I thought it would be fun to do a kind of recap of our 2014 adventures........
January 1st, 2014 found us finishing up our 2+ month commitment as volunteers at Rancho Jurupa Regional Park. We were planning to roll our wheels on February 1st when the unexpected happened.....I suffered a double hernia and had to have emergency surgery followed by a month of recuperation. Our travel plans had to be put on hold for a month, but finally on March 3rd we headed for Arizona and a 3 week visit with good friends who also own a later model Newell (2002). I continued my rehab there, and worked on a few projects including the replacement of the air ride valves that control the front of the coach.
The new "6 pack" installed
After 3 weeks it was time to say our "until next times" to Tom and Darlene and roll our wheels up to the Sedona area where we spent a couple of weeks touring the area including Sedona, Cottonwood, Jerome, and Camp Verde. Based on recommendations from fellow nomads we spent most of our time dry camping in a free National Forest dispersed camping location between Sedona and Cottonwood.
Our Cottonwood boondock site
While we were in the area we went 'zip lining' for our first time.....
And we explored some cliff dwellings down near Camp Verde......
From Cottonwood we moved north to Flagstaff for a couple of days to have some car repairs done, and then moved up to Cameron, AZ where we drove the VW into the Grand Canyon for a day.....
Then it was northward to a place just north of Page, AZ over the border into Utah.....Lone Rock......
Our 'Lone Rock' dry camping spot
We spent a week in the area touring Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and other slot canyons......
Then we headed to the northeast corner of Arizona spending time in the Bluff, UTarea and touring several points of interest......Monument Valley, Valley of the Gods, Goosenecks, and 'Twin Rocks'....
Monument Valley
Goosenecks
Twin Rocks
After a few days we moved further north to some National Forest Land just north of Blanding, UT at about 7,0000+ feet elevation where we dry camped some more while we toured Muley Point and Natural Bridges......
Muley Point
Natural Bridges
We managed to do all three hikes to the three natural bridges in this National Park....it was a long day, but we loved every single minute of it!
Next up was Moab, UT where we met up with good friends David and Denise whom we have met up with on the road 3, or 4 times now. We spent a day touring Arches National Park together........
Our very good friends David and Denise
We were only in Moab, UT a couple of days and barely scratched the surface, so we will definitely be returning there in the very near future to continue exploring the local area.
Next up was a dash up to Sioux Falls, SD to visit with good friends Todd and Dawn who own a 1984 Newell. We met them 'virtually' on the Newell Gurus site and then visited them in person in the spring of 2013 on our way to Canada. This time around we were returning because Todd and I had bought, together, a NOS Newell front and rear bumper on eBay.....he had driven down to Nebraska to pick them up in January. I needed a new rear bumper, and he needed a new front bumper.
Todd's 1984 Newell
The new bumper before and after installation
We spent about 10 days in Sioux Falls meeting for dinner several times with Todd and Dawn, and working on some projects including the installation of a new faucet in the bathroom......it only took me 13 hours to install it, but it came out great!
Finally, it was time to say our until next times to Todd and Dawn and begin our cross country trek to South Lake Tahoe to spend the summer. On the way we stopped off at my brother's home in Salt Lake City to spend a few days.
We arrived in South Lake Tahoe May 17th, and were there until September 2nd......it was a fabulous 3.5 months spent in a place we have loved for decades! We worked a few days a week in the registration office of Tahoe Valley Campground, and played the rest of the time....
We got 5" of snow on May 20th!
Emerald Bay
South Lake Tahoe
Projects
Mountain Biking with friends
A lot of fires
The kids come to visit over 4th of July
September 2nd came all too soon, and it was time to move to our next assignment on the Oregon coast at Cape Blanco Lighthouse where we spent two months giving tours of the lighthouse, which is, by the way, the oldest operating lighthouse on the Oregon coast......
The famous Fresnel Lens
Good nomadic friends
Many sunsets were viewed at the "phone booth"
Lot's of walks on the beach....
Very good friends Krash & Karen who
drove all the way from Michigan to visit!
More walks on the beach...
Our two months in Cape Blanco were just magical, and we would return there in a heart beat.....in fact we are going to return for one month next September! We spent a lot of quality time with good friends, and even made some new friends!
Next up was a 7 week job at Amazon.com in Fernley, NV.....we arrived in Sparks, NV (about 30 miles from Fernley) on November 1st, and departed on December 19th.....
We worked hard, and earned some extra income over the 7 weeks we worked at Amazon as 'stowers' on the night shift from 6 pm to 4:30 am 4 days a week, and spent time with relatives who live in the area (Cousin Lois, Cousin Liz, Uncle Bob, and aunt Jane), but then it was time to move south to warmer climates. We departed Sparks the morning of Decmeber 19th, and overnighted in Lone Pine, CA. Then it was on to Ventura, CA where we spent 3 days 50 feet from breaking waves recuperating from our Amazon work, and getting our body clocks readjusted to sleeping at night....
And then on December 23rd we drove the final 141 miles to Riverside, CA where we will spend approximately a month awaiting the wedding day of our daughter Sharon on January 17th before rolling our wheels once again.
In all we covered 5,118 miles in our travels in 2014......it was a great year spent seeing new places and spending time with good friends.
Spending New Year's Eve with two of
our kids and their significant others.
Happy and Prosperous New Year to one and to all......thanks for stopping by!
Happy New Year! I've enjoyed following your adventures since you started the lighthouse gig in September. I really appreciate your creative geography - I've alway loved Bluff & Blanding (and Mexican Hat) and really appreciate you moving them to Arizona ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaha..... you're right. They are in Utah.... fixed it!
ReplyDeleteI always find that reviewing our blog, Rolling Earthquake, makes me realize just how fast a year is. We originally started blogging so our kids could keep up with our whereabouts and for a record of our travels. It's been followed by quite a few folks to our surprise. Your blog is so much better than ours ! We hope you and yours have a good year. Thanx for the memories !!
ReplyDelete