On The Road Again 13

The hot Arizona air is fantastic for the old hip injury and the recent knee injury but come on, 102 degrees??  On our way out of Yuma this morning, we stopped at a local gas station because Jolynn was really excited about the great price of diesel and we have a 150 gallon tank to fill up.  Cowboy hats, Border Patrol Police, terra cotta roofs and rocks - that was my view as we headed out of town and I was quite happy to head out of town.  Yeah, I guess I really don't like Yuma, Arizona. 

Before we left Yuma, Jolynn and I spotted a loose parakeet with red circles on her cheeks sitting on a bridge.  That was the last bird we saw for many, many miles.  It was just too hot for birds, I guess.  At a rest stop somewhere near Phoenix, the dogs didn't even want to walk on the blistering pavement so I carried Bear and Chipper and Jolynn ran with Rosie to a tiny little spot of shade.  Still, not even a blade of grass.  So weird, just so wierd.  We so wanted to see some green bushes but alas, no verde, only rocks and sand and pavement and more rocks.
Stifling hot air in our lungs but no arthritis.  I miss my arthritis. 

The part that we needed for the RV was mailed to my sister and her husband in Cincinnatti and that's where we are headed....here we come Stephanie and Gary!  Gary is an amazing mechanic so we feel confident that the issue with our "house batteries" will resolve when we get to their house, sometime on Friday. 

The Indian Reservations are quite intriguing in this area.  I forgot what huge billboards used to look like on the highways until we entered the first of many Indian Reservations.  There's quite a bit of sage here and it looks beautiful but the landscape just looks prickly to me.  There's no tree-hugging here.  It took us awhile to even come across a single tree.  We sure do love Oregon.  In the meantime, we are marveling at the flat topped mounds of red dirt and the majestic rock formations and the big sky.  This is an exciting trip and we have no shortage of topics to discuss.  Jolynn won't let me drive so I take good care of her while she does all of our driving.  She's getting neck and back massages while she's driving and I sit by her chair on the floor and feed her spoon fulls of lunch until she is content.  Actually, I probably don't want to drive this big monster of an RV and it wouldn't be restful for either of us if I did drive it. 

Tonight we made it to New Mexico.  We are in Gallup, in a very sweet RV park located on Route 66.  Good ole' Route 66.  Small details please us, like the fact that this place has an enclosed yard for the dogs.  When Bear realized that he was off leash tonight, he zipped around the perimeters of the dog yard like a ball in a pin ball machine.  Chipper is getting better at getting in and out of the RV on his own and  I think he knows that he is headed to see Hannah in Northampton on this trip....he just knows things.  Rosie likes to take turns with me for the front seat.  When I get out of my chair, she gets into it and I hate to move her so I sit behind Jolynn and massage her neck.  We are all doing well.  The RV is running extremely well.  The weather in New Mexico is delightful tonight - no air conditioning needed. 

We're making a bee-line for Ohio to see Steph and Gary; then, we are heading to see good, really good college friends in Erie.  From there, we will head to see Hannah, now a senior at Smith in Northampton and from there we will head to Maryland to be part of Eli's PhD celebration.  In Maryland, we pick up Ken and Eli and then we are heading West...back home to Oregon through Yellowstone, where we will also pick up Christy!  Yahoo!!!  This is quite a trip that we're on and we're happy to have you along with us, giving us encouragement along the way! 

Thanks for your support and you know I'll continue to keep you posted.    :)