Day 29 – Thursday, July 25, 2013

We are still sitting in Twin Lakes RV Park in Mission, TX getting our final preparations completed. Today we drove to the border at Nuevo Progresso, MX and processed our temporary Mexico vehicle import permit and had our passports stamped. I also purchased all the spare automotive parts we will take with us on the trip.

We started the day off with coffee and pastries we had purchased from Poncho’s the night before; 1 strawberry (fresa), 1 pumpkin(calabaza). They were a little dry. Not our favourite breakfast. Julie notes “But we ate them anyway. Cha-ching on the old calorie-ometer.”

I decided to go into Mexico without Julie but she wasn’t too far behind. Julie notes “Hey Cam, your hat has made its way back home. Thanks for leaving it behind in Bucerias. I hope it enjoys this little trip.”

My first pedicure. Now I won’t have to wear socks in my sandals. J Aunt Doreen, It’s OK if you want to wear your socks in your sandals. J Julie notes “These gals were great and were very good at keeping the shocked look off of their faces upon seeing Brad’s virginal Canadian sandal toes. There was some excited chatter in Spanish and laughing regarding ‘el hombre’ and ‘rosa esmalte de unas’ (pink polish). I tried to learn some more words from a Spanish ‘Jerry Springer’ type show that was intermittently playing on the TV and the most I could gather was that something went wrong a 15^th birthday party and much crying and yelling ensued. I can now yell incoherently at Brad in two languages.”

The contest for today is to correctly identify which foot belongs to which person. HINT; Mine are the good looking manly feet. Julie notes “HINT#2, Brad’s are the least hairy of the two. And coincidence or not … someone else in the travel group has the very same ‘turquesa’ colour of nails. Name tags may be required.”

…over and out, the smooth footed muleskinner and his foot-in-her-mouth sidekick

Julie notes “Brad forgot to mention that he was in ‘huge cranium’ heaven. He found a hat shop in Mexico with hats that were actually TOO big for his giant melon. He had to down size a few notches from the biggest size. There must be some ‘winter Texans’ with some muy grandes cabezas. At first the shop owner misunderstood our grammatically incorrect ‘mucho grande’ attempts at describing what we wanted and was bringing out the giant sombreros that you can dance around. But he quickly surmised, after a glance way up at the melon in question, and had Brad outfitted in no time. Brad credits the new hat for the smiles and nods from the local senoritas but I think they were all just glad his hooves had been trimmed.”

Day 28 – Wednesday, July 24, 2013

We are still sitting in Twin Lakes RV Park in Mission, TX. Today we had an appointment for a brake job and suspension and drive train inspection at D & D Wheel Alignment. They were recommended to us by the RV park owner. It was a good recommendation. We met the owners, DJ and Sonja, and DJ’s father, Dan. Dan originally started the business over 30 years ago and named it D & D for him and his only son. What a great business to deal with and a great family.

They installed a new front left hub bearing for me and replaced all the brake pads, which I requested, even though there were a few miles left in the old ones. We made need those brakes through some of the high passes in Central & South America. Julie notes “honkchewwww, honkchewwww (our granddaughter’s pretend snoring noises) because that made me fall asleep. But I guess I would be pretty wide awake if our brakes failed as we were teetering over Machu Pichu. Although that sounds like a great plot for a National Lampoon Vacation movie! Admit it. Now you are humming the ‘Holiday Road’ tune.”

I must say the people and businesses here have been very helpful and friendly and customer service oriented. Julie notes “Agreed! We must be really good at looking like we are in need of help because people all over have offered assistance whether it be at the grocery store staring up at the aisle signs or trying to find a campsite at the busiest time of the day and year, and letting us ‘squeeze’ into their lane of traffic because we’ve made a little navigational error, to just pointing out some local highlights and good businesses.”

I purchased a set of used reflective triangles, which is a requirement in some SA countries, and a commercial to consumer propane transfer nozzle that will also be required when we need to refill our propane tanks. I purchased these from Norm of Adventuretours RV Tours. Julie notes “Ok this is like the filler that sports people have to ramble on about in between golf shots and Olympic events. Bear with us. I promise things will get more exciting again soon. In the meantime, imagine my thoughts when the first thing our tour guide hands us is this ‘interestingly’ shaped device! Hmmm….”

