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Tag: Arizona

22 September 2022

Arizona to Illinois for a groovy 50th high school reunion

water tower Downers Grove ILMy lazy summer days had to be over flying from Arizona to Chicago, Illinois for my high school reunion and all plans all seemed in place.

view W sunset clouds Skull Valley AZI wrote and scheduled two blog posts for the week and reminded my neighbors about being gone with Joann there instead.  Whenever I fly I spend at least two days all ready to go and filled with anxious excitement.  Travel by camper isn’t like that.

view W storm clouds Skull Valley AZJoann came by the day I’d leave and because of heavy rain we both left earlier than planned.

flowing driveway wash Skull Valley AZThe driveway wash was flowing but not enough to stop us from getting across.

Lynx Lake Prescott AZ

spillway Lynx Lake Prescott AZWe both headed to Prescott and met up after retrieving my new glasses for the second time at the parking lot for my shuttle to Phoenix airport that evening.  Then after lunch Joann drove us to Lynx Lake where the water was actually high from all the recent rain.

VA hospital Bradshaw Mts low clouds sunset Bucky's Casino Prescott AZWatched sunset from a hill where Bucky’s Casino offers a large view of town.  And back to my shuttle for a two hour ride to PHX.

Gaelyn & Sandeesquirrels on tree Channahon IL

This United red-eye flight was packed and even with a window seat and bunched coat for a pillow I didn’t get any sleep.  Thank goodness only three hours.  After a struggle to find my way out of the building my bleary eyes saw Sandee parked and waiting at 5:30am.  We both took a nap at her place and went to bed shortly after dinner.

view W I&M canal Channahon IL

view E I&M canal Channahon ILFelt groovy the next morning and went for a short walk along the nearby Illinois-Michigan canal.  The 96 mile I&M was dug to connect the Great Lakes to the Illinois River in the 1840s.

Blue Heron bird I&M canal Channahon ILGreat White Heron bird I&M canal Channahon IL

Although there is a sluggish current, this section is mostly wetland and I saw a Blue and Great White Heron.

Madison Elementry School Hinsdale ILLater I borrowed Sandee’s car to visit my babysitter from the 50s and other than the elementary school, nothing looked familiar.

Gals night out group shot 50th reunionThen we met at a restaurant for Gal’s Night Out.

Tivoli theater & bowl Downers Grove ILThe next night was a casual meet at an old Downers Grove hangout, Tivoli Bowl in the basement of the movie theater.  Lots of mingling and memories and catching up.  I saw people I remembered and more I did not, plus a few far out old boyfriends.

DGS Downers Grove IL

Mustangs banner DGS Downers Grove ILThen in the morning was a cool tour of our alma mater, Downers Grove South High School.

students in hallway DGS Downers Grove ILCouldn’t put a person in these new tiny lockers

It’s been added onto so many times nobody recognized a thing.

Happenings in 1972Sadly, 90 students have passed out of a class of 689.  One student will be added to the school’s display of “Distinguished Alumni” for her invention of the Marilu surgical tool.

DGS 1972 50th reunionThat evening was the official celebration with over 100 in attendance including students and spouses.  I even danced with our Homecoming King who is married to the Homecoming Queen and has been since high school.

Gaelyn & Judy

Lake MI Chicago skyline IN Dunes NPChicago skyline

The next morning I took off to meet a cousin not seen in probably 40 years.  She drove from Michigan and we met at the Indiana Dunes National Park.  We caught up like a couple old friends catching some rays on the beach, stayed the night, and went back to the dunes the following day.

IN Dunes NP Jr Ranger badge & book#37 Junior Ranger badge

In the afternoon, we had to keep on truckin’ our separate ways but continued talking about me coming to Brandywine Lake where she still lives and I used to vacation with my parents.

Elspeth Gaelyn Sandee shadows Midewin NTP IL

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie ILOn my last day Sandee and I were guided by fellow student and daughter of my Girl Scout troop Elspeth where she used to work at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.  She should have been a Park Ranger.  It was out of sight!

Gaelyn under Gemini Giant Rt 66There’s a very good chance that Foto Friday Fun won’t show up until next week.  I’m having a blast and decided to stay in Illinois for a couple more weeks and will still be very busy.  I will post more about the canal, dunes and prairie but right now, I’m getting ready to go to the lake and everything is copacetic.

