Deming, New Mexico

 

After two weeks on the road, we finally made it to our winter destination. We are staying at the LoW-HI RV Ranch in Deming, NM.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

After an early start yesterday, we made it into Albuquerque in the early afternoon. The winds were forecast to be high again, but we made it over Raton Pass before they became very strong. Last night we had dinner with my daughter Evon and granddaughter McKenzie and her boyfriend. We may stay at the Enchanted Trails RV Park in Albuquerque until next Monday.

Winds

 

After a 7-hour drive, we made it into Trinidad yesterday. This was supposed to be just a one-night stop. But we have strong winds today. I don't feel comfortable pulling a 20 thousand pound trailer over Raton Pass down to Albuquerque. The winds here are at a study 20 MPH gusting to 40. In Raton, they are 35 MPH. So we are going to opt into staying put today and heading out Wednesday morning.

Trinidad, Colorado

 

Today is day 7 of our 6-month winter trip. Today's destination is Trinidad, Colorado. Trinidad has a colorful history and some colorful characters.

Trinidad was first explored by Spanish and Mexican traders, who liked its proximity to the Santa Fe Trail. It was founded in 1862 soon after coal was discovered in the region.

In the 1880s Trinidad became home to a number of well-known people, including Bat Masterson along with his kid brother, James, who served as marshal and deputy marshal, in the spring of 1881. A year later, following the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Wyatt Earp joined his old friend, Masterson, to Trinidad to cool his heels. Even Billy the Kid spent time near Trinidad. In the early 1900s, Trinidad became nationally known for having the first woman sports editor of a newspaper, Ina Eloise Young. Her expertise was in baseball, and in 1908 she was the only woman sportswriter to cover the World Series.

In recent times, Trinidad was dubbed the "Sex Change Capital of the World", because a local doctor had an international reputation for performing sex reassignment surgery. In 2015 Trinidad started to experience a new boom due to the marijuana industry. The town raised $4.4 million in tax revenue from $44 million in annual marijuana sales, about 5.13% of the state's total sales.

Yellow Brick Road

 

Today, Nancy and I will take the Yellow Brick Road to Liberal, Kansas, to visit Dorothy's House of Wizard of Oz. The house is located at the Seward County Historical Museum. The museum also houses the Coronado Museum. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján, aka Vázquez de Coronado, was the guy who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542 in search of the Cities of Cíbola, often referred to now as the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.

Dodge City, KS

 

We got an early start this morning, heading from Junction City, Kansas, to Dodge City. Along the way, we drove past several fields of commercially grown Sun Flowers. Kansas is the Sun Flower state. We intersected the Santa Fe Trail in Great Bend, KS. Now we are on some back roads. The truck route bypass through Great Bend started as a gravel road. While in Dodge City for the weekend, we are staying at the Gunsmoke RV Park.

Dodge City, KS

 

Today is day 5 of our 6-month road trip. We had a good visit with my second cousin's widow. I've got more addresses now of other relatives that I lost base with and haven't seen in years. The small town of Marion hasn't changed much since I lived there in the early 70s. Some streets are still paved with brick. A new house has been built where my great-grandmother's house use to be. The house I used to live in is now a parking lot for a church.

 

Today we travel 208 miles to Dodge City where we will stay for the weekend. There have been some changes there since Matt Dillon was a U.S. Marshal.

Smoky Hill RV Park

 

While here in Grandview Plaza, we are staying at Smoky Hill RV Park. 47 years ago, my wife Chin and I lived here when it was called Smoky Hill Mobilehome Park.

Grandview Plaza (Junction City), KS

 

We finally made it to Grandview Plaza (Junction City), KS. It was a long drive mostly on 2-lane back roads of Nebraska and Kansas. Tomorrow, we are going on a road trip 60 miles south to Marion, KS to visit distant relatives. I was hoping to meet up with a second cousin that lived there but found out he had passed away 3 years ago. Then on Friday, we will go on to Dodge City, KS for the weekend. While in Dodge City, we will take a road trip to Liberal, KS to visit Dorothy's House of Wizard of Oz.

Council Bluffs, IA

 

After 7 hours on the road, we finally made it to Council Bluffs, IA. Tomorrow's trip is a hundred miles shorter, where we'll end up in Grandview Plaza, KS. Grandview Plaza is a small town just outside of Junction City, KS, where Fort Riley is. I was stationed at Fort Riley for two years after returning from Vietnam. My daughter Evon was born at Fort Riley. We will be at Grandview Plaza for two nights.

Day Two of our 6-Month Road Trip

 

Today is day 2 of our 6-month road trip. Today, we will put on 310 miles stopping for the night in Council Bluffs, IA.

On The Road Again

 

We were on the road by 9:30 this morning. After 6 1/2 hours on the road, we are spending the night in Cascade, IA. Tomorrow night we will be in Council Bluffs, IA.

AMVETS Door County CampOut

  

It's been quite a journey the last couple of years because of COVID. We've stayed home the last couple of winters. Except for staying In Iron Mountain, MI, during the summer of 2020, We haven't been anywhere. This weekend, we are attending an AMVETS annual campout in Brussels, WI, at the Door County KOA.