We did some shopping, after we got our truck back. We picked up a few needed items at Academy Sports & Outdoors store. We also purchased some gifts at Walmart to take with us. Julie notes “Norm encourages interaction and giving back to the people that we will meet on the way. He is a paramedic and has taught his skills across Mexico, Central and South America as well as held blood pressure and blood sugar clinics during these tours. At his suggestion, we have some donated clothing, treats, school supplies, some books, etc. And what we learn as we go will be immeasurable.”

For supper we tried a local Mexican restaurant called Poncho’s. They have a 5 person mariachi band but we only got to hear them tuning. Julie ordered the $4.00 margarita. J Julie notes “Having a few of these on a daily basis will definitely build my upper body strength. My body building goal is to go from ‘two hands for one drink’ to ‘one drink in each hand’. P.S. This is also the face I made when Norm handed me that phallic shaped object above!”

…that’s all for today, stay tuned to muleskinner.ca for the lastest breaking stories, the mulskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Tomorrow we head to Mexico to get some papers arranged. Norm has suggested a pedicure (after seeing Brad’s sandal toes) and a haircut (not sure which of us prompted that suggestion). Since my main gal Jessica won’t make the trip down here to Texas as I requested to give me a trim, Karen Schoeppe, maybe you can suggest a Mexican hair dresser for me? Bwahahaha! (If we had it we would post Karen’s Mexican hairdo from last February. Very fluffy, but actually a great cut after things settled down.) Watch for pictures of our ‘new Mexico’ stylish looks. And maybe guess what colour Brad will get his nails done.”

Day 27 – Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Today we had arranged to have a radio installed in the truck for communications with the small group as we travel. We are using a 2m radio transceiver (VHF) mainly on the 148.850 MHz frequency. It is a Kenwood. The range should be about 50km depending on conditions and terrain.

The install was done by Mobile Relay in McAllen, TX. Good service and a reasonable price.

It was hot again today. We really appreciate our air conditioning. It reached 38C. Julie notes “While Brad was off having his tech time, I was in the non-air conditioned park laundry room, ensuring that we all had fresh undies, etc. for the road. This will be happening more and more often if we follow Vickie’s advice and hang a pair of undies on those hooks at each campsite to find our way home! (Not the correct answer to the hook question by the way. How long should we keep you ‘hanging’…so to speak?) I am a bit of a laundry mat aficionado having visited many on our trips across country. This one was reasonably priced and did the job in good time but required a good wipe down first as the dusty breeze is the cooling mechanism and previous users left a lot of their personal dirt and soap piles behind. Ewww. I also chased away a few spiders that were mad I was disturbing their morning web building.”

We reheated some tasty BBQ’d beef ribs and added some baked potatoes and beans for a late supper. We used the RV park kitchen so we wouldn’t heat up the camper with our stove. We invited Norm, our guide, to join us. More trip discussion ensued. Julie notes “Norm commented ‘Real Texas ribs!’ so that made the Smokin’ Pit, Pit Master proud.’

…carry on, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Oh yeah, I just wanted to clarify that in spite of comments to the contrary, I have never worn socks in my sandals! J