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life, travel Arizona, Illinois, reunion 20 Comments
07 May 2019

The mishaps of moving two RVs

snow hoodoos valley Table Top Mesa Bryce Canyon National Park UtahI know it’s crazy because I travel solo and it isn’t easy moving two RVs but one is my home and the other my glamping toy.  Thus the tale of mishaps moving to Bryce Canyon National Park for the summer.

truck 5th-wheel leaving Yarnell ArizonaAt first I tried to find someone local to move the 5th-wheel but eventually called the person who lives in Utah and had moved it before.  He and his wife have professional and personal experience with RVs so I trust them.  The original plan was they would pick up and tow the 5th-wheel on Wednesday from Yarnell to their property in Kanab, Utah.  They only made it as far as Flagstaff and after fueling at Sam’s Club, on the way out of the parking lot heard a bang and saw a rear tire smoking so pulled back in the lot.  A rear spring had broken, or exploded into several pieces.  The local mobile service couldn’t get the part until the next day so they spent a chilly night.  Repair happened Thursday and just after noon they were on their way.  I am terribly sorry this happened to them, or at all, but am glad it was them and not me.  I’d have been totally stressed out.  Plus so grateful that it didn’t happen on the highway.  Why did it happen is difficult to say.  I’ve been bouncing that RV on roads for seven years.  Maybe it was an unavoidable pothole on I40.  Yes even though it’s under construction and being repaved it has almost more holes than before.  Was truly a relief to me these competent people had the problem under control.

propane tanks truckcamper Peeples Valley ArizonaI rolled out of Yarnell as planned on Thursday morning with a stop in Peeples Valley to fill propane tanks on the truck camper.  These are the new horizontal 5-gallon tanks I had to buy a few months ago because the originals from 1998 could no longer be re-certified.  However, this new design is a nightmare.  They are impossible to fill while in the camper even with my 90° adapter, the guy tried.  Finally called where I bought them and was told they have to come out and be filled vertically.  That is truly a pain in the you know what and I’ll never be able to lift them out and in because of my bad shoulders and lack of upper body strength.  Bless this guy’s heart he stuck with it.  But they won’t even fill all the way full.  Took him over an hour to sell me four gallons of propane.  That’s total in two tanks.  Not going to work.  I am not happy with this arrangement and now far away from the B&B Auto where I bought those in Congress.

sign leaving Prescott National Forest SR89 North ArizonaAfter a brief shop stop in Prescott I hit the road north about the same time my 5th-wheel left Flagstaff.

truckcamper treees clouds Coconino National Forest ArizonaMy thought was to camp at Sunset Crater’s Bonito campground but it was still closed for the season.  So I went boondocking not far away along with a few others who had the same idea and camped just out of sight of each other.

trees sunrise clouds Coconino National Forest Arizona

trees Sunset Crater sunrise Sunset Crater National Monument ArizonaAwoke in time to catch a soft sunrise in camp then buzzed to a trailhead in the national monument to see the sun rise over Sunset Crater.

Wukoki ruin Wupatki National Monument Arizona

Echo Cliffs clouds SR89 North to Page ArizonaAfter breakfast in the parking lot, I drove the loop road to Wupatki National Monument.  Stopped at Wukoki ruin then onward to Page where I dropped off some outgrown uniform pants for a friend.

sign Welcome to Utah SR89 Utah

Escobars Kanab Utah

Next stop, Kanab and an early dinner with Bill at my favorite restaurant in town, Escobars.  Mexican food that can’t be beat.

Later, while admiring the pruned fruit trees in Bill’s back yard I notice three flowering lilac bushes, lavender, white, and deep purple.  I love these and grew up playing under large hedges of them in Illinois.  So I buried my nose and breathed deep.  Might have been a mistake as I woke in the middle of the night unable to breath through my runny stuffed up nose.  Even allergy pills didn’t help the next day.

Saturday I blew through at least one box of kleenex and took a two hour nap.  Before the nap I called my tow people and was told the 5th-wheel would need three new tires as this break had screwed them up badly.  That couldn’t be done until Monday morning and afterwards the 5th-wheel would be towed up to Bryce.

sign Forscher German Bakery Orderville Utah

trees red cliffs SR12 East Red Canyon Dixie National Forest UtahRed Canyon Dixie National Forest

I left Kanab still sniffling on Sunday about 10am.  Made one stop along the way at the Forscher German bakery in Orderville.  I was starting to feel a little better but looked forward to a nap once parked in Bryce.

truckcamper trees site #4 Bryce Canyon National Park Utah

RV window view trees horses corral Bryce Canyon National Park UtahMy new home RV site was plenty big enough for the truckcamper but looked small and a tight fit for the 36-foot 5th-wheel with three slide-outs.  Thank goodness someone else was backing it in.  The forest view includes a corral with horses, mules, and at least one donkey.  The signal was just OK and intermittent.  I took a nap and didn’t go out until work in the morning.

truck 5th-wheel site #4 Bryce Canyon National Park UtahTwo motorhomes parked to my right, one where my truck was

Around 10 Monday morning I received a text that the 5th-wheel was pulling into the park so I left work to lead it in.  Took almost two hours to get the beast into site #4, an up-size from from my originally assigned #2 which is impossibly small.  Once in, it fit fine.  There are six sites, only four filled so far and the rest will be also.  Most national park site campgrounds, public and staff, were built long enough ago when RVs weren’t the beastly size of today.  Sadly, there is no money to update.  On the upside the site is level and has 50amp service.

After work I moved Sierra inside the 5th-wheel closing her in the toilet room so she couldn’t get out with open doors needed to transfer stuff from the camper.  I hooked up the fresh water dreaming of a shower in my own house.  But before I even turned the water heater on I saw water dripping from the bottom front and sides.  I opened the basement doors looking for pipe leaks and didn’t see anything obvious so turned the water off and went inside to find wet floor by the door and base of the stairs.  A very unhappy Sierra let me know she wanted out of the closet-sized space and when I opened the door I saw water flowing onto the floor instead of into the toilet.

