks Jan and Chuck.

Sixty Days in Our Lives -- Seems Like Sixty Seconds

We all say it.  TIME FLIES!!!  Lately that’s been especially true for us. The last sixty days or so have included a myriad of happenings.  Let’s see…. renovating and furnishing our condo in Indianapolis, reorganizing, transferring stuff and storing the motorhome, traveling to and with old friends, garage sales, helping family with moving, family birthdays and friend gatherings, family history and family reunions.  A whole lot has taken place in about two months, but it seems like two minutes in time.

The major portion of those “two minutes” relates to our living situation.  I mentioned briefly in a prior post that we decided to take the step into owning a “stick home” once again.  We wanted to add to our options, having some kind of home in Indianapolis, but keeping the freedom to live the rv lifestyle for a number of months of the year.  So, we went on a hunt for something near our family that would be easy to maintain.  We found a condo that seems to fit, small enough not to be too demanding, yet big enough that we can spread out a little for a few months while we visit and take care of business.  About two months ago the process of making this place our own began.  One of the interesting realizations is that after 7 1/2 years of the rv lifestyle some of the skills or knowledge we both had acquired from maintaining homes for years had faded just a tad. I believe some pieces of that home-ownership know-how were overwritten with our rving knowledge: selecting the best roadways, conserving water and energy and finding out-of-the-way parking places.  But we are recalling fast as we get into our latest home projects. As you can see in our photo, the garage is our temporary work room and storage at our new place. Laminate flooring, cut loop carpeting, paint, repairing eaves and gutters, tree trimming and filling rooms of furniture – it’s all coming back to us now. 

However, there have been several welcomed interruptions to the home projects.  A couple of weeks ago we had the easy job of dog sitting for one of our grand dogs, Emma, while Krissy’s friends helped her move.  That was a lot of fun.

 

Then there was the long weekend that Jerry and his good friend, Mike, traveled to Virginia on a quest to find a new home for Mike. Mike’s wife, Suzanne, and their children, Lauren and Sean, will all make the move eventually.  For now, the guys had a scouting job to find a temporary home for Mike. They left Indianapolis on the day that Mike retired from the Indiana State Police after 32 years of service.  There are so many laughs when these two get together that the rest of us can’t translate sometimes. So, we know there were good times on this trip.  (Not sure that Suzanne and I have yet heard all about it.)

We are  excited for Mike on his new adventure with the National White Collar Crime Center in Virginia. They are fortunate he chose to make the NWC3 his next step in life.  He brings his expertise in cyber crime and his excellent training and communication skills.  Our next scouting job will be to find places near Fairmont, Virginia, for rv parking so that we can have our time with them.

And then there’s the short trip that Jerry and I made yesterday, along with about 100 other members of my Niehaus family, to the Pioneer Park in Mooresville, Indiana.  The annual Niehaus Reunion has been bringing my paternal family together since 1939.  The relatives ranged from my Aunt Charlotte, who is 99 and still loves to see all the family at these gatherings, to the tiniest three-week-old infant.  Some of us don’t always remember each other, but all it takes is a few smiles and nods and the conversations start.  The family historian in me was thrilled when one of my cousins from Virginia showed up with photos of my great grandparents who immigrated from Germany in 1885.  Having never seen their faces, I was grateful to my cousin for sharing. This reunion is a time for us to take an afternoon from our busy lives to say hello to many relatives we rarely see, outside of funerals. I am always glad when I get the chance to go.

That brings us to today…..Looking forward to visiting with our RV friends, Chuck and Jan, this week as they stop by on their travels through Indiana.  Next week we’ll get Ferd rolling again for a short trip to Ohio and northern Indiana. Another sixty seconds will pass, I guess.

Glad you stopped by at Hurley Travels. Talk to you later.

Catchin’ Up

Once upon a time there was a blog named Hurley Travels that in March 2011, unexpectedly and for no real reason, became a little neglected.  The owners continued to experience various comings and goings that might rate a post. But no, for over 30 days the words did not come.  A few thoughts would get written without that final click of the publish button.  Good ole’ Hurleyblog was patient, however, waiting for a nod or some kind of recognition.   It’s not for lack of subjects or inactivity that I’ve been silent.  Maybe I just needed to think for a while.   But now, I’m in the mood to get back to the forsaken, lonely blog. Finally, after the 35th day of isolation and lack of communication, we have a happy blog once again.  Let the posts continue…..

Our travels in mid-March were from our winter spot in Bushnell, Florida to Indianapolis. We arrived in Indy as a cold snap hit and had the blankets, sweaters and heaters out for several days.  As always, seeing family smoothed over the shivers from the climate. Besides, in late March after the basketball tournaments are completed, everyone can count on the budding of the trees and the grass growing to begin in earnest in these parts. The blossoming trees and lawn mowers are spreading those familiar sights, smells and sounds all around us now. We’ve shared good times already; meals, softball, rock bands and lots of gabbing. There’ve been more than our share of “something to smile about” happenings.  A few were photo ops.  Today’s post includes deer grazing in our front yard as we have many evenings here in Tim’s backyard. And also there’s the smiling little guy, Eland, who has some mischief in his mind at most times and it shows.  (Made you smile!)

But really, this 30-day period has seemed like a blink of the eye. In fact some of our visiting with friends and family has been curtailed by time spent on our newest project. What now?  Well……we are in the “next phase of the Hurleys’ adventure.”  We’ve decided to acquire a “stick home” (not on wheels) in Indianapolis.  So we started looking for a small home or condominium that would suit our situation.  The situation is: continuing to travel at our leisure in Ferd, yet having another place to spread out for whatever length of time needed, located near family.  Now that’s a gigantic consolidation, or summary, of a boat load full of discussion, debate, examination, considering various options and determining our next steps. After all is said and done, we are getting into our “next phase” at this point -- enjoying the hunt.

Over seven years ago when we sold our home and started our fulltime RVing lifestyle we didn’t have a specific plan or know where exactly the road would lead. We enjoyed the freedom immensely and had so, so many fabulous experiences, seeing a whole gamut of places.  The people we were fortunate to meet and revisit are a favorite part of those years of roaming, too.  We have no plans to end all of that.  We’ll be having more good times out there, as well as in Indy!

That’s the synopsis of our lives in the last thirty days.  More to come…..Talk to you later.