Julie notes “Things I know after 2 weeks on the road…

• I am not getting any smaller and this camper bathroom is not getting any bigger. However it is nice to be able to rest your forehead on the wall sometimes.
• Palm trees don’t always make places exotic. And they don’t provide a lot of shade. They do make a lot of noise in the wind though. Kind of like a wild Texan animal getting riled up before his hunt. Not that my imagination is getting a bit riled up.
• If a guy thinks you are talking to him at McDonalds while you are gesturing to your husband right behind him you get to count that as him making a pass at you. (At my age anyway I am taking it as a pickup attempt. Luckily the men in question worked it out amicably and no punches or French fries were thrown to defend my honour.)
• Our travel iTunes song shuffle has played us around 800 plus songs so far. Some have made me cry, some tap and sing along (not always the right words, so Brad usually turns the volume up to help me better learn the words, I think), some make me wistful, some that used to make me wistful now make laugh thanks to my sister Susan’s recent interpretations, some seem to fit the moment we are experiencing perfectly (e.g. ‘Hey Mr. Postman’ played and reminded me I needed to mail my postcards just as a post office appeared out of no-where up in a tiny mountain community of Ophir) AND some just make me say WTF?? What’s This FUNK? And why is it on my iTunes?
• Do not yell out ‘Hey that must be the lone star of Texas!’ when that first star comes out. More stars will follow and others may think you a bit daft.
• Two weeks flies by quickly when there is so much to see. But we are always thinking of the folks back home in Grande Prairie and Ontario. Miss you and love you! Wish you could all follow the underwear trail and join us!
• And finally, people are really interested in the campground hooks so we will end the mystery. They are to tie your llama or emu to, depending on which mode of transport you prefer. But really they are for hanging a camping lantern. Of course! Right?!”

Day 26, Monday, July 22, 2013

For any new subscribers who want to start at the beginning, here is a link to the Day 1 post on March 27, 2013. There are navigation links on the bottom of each post to move through the days.

http://muleskinner.ca/2013/03/27/day-1-fort-nelson/

We have arrived in McAllen, TX (actually Mission, TX). This was our destination for this phase of the trip. We left Falcon Lake State Park this morning and headed into McAllen. Julie notes “As has been the trend, there was a fire ban in effect at the park so instead we watched the fireflies flit about and again a lightening storm was on the horizon. Thanks again Mother Nature.”

We spoke with the park warden about the posts and hooks and we have the answer. None of the answers we have received so far are correct but have kept us amused. Do you want to know what they are used for? (see yesterday’s post if you don’t know what we’re talking about.) Julie notes “The park ranger also helped us identify the 6 or 7 little bear shaped creatures that trotted across the road about a quarter of a mile from where we were registering. They were a family of havalinas or peccary. And not a gang of little juvenile delinquent bears sneaking up on tiptoe to commit some nefarious activities in the park, as was my theory. Google them for a good look.”

Before we left the park we spotted the elusive roadrunner again, up in a tree. And the “wile e coyote” was chasing him with a camera. Julie notes “Both are cute and quirky in their own special way. I wish Brad would do his hair that way though. Speaking of cool hairdos the park ranger also helped us identify the Caracara and Turkey Vulture (previously known as ‘Slickbacked Hair Vulture Guy’and ‘Hawklike wings Raven bird’. They keep updating these names I guess.”

We unloaded the camper, in the 37C heat of the day, once we arrived at the Twin Lakes RV Park so that we can have a few things done to the vehicle before we leave. This week will be spent making our final preparations before heading south. It looks a little lonely sitting in the camper parking area. This is an older RV park that appears to cater to a lot of Winter Texans who spend the colder months in the South. There are a few locals milling around but the park is pretty deserted. Julie notes “We are trying to learn a few Spanish words from billboards and signs. Things like ‘frutas y vegetales’ were fairly obvious. Brad seemed to be having a hard time figuring out what ‘augumento la busto’ meant though as he practically ran off the road staring at the picture on the sign.”

We “hit” a bank for some US cash and made some appointments for the truck. We also met our trek guide, Norm Yelland, in the park. He drove right up to us a few minutes after arriving. We had a few discussions about the trip and started some of the required documentation and paperwork. There is another person here, from Hawaii, that is going on the trek as far as Panama. He is just traveling in his car. We haven’t had the chance to meet him yet.

Below is a map of our route from Grande Prairie, AB to McAllen, TX. It looks much different than my planner route once my navigator got her own map book. J

…not much else to report, take care all, the muleskinner and his sidekick.

Julie notes “Hmmmm not much else to report eh? I smell something funny about that statement. Oh wait! It’s a skunk I smell as guess who got skunked on our first road trip crib game. Give up? His name starts with B. If you know the answer to that, leave us a comment.”

Day 25 Sunday, July 21, 2013

We left you for the night in Sanderson, TX Canyon RV Park. We were soon to discover that a railway line runs right beside the park. And because of a nearby crossing, the whistle is blown right at the campground. Can you say L-O-U-D! Thankfully, there were not too many trains during the night.