That night I watched a couple of YouTube videos about repairing and replacing RV toilets and decided it was time to change this one out so ordered a new one from Amazon.  That means no running water until the new toilet is installed.  Also ordered a cat tree for Sierra.

snow trees corral sunrise clouds Bryce Canyon National Park UtahAwoke to a light dusting of snow on Tuesday and complete ground cover Wednesday.  Welcome Spring at 8000 feet.

inside 5th-wheel Bryce Canyon National Park UtahToo tired after work to unpack the house, I lived with the mess for several days.  On the weekend I made the space livable and discovered I own way too much furniture.

It is a lot of work moving two RVs but will be so worth it when I explore the area on my weekends.  Which, BTW, after another week of training is over will be Monday & Tuesday one week, and add Wednesday the next week.  Sure hope these are enough RV mishaps for a long while.

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RV living Arizona, Bryce Canyon NP, moving, moving RV, Utah 34 Comments
13 January 2016

Planning a road trip to Quartzsite

One of my favorite things to do is planning a road trip, and even better is going on one.  Bill, Sasha and I leave Friday for a road trip to Quartzsite, Arizona, via Nevada.

SashaWe survived a week in the camper during bitter cold temperatures over Christmas and agreed not to worry about presents for each other.  Well Bill did get me a comfy pair of down booties for in the house and I framed a photo of Sasha for him.  Our idea was to share experiences instead.  Of course my dream would be to fly away somewhere warm but that’s really not in the budget.  Especially after buying a new laptop this week.  More on that latter.

 

 

 

Sunset, saguaro & me reflection Plomosa Road Quartzsite ArizonaJanuary is a time when snowbirds should already be south, farther south than I am for sure.  Things are happening in Quartzsite, other than the RV and Rock Shows.  Fellow RVing friends who worked at some point in their lives for the Grand Canyon Association gather between the 17-23 on BLM short-term south of town.  I joined them last winter for a few days and got reacquainted with some folks and met some new people too.  The jello plan has us arriving the 19th and cooking dinner the 21st.  Everyone takes turn with dinner so I won’t have to cook for the other three nights.

 Jerri & Sandie & bloggers Plomosa Road BLM Quartzsite Arizona

Recognize anyone from last year?

Then there’s the second annual Bloggerfest on the 23rd and they meet in the same place as last year that’s BLM short-term north of town.  Was so fun last year to meet IRL fellow bloggers, many I’ve known online for years.  Plus now I follow a few new blogs after meeting new bloggers.  I look forward to seeing who shows up this year.

So that’s the why of going to Quartzsite.  What about the “via Nevada” idea?  It’s 277 miles between bridges over the Grand Canyon and Colorado River, that large obstacle to the south of Kanab, Utah.  One option to the southeast crosses at Navajo Bridge but first goes up to Jacob Lake at 7,000 feet and then through an equally high Flagstaff which just got dumped on with snow.  The other option to the southwest goes to Las Vegas, at 2,000 feet, and crosses at Hoover Dam.  Just before Vegas is Valley of Fire State Park where we plan to camp three nights starting Friday.  From the photos I’ve seen, the twisted and colorful rock formations, petroglyphs, and canyons will provide plenty of dog friendly—on leash—hiking.

On the way to Quartzsite I’d like to stop at the Lost City Museum in Overton, Nevada which preserves Native American artifacts.  Then continue south, cross the Colorado River at Laughlin and follow SR95, maybe camping on BLM around Lake Havasu City leaving about 80 miles to Q.  After that depends on our moods and the weather.  You have to know I’ll be looking for the warmest temps.

Because I use a PC in my 5th-wheel home I travel with a laptop.  Haven’t been happy with the Windows 8 (fooled with Shell 7) ASUS since I bought it in South Africa after my other laptop was stolen.  Also had a tiny ASUS netbook with my favorite Windows 7 but it’s too slow for photo processing and multi-tasking.  I traded them both in at Best Buy towards the purchase of yet another ASUS with, unfortunately, Windows 10.  Oh boy a new operating system to learn.  So far better than 8 but not as good as 7.  Been downloading Windows Office, Live, Solitaire, and Picasa.  Still have to get Lightroom but having problems connecting to my phone’s FoxFi hotspot with often limited signal and the equally shitty signal here at the RV park.  Hope this new laptop is as ready to travel as I am by Friday.  But if you don’t hear from me, it probably wasn’t packed.

Bloggerfest 2016Look for me in Quartzsite.

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Hi, I’m Gaelyn, the Geogypsy

I retired after 29 summer seasons as a Park Ranger, traveling solo for 40+ years. My passions include travel, connecting to nature, photography, and sharing stories.

I started exploring US National Parks in 1977 and 20 years later became a seasonal Park Ranger.  I’ve lived full-time in a RV for 30 years working summers and playing winters.  I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow old, other than grow up.

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