A Newsletter for those persons still shovelling snow in the winter
Volume 1 April 1998Number 3
The Mad Dash For Home
By Bill
For the past seven days we have been involved in a marathon of sorts on the way back to Iron Mountain. On April 15 (Tax Day) we left Marana, Arizona and went through Northern Arizona and New Mexico, and we've visited the National Parks we've encountered along the way.
Arizona and New Mexico are loaded with National Park sites, and for me, this was the time to take advantage of them. It may have been a few years before we go home this way again.
There have been 13 parks in the past 7 days. For now, the marathon is over, but we have two more Parks to visit when we hit Amarillo, TX, but that won't be for a couple of days yet. Because our time was limited, we had to hit those parks in a certain period of time, or skip them until another year. As luck would have it, the weather held through Flagstaff, except for the 4 snowstorms we drove through in one day, until we passed through heading east.
We've driven through snow, traversed a road that rattled our teeth loose, and climbed mountains in the heat with no oxygen to breathe. If this hadn't been so much fun, I'd have to say we were being punished for something. Sharon has walked on a 4 foot path which drops off to the canyon floor , 400 feet below, and never told me how scared she was, until after we were in the car and on the way back to the motorhome.
Since the second day we have had sore feet that just won't quit. Our feet from climbing and walking, have been sore from the beginning. Now that it's over we can look back and say..........What the hell is the matter with us anyway.
"MAD DASH"
The 13 parks in 7 days, (which were almost 13 parks in 6 days) were an experience to say the least. Included in the "dash" were:
April 15
Montezuma Castle NM, AZ
Tuzigoot NM, AZ
April 16
Sunset Crater Volcano NM, AZ
Wupatki NM, AZ
Walnut Canyon NM, AZ
April 17
Petrified Forest NP, AZ
April 18
Canyon de Chelly NM, AZ
Hubbell Trading Post NHS, AZ
April 19
Chaco Culture NHP, NM
Aztec Ruins NM, NM
April 20
El Malpais NM, NM
El Morro NM, AZ
April 21
Petroglyph NM, NM
. MAIL CALL
Receiving our mail this winter has been a mixed blessing to say the least.. We are using the Family Motor Coach Association mail forwarding service. To be fair, all of our problems have been caused by the Post Office and not FMCA.
At first, we didn't leave enough time to get our package so we had to stay an extra day for it to come in.
In Brownsville, I went to the main Post Office and they have a metal detector in the foyer. The 2 block walk back to my car was after I tried to have the guard hold my jackknife for 20 seconds, and he refused. And then I found out that General Delivery is picked up at a different branch. I was real happy.
In Big Bend National Park we didn't need identification because the clerk said, "If you can spell that name, it must be yours." We laughed.
In Quartzite we stood at an outdoor window to pick it up. One woman told us not to get there until ½ hour after it opens, unless you want to wait a half hour.
And in Apache Junction you have to take a number. When I walked in I took number 123 and they were now serving number 92. They also have benches in Apache Junction for people to sit down when they wait.
In Marana, Arizona the mail which usually came on Saturday, finally got there on a Wednesday. We wouldn't have minded much except we didn't want a lost envelope a week before we left for home. We didn't have a clue how we would get it from there.
LAST ISSUE THIS YEAR
"Troubles"
Well, we haven't even gotten close to home and the troubles have already started. The day we woke up to go to Chaco Culture the furnace died and the transmission pump on the car went kaput. We thought it might be another fuse so I immediately looked for that. No such luck. We disconnected the pump and are now letting the car run in neutral while we're travelling. It is really the only option that is open to us at the present time. We ran the furnace for the first time in 2 days last night and it seemed to work all right., So I guess we'll just have to limp home with our love to keep us warm. Oh Boy !!
Getting our Kicks on Route "66"
During the past week we have enjoyed an occasional crossing of the "Old Route 66". Since we left Flagstaff, Arizona we've kept our eyes glued to the sides of the road for the rare glimpse of buildings which were a great part of the history and legend. But nowhere were we more surprised than when we entered Albuquerque. A trip down Central Avenue through the downtown revealed a multitude of restaurants, motels and other buildings that one can only surmise were a part of "The Mother Road." In the last 2 days we have taken a few trips downtown, from our campground located on "66", and each trip has been an experience. Because we will be criss-crossing "66" from here to Chicago, we are hoping to see more of the nostalgia. We started this trip this year by stopping overnight at a truckstop in McLean , Illinois, but our first encounter with the road was a Route "66" museum in McLean, Texas in 1993. McLean, Illinois also has a "66" museum.