We headed south east following the US-Mexican border to Falcon Lake State Park, TX. We are about 100km from McAllen. We crossed the very scenic Pecos River. There is a very large presence of the Border Patrol agency along this stretch of highway. We were stopped at one Immigration Control point on the highway where our passports were checked. Julie Notes “Do we have any relatives down this way as the very nice border guard reminded us of cousin Matt. He was impressed with the size of Brad’s ‘unit’. I’m trying to get used to all the attention that Brad’s unit seems to draw. Women gasp and admire from afar, children point and men just come right up and touch it, walk around it, ask questions and then give me that knowing nod while Brad smiles proudly.”

A gravel trail parallels the highway and numerous 4X4 vehicles patrol back and forth. We were sometimes less than 1/2km from the US-Mexican border.

Squinting in the bright sun… Julie notes “This was the last time we got to say we were the coolest couple ‘west of the Pecos’ because this is the Pecos River we are crossing. Now we are of course the coolest couple east or maybe south of the Pecos. Luckily we are naturally cool as the temperatures were NOT! We met a nice young couple on this bridge from McAllen, Texas. They were excited and upbeat about their town and gave us ‘must see’ and ‘must eat at’ ideas.”

Border Patrol vehicle and gravel trail.

Soon to be replaced with a torrential downpour.

We stopped for a late lunch at Danny’s in Eagle Pass, TX. A Mexican franchise restaurant. It was busy with locals having brunch in their Sunday finest. Pretty good for a franchise and the portions were “healthy”. Julie notes “It soon became apparent that my grasp of the Spanish language was limited. The waitress did not want to know that ‘The turtle eats an apple.’ I promise you Alison, our daughter in law, and a Spanish teacher, that we will get serious about learning some more phrases. Melodie our granddaughter is more fluent at 2 years old ”

In Laredo, TX we passed by the very large World Trade Bridge. Julie notes “On the road we also passed ‘Harrison Ranch’ for our nephew Harrison. And we went through a little speck of a place called Dryden. And we gave a shout out to my Mom’s family who hail from Dryden, Ontario”

I stopped for fuel in Laredo. The temperature was 38C. I said to the clerk that it was pretty warm. She said “You’re not from around here, are you?” To which, I replied “No, we’re from Canada.” She said “Welcome to Hell!”. J

Our site in Falcon Lake State Park.

And finally, can someone tell us what these poles with a hanging arm are used for. We have seen variations of these in Colorado parks and now in Texas. There is one per site. We are stumped. Let us know what you think.

Julie notes “BEEP, BEEP, VAROOOOOOM! Look what we spotted and chased in the campground! The Greater Roadrunner. Kind of an uppity name for such a little guy and they apparently are not fond of the Canadian paparazzi. To add to our list of birds we have seen are the Common Hawk Feathered Ravenlike bird, the Kooky Cuckoo (not to be confused with my own domesticated Crazy as a Kuckoo for Cocoa Puffs husband) and a variety of the Invisible Bush Singing Bird. It may be a big year Alison!”

…carry on folks, the muleskinner and his sidekick “Beep, Beep!! Varoooooom!”

Day 24 Saturday, July 20, 2013

Today we traveled from Santa Rosa, NM to a little place called Sanderson, TX. We covered just over 400 miles. We started the day off with a homemade bagel and egg deluxe and coffee. The temperature was rising early in the day at our site. It was climbing close to 30C even before we got on the road. It was somewhere in the mid-20’s in Sanderson, TX.

Our site in Santa Rosa Lake State Park.

Views near our site.

A little friend in the park.

We raced a train across New Mexico and even with a headwind and the truck camper sitting high, we won! Julie notes “The songs playing on iTunes seemed to be complimentary to our journey again. Cat Stevens was singing ‘I listen to the wind, to the wind…’ and we did too as we drove into it. I am thinking Brad is glad now that I talked him out of buying that giant long horn steer hood ornament. I argued on the basis of wind resistance, not style (’cause nothing says style like horns or other bull parts on your truck) and he agreed.”

We stopped in Roswell, NM to visit with family but we couldn’t find them. Julie notes “That was the gas station attendant I think, photo bombing our picture. Finally someone who’s head is bigger than Brad’s!”

