03-26-2018
thru 04-01-2018
Monday
– Today we visited Sky City Cultural Center and the Acoma Pueblo.
This pueblo is one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in
North America. It was built on top of a sheer-walled, 367-foot
sandstone bluff and is believed to have been inhabited since around
1150 A.D. There are around 250 dwellings that make up this community
none of which have electricity, sewer or water. A few people live
there full time but most live is other nearby communities with all
the modern conveniences. It was interesting to learn that only the
females of the community can own property and that property is passed
down within families.
This
is also the site of the San Esteban del Rey Mission, a Catholic
mission constructed in 1629-1640. Both the Mission and the Pueblo are
Registered National Historic Landmarks and are also on the National
Register of Historic Places. The tour cost $22 and lasted about 1.5
hours.
 |
| San Esteban del Rey Mission |
Later
that day we drove to La Mosca Lookout on Mt. Taylor. The view from
the lookout was not that spectacular as it was partially blocked by
trees. The Lookout is around 9500 feet and is in a Ponderosa pine
forest. The gravel road was pretty well maintained and did not cause
me any heartburn until Dennis decided to continue climbing and the
road got narrower. Then it started to snow so I said that's far
enough. I am having visions of a flat tire, on a mountain road with
no cell phone service. Not!!
Tuesday
– We left the Casino early in the morning and headed east. I put
Tucumcari NM in the GPS. At that point we will need to make a
decision as to head up Hwy 54 or stay on I-40 going straight east. I
checked the wheather to the east of use and it looked like they were
getting lots of rain and flooding so Hwy 54 it is. It rained
overnight at the casino and as we proceeded east we ran into
intermittent rain and snow showers. And also a stiff east to
south-east wind. We bucked the wind all day and only got 8.9 MPG.
Electric hookup in a gravel parking lot for $15.00. Not too bad.
As
we are driving I asked Dennis what he thought about trying to make it
to Chippewa Falls for Easter. He was all for the idea. I looked at
the weather for Sat. and Sunday and boy is it going to be cold. Highs
in the 30's and lows in the teens. Brrrr!! We will have to winterize
the camper before we get there.
Wednesday
– We didn't get on the road until almost 9:30. I think we are still
on Arizona time. Our goal today was Lyons, KS where we stayed on the
way down with the camper. On the way we found out Jim and Bonnie had
left Apache Junction yesterday and were a few hours behind us. We got
on the phone with them to see if we could meet up with them but it
seemed unlikely. They were too far behind us. Oh well we will have to
get together with them back in Wisconsin. The drive to Lyons was
uneventful and we arrived late in the afternoon. I drove the last 1
hour and backed the camper into the site.
Thursday
– Another long but uneventful drive. We had some tail wind and the
sun came out for most of the drive. Our destination is Lakeside
Casino in Osceola Iowa. We heard from Jim and Bonnie. They were only
an hour or so behind us and they were going to try and make it to
Lakeside Casino tonight as well. They arrived about 2 hours after us.
That evening we went to the casino to enjoy the buffet. It was BOGO.
The
food
was some of the best casino buffet food we had all trip.
Friday
– Dennis winterized the camper in the morning then we said good-bye
to Jim and Bonnie. We called my brother Steve before we arrived to
get his take on parking at the farm where my parents live. He said it
will probably be too soft. He has a nice solid driveway and lots of
room so we headed to his house and parked the camper. We turned the
heat on for keep things inside from freezing has they are expecting
some snowy and cold weather over the next few days. My parents were
surprised when we walked in the door. However my mom said she had an
inkling we might show up for Easter. Sheila and Henry arrived around
6:00. We have not seen them since the first of December. My did Henry
grow!
Saturday
– Woke up to several inches of snow. The forecast for the
foreseeable future is highs in the 30's and lows in the teens and on
and off snow. Why did we come home so early?
Sunday
– Happy Easter!! We went to my aunt Balla's house for Easter dinner
and visited with all the relatives. They are predicting more snow
for Monday afternoon so we plan on heading home in the morning.
Where
we are parked:
Sky City Casino RV Park – Acoma Pueblo,NM – site 17 - 42 full
hookup sites. Nothing special but nice place to stop with reasonable
rates right off of I-40. Regular daily rates: $15-$22.
Where
we are parked:
Rita Blanca Park – Dalhart, TX – Site 4 – 20 sites – electric
only.
Where
we are parked:
Lyons Campground – Lyons, KS – Site near the playground – 16
sites – electric only. Water and dump station available.
Where
we are parked:
Lakeside Casino RV Park – Osceola Iowa – Site 1C – 47 sites
with full hook ups. Open all year.
Where
we are parked:
My brothers house.
