We're Back!!

And each car had a horn

New Year's Eve ball at

Times Square

After a summer that seemed to last a couple of weeks, it is time to hit the road again.  To start off our winter travels, we decided to make a quick trip to New York City.  My brother, Tom, joined us on the trip and he rented a car (which meant he got to drive).   We meet at the airport and drive across Manhatten to our hotel.  No problem as we had a gps as well as google maps.  Well, the rapid transit is above ground with the roadway beneath.  With that, along with the very tall buildings, the gps could not get a signal as neither could the cell phone get a steady reliable signal for our maps.  A couple of times we had to retrace our steps and give it a second try.  We were never sure if we got the horn as that was a common occurrence.  Not only did we we get to see some of the better known sights of the area, we also got to meet and to visit some family that was virtually unknown to us.  An opportunity came up to attend a cousin's birthday party.  While we had visited with this particular cousin several times, we knew nothing of other members of her family.  What a thrill it was to meet them and chat with them.  We left with  promises to stay in contact.  To me, that means another trip to New York is a definite must.

After a very long day that saw us getting up at 1 a.m. home time, we left New York and headed home planning on a busy day as we were planning on heading south the next day.

Steinaker state park in Utah 

where we camped

BUT, they were predicting very strong winds so we decided to wait until morning to make our decision.  The motorhome was packed so we didn't need much time.  Watching the weather forecasts very closely (hoping we could trust them), the winds were to hit about noon and carry on through the next day.  That meant one thing - hit the road and beat the winds so off we went.

The first sign says "one way - 

1.5 miles".  Guess it's shorter

coming back

While we did encounter some wind, it didn't hamper the driving at all so we were able to get to Gillette, WY (almost a 500 mile day).  Although we did lose a roof vent along the way but it was likely incredibly brittle.  It wasn't raining and the temperature was pleasant, not a big problem.  We did stop in Casper, WY, picked up a vent, and half hour later we were on the road.

In the past when we drive into Gillette it is generally dusk and the highway is lined on either side with deer making it a very nervous drive.  This year it was not so - a few deer in the fields with numerous antelope but not along side the road.

Our plan as to spend a few days around Moab, UT.  Oops, that wasn't going to work as it apparently was like reading week and every parking spot, camping spot, etc. was full so what more could one do except carry on.  One has to love the signs "open range" which I wonder why as the land all seemed to be fenced.  Well, we saw cattle, horses, goats, sheep, and llamas all along the side of the road.  In fact, the only thing we saw inside the fence was deer!!

We came down to Chinle, AZ to do some sight seeing around Canyon de Chelly.  We did take a bit of a drive and the canyon is incredible.  More to see in the next few days.  

I hope everyone has a great week, until then...........