Julie notes “Even these Roswell children couldn’t help us find our relatives. They were polite but on the quiet side.”

Running with the bulls in Roswell, NM. Julie notes “Brad said as we left the campground, ‘We have to hit some banks today. I thought he meant Bonnie and Clyde style. The long arm of the law, and his bull, chased me down.”

Lunch on the road compliments of the sidekick. Julie notes “Is that still spinach in my teeth from the other day?”

After lunch, we headed on through West Texas. It is a barren, desolate place filled with oil wells, and a lot of industrial traffic. Not the prettiest scenery in the west, that’s for sure. Julie notes “Well any scenery is hard to compare to the lovely scenery he sees sitting next to him every day (above pictures being the exception). No trip is without its interesting moments. Earlier as we were driving by a big horse ranch of NM, ‘We’re going to Ride Forever, can’t keep horsemen in a cage…’ a song by Paul Gross (one of mom’s favourite eye candy). We passed other ranches with interesting names such as ‘Mile High Ranch’ – we were not tempted to join that club as the cactus are big and prickly here and Brad’s pretty sure he saw a tarantula on the highway. ‘The Roadrunner Ranch’ – we saw neither feather nor fur of the fast little Roadrunner nor his arch nemesis Wile E Coyote, but for some reason Brad spent the next few hours on the lookout for an Acme store to buy gadgets and gizmos and paint that makes rocks turn into tunnels. And of course there was the ‘4Dinkus Ranch’. We’re pretty sure we know some people who could work there. ”

…onward to McAllen, TX tomorrow, over and out, the muleskinner and his sidekick – thanks for all the comments, we love reading them. Keep them coming.

Julie notes “Ok get the scary deedah, doodoo … music going in your head for this crazy coincidence. Way back in the day when video clips were first being shared via the magic of email, there was one with a female alien walking out on stage singing and giant disco ball falls on her. She was singing ‘I Will Survive’ and get ready again with the scary music … Guess what song was playing as we pulled up to the Roswell gas station. If you guessed the Chantay Savage version of ‘I Will Survive’ you would be correct and probably totally freaked out!!! I am wearing my aluminum foil hat for the rest of the day until I am sure we are far enough away that they can’t read my thoughts. Or this blog. ‘Cause then THEY’LL KNOW I’m on to them!!!”

Day 23 Friday, July 19, 2013

We left our site in Mesa Verde NP in the southwest corner of Colorado and continued on our journey south and east towards McAllen, TX where we will spend a few days getting thing ready for the rest of our trip. Julie notes “We sure stirred up the weather gods with our impromptu rain dance yesterday. An impressive thunder and lightening storm stayed in the area for several hours at bed time. But the ensuing rain made for nice sleeping conditions. I sure hope none of those lightening strikes caused any trouble in the park. And we promise no more of whatever dance we did. Brad usually has a ‘no dance policy’ no matter the occasion. I blame him for breaking his own rules. Plus Montezuma’s Valley was one that we overlooked and Montezuma played a little, short lived revenge on me that morning as well, if you know what I mean.”

We had mostly a driving day today to try and make up some miles. We are currently in Santa Rosa Lake State Park near Santa Rosa, NM. The temperatures and weather today varied from the high teens with rain to the low 30’sC with mixed sun and clouds. The scenery here is very stark and dry. New Mexico is mostly a high plains area with badlands and other different geological features. Julie notes “New Mexico started off as Not My favourite as we drove through long expansive of No Not More sage brush fields! And some No Money populated areas that make me wish I had the New Magic answer to make it New Money. But New Mexico also had some gNarly Moments hiding around some bends that made me say ‘Nice Mounds Mother Nature!”

We traveled through Albuquerque, NM right at 5:00 PM rush hour. I missed our GPS indicated exit while the song lyrics “Don’t worry about a thing, every little things’ gonna be alright” played on the iTunes. I took the next freeway exit and circled around the cloverleaf and low and behold we were right where we were supposed to be. I guess Bob Marley knew what he was signing about. Julie notes “I knew Bob and my expert navigational skills would get us back on track. Oh Brad of little faith.”

