Potholes State Park

We are here in Potholes State Park just outside of Othello WA enjoying our last day of this trip.  It is a beautiful day here.  There is one little glitch.  The park has not had any water since about 9:00 this morning.  It seems that the pump has no electricity.  Hopefully this will be resolved today.  It is 2:00 now.

Larry Paske arrived about a hour ago.  He and a friend came here to fish all week.  Gary is now enjoying some much needed (I assume) male bonding time. 

This has been a relaxing way to spend the last days of our trip.  I can't believe all that we have seen and all we have done over the past seven weeks.  It has gone by so fast and we have enjoyed every bit of it.
We both agreed that this has been a great trip and we are  pleased with how everything has worked in the RV.  So back to Olympia tomorrow and to  planning our next adventure.  Until next time. . . . .

Baker City Oregon

Arrived at Baker City Oregon about 1:00 PDT.  We wanted to explore some of the area as this was the major route for the Oregon Trail.  We visited the Oregon Trail Intrepretive Center. This was a very interesting museum with life size dioramas and interesting displays.  It took the Immigrants 6 months and most walked the 2000 miles to get to Oregon City and trail's end.  It's hard to imagine the rigors of that trip when we can now cross the same space in just a few days by car.  We would like to return when we have a little more time and walk some of the trails. As it was, we spent over 2 hours there.  You can actually see the ruts the wagons left over 150 years ago.  We highly recommend it for anyone coming through Baker City on I 84.  We spent so much time there that we didn't see any of the other museums in town so this definitely rates another return trip.  We are heading up to Potholes Lake State Park for our last 2 days and then home on Saturday.

Looking across the valley on the Oregon Trail

Elkhorn Mountains

Trail Marker placed in 1943

Mountain Home ID

Leaving Wyoming

Wasatch Mt heading west

Mt Home RV Park

We left Rock Springs early this morning to avoid the high winds.  It blew hard and rained most of the night.  The winds were only about 15mph this morning.  It was much better than yesterday.  Stopped for breakfast at Evanston.  I think Wyoming wins the contest for wind over Lancaster CA.  At least in Lancaster we were sitting still.  After leaving Wyoming the drive got much better.  Stopped for the night in Mountain Home Idaho at a lovely RV Park.  On to Baker City Oregon tomorrow.  I can't believe that our first great adventure is almost over.

We left Denver today after spending a week there visiting with family and friends.  While there we recarpeted Mom's back porch and stairs.  She was very pleased.  We also went to Boulder and had lunch with Hayley and then explored the Pearl Street Mall and McGuckin's Hardware.  Yesterday we took Mom and Kathie to the mountains around Ward.  It was a beautiful day for a drive.  On the way back we saw about 10 Bighorn sheep grazing along the side of the road.  Have never been that close before. 

We left Denver this morning and headed west across Wyoming.  Big Mistake.  Had 25-35mph head winds and side winds all the way to Rock Springs.  And it is still blowing.  Don't remember it being this windy across Montana.  Besides, Montana is prettier than Wyoming.  May not come this way again.  Hope to make it to Twin Falls tomorrow but will see how it goes and how the wind blows.  For now, we are resting up in Rock Springs and listening to the wind.

Arriving in Denver

Multitasking over Raton Pass

We have arrived in Denver and will stay and visit friends and family for a week.  The trip was uneventful and we enjoyed watching the scenery change from the deserts of New Mexico to the mountains of Colorado.  We have finally solved the Antenna/Satellite dilemma.  Turns out there is a switch that needs to be on and then you need to do a channel search.  So we can now switch from our satellite stations to the local channels.  As predicted it was a fairly simple solution, just needed figuring out.  Mission accomplished.

Taos NM

We spent the  day exploring Taos NM.  Our first stop was the Taos Pueblo.  Navajo have occupied this pueblo for at least 1000 years.  We took in the sights and a little lunch in Taos.  And on the way back, we stopped at two old Mission sights. The first was the San Juan de Gracias church built in 1760 and the last was the Santuario de Chimayo church.  So we got a lot of local history, a very good lunch and another beautiful day.

Taos Pueblo church

San Jose de Gracia church in Las Trampas

Santuario de Chimayo church in Chimayo

Santa Fe

We are in Santa Fe.  The trip was uneventful except for some wind gusts that kind of took us by surprise.  East of Albuquerque at Grants, we passed through ancient lava beds that were produceds from  several volcanoes that were erupting up to 800 years ago.  At first it looked like someone dumped dirt along the road.

Today we spent exploring Santa Fe.  It is the oldest capital in America,  home to San Miguel, the oldest church in America.  It is a fascinating city with winding streets, a central plaza and adobe buildings surrounding the plaza.

San Miguel Mission Church

Oldest building

Front of the Govenor's Palace facing the central square

Town Square

We also visited the Loretto Chapel.  The story goes that the Missionary Sisters of Loretto  had the church built.  When it was finished the choir loft was too high and unsafe to reach by ladder.  All the local carpenters were unable to build a stair that would fit the space and reach the  high loft. The Sisters wanted music to accompany ther services, so they prayed a Novena to St Joseph who was a carpenter and when they were finished, a man showed up and built the staircase.  It has no center pole and is not attached to the wall in any way.  The Sisters considered it a miracle

We also explored the Govenors's Palace, St Francis Cathedral Basilica, and stood on the Old Santa Fe Trail and Historic Route 66.  You know you could "get your kicks on route 66"