Thankful for hot springs

We can't get enough of all these hot springs littered out west. Just spent the last three nights at them. The first was at an AZ state park called Roper lake state park. The hot spring was free if you camped at the park. It was awesome. It was at the head of a nature trail that led through the mountains.
Then, we hit up BLM land near Safford, AZ. This time it was completely free to boondock and use the two hot spring fed tubs. I wish there were more hot springs out east.
Here are a couple of pics of us in the Roper lake tub.

U ever seen a moth this big?

Pic. Word.

When your Catholicism comes back to haunt you

We went to the most beautiful placei yesterday. It was the San Xavier de bac mission in Tucson,  AZ. I was not expecting something so gorgeous.  It was divine.
It nearly got me to reclaim my faith. What a gorgeous mission.  Unbelievable,really.  There was this huge church with pews, candles and statues. Undbelievable.
There were annexes with candles and fountains,etc. Gorgeous.
It was moving. I could tell that the kids felt it too. Awesome.
Here are some.pics.

The grand canyon is big!!!

Not too much to say about it except that it is bigger than you can ever imagine and it is "pee your pants" amazing.
Pics :

Arizona is warm, but.....

It is so difficult to find a place to put the RV each night. You see, starting around this time of year all of the Snowbirds come down to AZ to hunker down for the winter. That is fine with me. I don't blame them. It was in the 70s and sunny today. The kids swam in an outdoor pool and Thanksgiving is next week!
What stinks is that every RV park we pass is for the 55 and over crowd.  No kids allowed- anywhere. It started to tick me off a little today. We were in a town with nearly 20 campgrounds and not one of them was family friendly.  Uggggh.
I understand that folks might want a childless experience. I mean,  I am often wanting a childless experience,  but it doesn't mean that is realistic. They are part of life. I mean, with 20 different RV resorts in one town, couldn't one or two of those be family friendly?  Is that too much to ask?
Geez...

Time to get off the Colorado Plateau!

I'll admit, it is truly amazing here, and I have indeed learned a lot about the fascinating natural processes which lifted the plateau and caused things like the Grand Canyon.  However, it's freezing cold way up here!  I can't believe I spend my days higher than the peak of Mount Katahdin.

We are heading down to Sedona today, and then on to Prescott, and then working our way south.  I am excited to de-winterize the RV so we can have running water again, but of course that means we'll be doing dishes and such again.  I don't think a couple weeks of paper plates and bowls has really made that much of a difference to our carbon footprint, all things considered (9 mpg, anyone?).


Goodbye, snow!
-Carl

The RV is looking pretty ghetto these days.

We didn't buy a new or even newish RV for obvious reasons; they cost a bundle. So,  our lovely Ruby is a 1993, nearly 20 years old. We have found out that some of the posh RV Parks wont even take us because of Ruby's age. That is pure ageism,  I tell you!
We think Ruby is pretty awesome. We have adorned her with many bumper  stickers and such. She has character and a wonderful personality.  She may not win the top prize in an RV beauty contest, but no doubt she would take the Miss Congeniality prize. And, doesn't everyone like the friendly, fun girl over the overprocessed, shiny fake girl?? Ha
Well, last week Ruby's door broke in a strong wind storm. She is being held together by some hot pink duct tape. It is all good and she looks smashing.
We have no idea what shape she will be in by next spring when we return. Hopefully, there will be some ghetto RV Parks that will take in our ghetto RV!

Casinos

The funny thing about my math geek husband is that he is very smart and applies his knowledge wisely. Take casinos, for example; they are scattered all around this nation, especially out west. Carl has figured out the odds at the slots and craps. He goes into the casino while the kids and I enjoy the various amenities like hot tub, pool, bee gees cover band, and he signs up as a new member. Every casino gives out anywhere from 5 to 25 free slot play to a new member.  Then, carl plays only that money,  gets ahead and leaves the joint. He has made near 100 so far which almost fills our gas tank! ! It is really fun. We have hit up about 5 casinos so far. We do all of our sightseeing during the day and the casino at night.  Oh, they also let you park your RV overnight for free and sometimes throw in food, gas coupons, etc. Neither carl or I have a gambling addiction so our plan of taking the money and running is working out great. As I write this, carl is filling up with gas and spending the 10 dollars he just won at the sky city casino. Good stuff.

First big holiday on the road

Halloween just came and went and it went off without a hitch. I must admit that I wondered if we could pull it off. Being away from home kind.of.changes things. Usually we go to the Haverhill library and then trick or treat at night in north Haverhill.
Well, this year worked out perfectly.  We were visiting some great friends in Durango, CO and it was an amazing place to celebrate Halloween.
First,  we went to.downtown Durango where all the businesses gave out candy to the kiddos. Then, we had some local microbrew at Carvers and on to a bit more trick or treating. The kids had a blast and got lots of candy.
At midnight in Durango there was a zombie walk down.main.street, but Carl and I didn't make it. We were exhausted.
Oh, I also forgot to mention that we decorated the RV for Halloween, carved pumpkins, watched a few Halloween movies, etc. It all worked out great.
Now, on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Two things I know.for.sure: I will not be cooking Turkey dinner in the RV and we will not be having a tree. Other than that, the sky is the limit.

Petroglyphs and pueblos

We are in the four corners area and loving it. There is so much Navajo, puebloan and Anasazi culture. The landscape is the polar opposite of new England. I love it out here. 
We went to Mesa Verde National Park where there are ancient cliff dwellings you can actually go in. So awesome. We also have seen quite a few petroglyphs, one of the biggest and best preserved being Newspaper Rock.
Here are a couple of pics.