After being bombarded with miles of huge billboards about Cline’s Corner services we just had to stop; plus I need fuel anyways J The billboards advertised casino, fuel, clean washrooms, ATM, Wi-Fi, a real traveler’s mecca. Although they did have all those things, except the clean washrooms, the billboards really oversold the facility. Too bad we forgot to get pictures. You will just have to trust us on this one. Julie notes “Everything from jackknives to bull horns and fresh fudge were advertised at this ‘must stop’ along the historic route 66. The only thing missing, in my opinion, were butter tarts but that might be a Canadian thing, right Quent? We did get a brief Wi-Fi moment to check on family and were glad to hear Orillia is still on the map at that point in time.”

Below are selections of pictures, from the sidekick, as we were motoring along. Julie notes “As you can see those weather gods were angry enough to follow us most of the day. They stayed their distance for the most part, but we got the message loud and clear. And after passing a farm we have another question to get answered before the end of our trip ’emus or ostriches’? ”

We had done some needed shopping earlier in the day in Aztec, NM at a Safeway. We picked up a couple of steaks and a pre-made salad for supper. After our gin caesars, compliments of the sidekick, we grilled up the steaks, made up the salad, and re-heated Julie’s leftover Red Lobster pasta seafood bake. Umm Umm Good. I also got to wear my eldest daughter’s father’s day present; a tee shirt with the logo “It’s all fun and games until somebody loses a wiener”. I love that shirt! “Julie notes “I have comments about this, but they may not be appropriate for the readers at large. We have found that camper life leads to a lot of ‘that’s what she said jokes’. Examples available upon request, Kristin. There’s no room to fit it in here. (That’s what she said….bwahaha).

…over and out from Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico. Onward to Texas. …the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 22 Thursday, July 18, 2013

After a good night’s sleep, we packed up and left our campsite in the Uncompahgre National Forest and headed further south through western Colorado.

Our site in the Sunshine campground. Julie notes “As you can see we didn’t have to ask for our money back based on the name. Brad has been entertaining me each morning by doing things like hitting his head on cupboard doors, spilling all the fresh washed berries on the floor, pouring coffee all over the counter… Still trying to impress me I guess. And I am learning some new Spanish words.”

A view from one of the short trails near the campsite.

We spotted some livestock in Cortez, Co. They grow them big here Rhonda and Michel. You should find out what they are feeding them. Julie notes “That’s a lot of Bull… And we aren’t even in Texas yet!”

We did some errands in Cortez, Co and then checked out the visitor centre for some information and free wifi. The chatty clerk talked so much that Julie couldn’t keep up with all the information she was providing, relevant or not. In the end, she got the information she needed for our trip into Mesa Verde National Park. Julie notes “Yes if you wanted to know how many bathroom breaks she needs when she goes these trips or her theories on the missing man in the park or a warning on drinking and driving she is the gal for you, all the while drawing circles and letters and numbers all over your map that you have no idea what they mean. But I took every other word she said and made a plan and it worked as you shall see.”

Before we could leave Cortez, Co I had to wash the truck and camper after our trip across the red mud road near Telluride. I miss our Canadian loonies and twonies. I didn’t know how much until I got $20 worth of quarters. Wow! That’s a lot of quarters. Julie notes “Luckily he had a belt on. It’s hard washing the truck with your shorts weighted down around your ankles. But funny to think about.”

The few pictures below are just a handful of the 117 shots we took in Mesa Verde National Park, A UNESCO world heritage site. The place is really quite amazing and rich in Anasazi history. Julie notes “The word Anasazi is now being phased out and replaced by Ancestral Puebloans reflecting their current day descendants but they will always be the mysterious Anasazi to me. My name, if I had been born in this time (~700 to 800 years ago), would’ve been, Girl Who is Too Afraid of Heights to be any Use To Us or the shorter version “Toss’er’over.”

Park Point Fire Lookout – 8,572′. Julie notes “Our frenemy fire has visited this area a number of times but in its path it has uncovered archeological finds. Looks like we are doing some kind of rain dance here, or just scaring the out of country tourist who took this shot.”

Spruce Tree House in Mesa Verde NP. Julie notes “I am just going to say this was so amazing. I have read about these places and seen pictures, but you must come here to really grasp how incredible and interesting these places are.”

Julie right in her glory climbing out of an Anasazi kiva. After all the books she has read on the life of the Anasazi she gets to experience it in person. I think this was an amazing day for both of us, but Julie especially because of her keen interest. Julie notes “Ditto that!”

Cliff Palace

House of Windows

Square Tower House

Balcony House – I think?

We stopped at numerous other overlooks for some more amazing views of cliff dwellings.

After touring sites all afternoon, we treated ourselves to a delicious dinner in the Metate Dining Room in Far View Lodge. Julie notes “Metate is one part of the grinding tools the Anasazi used to grind their corn, etc. that they grew on top of the mesas above their cliff homes. See I retained a bit of info even after I drank that big prickly pear marguerita.”

We shared a Wild Boar quesadilla appetizer.

Julie had the recommended duck breast with polenta and vegetables. Julie notes “Fia, our lovely waitress, recommended this delight. We got to talking and she is from Peru and will be going home to do the Inca Trail around the same time as we will be at Machu Pichu. Wouldn’t that be funny if we met up again?”

I choose the market special with an Elk tenderloin, quail, and wild boar sausage with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables.

It was a great meal to finish of a great day. Although I may have had one too many J

…an amazing day in Mesa Verde, take care all, over and out from Morefield Campground – the muleskinner and his sidekick.

Julie notes “As we enjoyed our ‘regionally sustainable’ fare at this fine dining restaurant, the amazing view was further enhanced when a doe and her 2 small fawns leisurely wandered past the large picture windows. I am guessing she knew that deer wasn’t part of the market grill special for that evening. We don’t have photo proof of that but a young lad there excitedly claimed to have at least 40 shots of it on his camera!

Today we left our campsite near Vernal, UT and headed on some scenic secondary highways through western Colorado into the Uncompahgre National Forest. The highways are in mostly good condition (with one exception as you will see) as we travel on secondary roads through high mountain passes. The scenery today was varied changing from almost desert like high mesas to lush green forest. We also experienced temperatures ranging from a high of 35C to a low of 13C. We are camped in the Sunshine campground, near the Telluride Ski area, where the temperature was 14C; but the coolness felt more like home. We may have to ask for our $18US back though if we don’t see the sun. J

Our little visitor just before leaving Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT. Julie notes “This little fellow was enjoying the already heated morning and we were discovering why no-one else was parked at this high point in the park. The sun woke us early and we’re pretty sure we could hear the neighbouring campers singing ‘The Fools on the Hill, see the sun turning red…’. The early morning wasn’t a total loss as we had an opportunity to play a popular although sometimes rough, bedroom game. I know you’ve all played it and this gecko probably too. It’s called ‘Chase the fly.’ (Not to be confused with Spanish Fly.) At our marital stage, no holds barred slapping of your dozing partner is accepted (apparently). Extra points if you slap yourself with the same veracity. And just so you know, I won, with my frog tongue like reflexes. That fly did not travel forward with us, alive anyway.”

Highway scenery. Julie notes “We saw more amazing scenery and resting under the bushes we saw a few deer taking refuge from the heat. And a ‘loonie’ (single buck) grazing on a hill. Blurry pictures available if you don’t believe us. My restaurant place mat lists me as a rooster and I was to avoid rabbits. That has been hard as they are everywhere. From cute little furry reproducing units in the KOA campground to large, long eared jack rabbits in our campground yesterday. Then today a rabbit cloud appeared in the sky. Brad will back me up on that, I’m pretty sure. I need to find another restaurant with better place mat advice.”

Julie notes “Caught Brad running away to join the Navy. Hmm one too many ‘Women of Song’ tunes on the iPod or perhaps the influence of the ‘Village Peoples’ 70’s flashbacks. But they turned him away. His hair was too short apparently.”

Highway 145 east of Placerville, on the way towards Telluride, had experienced heavy rains which washed the red mud onto the roadway. They had plowed it to the edges however our truck and camper are now covered. We will need to find a truck wash tomorrow.

Julie notes “As we headed toward the mountains John Denver sang ‘Rocky Mountain High, Colorado’. This made me happy/sad. We miss John Denver don’t we Mom. And I miss my Mom. Hoping you are staying as comfy as possible Mom and are able to hum John Denver in your head. As I had mentioned Utah was Unbelievable but Colorado has been Crazy Cool. There is so much more to see in and do in these states, we will be back. The dinosaur kids out there should add Vernal, Utah and area to their ‘must see’ list.”

…carry on folks, the muleskinner and his sidekick

Day 20 – Tuesday, July 16, 2013

We left our little forestry site on the Hoback River and headed on secondary highways through Wyoming and into Utah. Julie notes “Not before Brad demonstrated how to spill a full travel mug of coffee but avoid the many electronics on the table. Quite impressive.” Our route took us through the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. We tried uploading yesterday’s post in Rock Springs, WY but it wouldn’t let us so you may get 2 posts today if we find accommodating wifi.

On the long and high highway through Wyoming, the elevation varies between 6,400′ and 8,400′ above sea level. Julie notes “Based on the love of log cabins and buildings through this flat part of Wyoming, we now understand why there are no trees almost as far as the eye can see. You would also want to be a horse lover here as beautiful ranches abound. We also saw alpaca or llamas. What is the difference? Maybe that is one of the many things we’ll learn in South America. (And then forget.)”

Wyoming – puts the ‘high’ in highway

Some of the wildlife in Rock Springs, WY. Julie notes “The Utah High School Rodeo was going on all week in town so businesses and organizations had decorated the bulls you see. Some very creative ones lined the street. Brad and I were denied entry into the rodeo. We are guessing it was because we were Canadian and possibly the fact that neither of us are sure we graduated high school. But definitely not because of how old we looked.”

…and some pronghorns. Julie notes “Oh give me a home, where the bison roam and the deer and the pronghorn play…” An updated version of ‘Holmes, Holmes on the Range’. If you had joined us on last year’s naturalist adventure through southern Saskatchewan you would’ve learned that pronghorn are neither deer nor antelope but unto their own pronghorniness. Hmm that doesn’t sound quite right but you know what I mean.”

The place mat in Rock Springs Chopstix Asian Bistro that we stopped at for lunch said that I was born in the Year of the Horse and that made me attractive to the opposite sex. I guess they were right? Julie notes “If it says so on the place mat, who am I to disagree? Plus I thought he was pointing at me and saying ‘gorgeous’. Then I turned around…”

We crossed the Flaming Gorge Dam. Julie notes “Dam it! I had a hard time getting a good shot. There was a fire in this area in 2002, took 20,000 acres, started by a vehicle spark they surmise. Once again Mother Nature is reclaiming in leaps and bounds.”

We found a site around 6:00 PM at Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT. We took a site up high overlooking the reservoir and surrounding mountain scenery. The temperature for the day hovered around the 30 C mark reaching highs of 35 C when we were in the badlands town of Rock Springs. People were friendly and helpful despite the heat. Julie notes “For our Ontario readers, this was more like blast furnace hot as compared to their steamy jungle hot. Wyoming Wowed us some more as we entered into the amazing badlands with its hoodoos and formations. Then we entered Uinta’s area of Utah where we Unanimously agreed it was Undescribably (it seems that’s not a word but it goes with my theme) Unbelievable in its beauty. We drove a road with 10, 20 mph switchbacks with a 9% grade and along the roadside there are signs with the prehistory of area i.e. which dinosaurs roamed, what fossils were found, where you would’ve been driving under sea with some giant lizards. Very neat, but not cool.”

Steinaker State Park near Vernal, UT. up high overlooking the reservoir and surrounding mountain scenery.

Signing off for today. Cheers to all our loyal followers! …the muleskinner and his sidekick

Julie notes “Flitting around behind us were the newly discovered Bigger Than Your Average Swallow. Sorry Karen S. No Blue footed Boobies, although if you were lucky last night you would’ve seen a Two-footed Blue Boobied Gal hot footing it in the outdoor shower. We also watched an amazing lightening show in the yonder hills in lieu of a campfire. Mother Nature and her freebies!”