https://mzdazy.net/blog-1 daily 0.75 2021-06-16 https://mzdazy.net/adventures daily 0.75 2023-05-06 https://mzdazy.net/adventures/an-update-on-where-mz-dazy-is monthly 0.5 2023-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/186de456-fed3-4514-927b-9d921ab6cc3a/IMG_2553.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out A year ago this week, we were driving from a great week in South Carolina with our Aunt Liz and Uncle Boyd on the beach to Martha’s nephews wedding in De Land Florida when Mz Dazy suffered a heart attack just north of Jacksonville. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/685cb8b8-d456-476e-b878-f437449ee447/IMG_2548.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out She bled out most all her oil by time we got stopped on the side of the interstate. We added what oil we had with us and limped to the next exit. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1b9dc953-1c25-470b-a90c-49b57afb3de1/IMG_2550.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Luckily the next exit had a truck stop with a mechanic shop. The bad news was they wanted nothing to do with a bus. We called every mobile mechanic within 100 miles in every direction, and none of them were willing to come see if they could help. We contacted our nephew in Idaho who is a diesel mechanic and we talked through the symptoms and decided that we would buy a bunch of oil and press on to De Land where we could park at Marthas nephews house while we got things sorted out. We stopped every 25 miles and topped off the oil. By time we got to De Land we had added 8 GALLONS of oil. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/357c30dd-2185-4120-b434-ec0e61e0bb7e/IMG_2686.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out We found a shop that said they would work on Mz Dazy and took her in. After a little diagnostics it was decided that the cost of repairing this engine just was not worth it. We decided to order up a rebuilt engine from Jasper Engines. A new engine will provide many years of happy adventuring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/105b37d2-59bd-4be7-81cb-ef33b5e21406/CF06D80D-47B7-4AEB-B85A-06F3C1CAFF05.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Luckily for us, Marthas nephew and his new bride had a guest cottage attached to their house that would be vacant in a couple of weeks. We rented a car and headed back up to Georgia to stay with Liz and Boyd until the cottage was available. We went around and did a little sight seeing like this Civil War battlefield. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b8b8a70f-ff2e-4e1b-a075-3f301270306e/IMG_2628.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Once back in Florida we spent our time sight seeing while the mechanic spent his time working on anything but Mz Dazy. 3 visits a week were not moving him along. The new engine was just sitting in his shop. After a month had passed without any progress Martha and I were discussing what would come next. We decided that we would spend what was left of the summer visiting some friends and family and then get off the road for now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2e227e3a-feb4-4cfd-a6b5-19b59ab234a8/IMG_2649.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out After much discussion about where we had been and what we had liked over the past year, we decided on Western Montana and I set out to find a good job. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ebbf3922-22ba-404f-b181-66a3d71c6e97/IMG_2650.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out With a good job secured starting the first of September in Twin Bridges, MT I was back at the mechanic shop pleading for them to finish up the job so we could get on the road. Finally the last week of July the engine was in the bus and ready to start. When it got started it was quickly determined that the sound of a little man with a hammer inside the engine was not good and this engine would have to be sent back. Jasper Engines started building a new engine and said it would be there in 3 weeks. When I got back to the house that day I was greeted with the news, that in anticipation of our hopeful departure, our cottage had been rented to someone else and we had 36 hours to vacate! We made the decision to leave Mz Dazy waiting for her new engine and head to Montana and start work early. The plan was to head back to Florida in the beginning of September and get Mz Dazy and spend a couple of weeks driving her back to Montana. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0c59428a-003e-435f-ac2a-f5814dc38d0b/IMG_2752.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out The company I went to work for had this yurt that we could rent cheap to live in while we find housing. This has turned out to be a lifesaver as real estate here is very tough and it will take a while to find something we want. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/bfdca8b5-7c15-45ed-a19e-be398659a9d0/IMG_2711.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out True to form, with the second new engine delivered, the shop just left it sit there. No amount of pleading was getting me anywhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/744e8e7b-dca1-4c2d-b962-a7ced1f20947/IMG_2846.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Fall was turning to winter and still no progress. Since icy roads are not an old busses friend, we were realizing we would not have Mz Dazy with us until spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b8f37ec9-ca65-4c03-a945-55544d6b3c03/IMG_2848.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Martha did a great job of making the yurt just as festive as can be! We drove over to Emmitt Idaho to spend Christmas with my mom, sister and her family. A festive time was had! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8b7425a1-7e2e-4f0c-8d87-80e74a0bcd9f/IMG_2889.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Right after Christmas our son Mike and Grandson Indy came to visit. It was great to spend some time with them. Ruckus was not sure about Indy taking his place in Marthas lap. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d57d298a-fefa-48c9-9e7d-1b9fbbc2c264/IMG_2843.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out One of my jobs at work besides fixing airplanes is to plow the snow off the runway and the rest of the airport. That has kept me up to speed on driving a large truck so Mz Dazy won’t be too strange when I get back to her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0ddf332c-f5bc-4427-aaba-70ce003124e3/0887036A-450E-4406-9EE1-87D0965EDE0A.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out It has been a very long winter this year. Ruckus loves being back in the snow. Beaches were great, but I think he prefers snow to sand! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7ccc7009-b0ee-4ef6-9176-af66fe56aae8/IMG_2644.jpeg Adventures - An update on where Mz Dazy is - Make it stand out Well spring has finally arrived and almost exactly a year to the day that we dropped of Mz Dazy to get looked at I finally got a call from the mechanic with the sound of Mz Dazy running in the background. She sounds great and plans are being made to go get her and bring her back to Montana. Stay tuned as there will be more Adventures with Mz Dazy! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/may-fun-and-not-fun monthly 0.5 2022-05-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/da12d02c-c01e-4491-86ea-10291c3bd0d4/tempImage1b2bTA.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out After a fun couple of weeks together, Liz and Boyd headed home and we headed south to attend our nephew Kevins wedding to the marvelous Meredith in DeLand, Florida. Our first stop was Charleston, SC. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9e91ab7f-0438-4297-966d-489228ed9624/tempImagexotW0o.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out We spent the day walking around the old town and through this market. Lots of neat stuff to look at. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fb5c8229-b79f-4471-bc03-e6129d4345bd/tempImageHVKU0B.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Being from the western states, it is cool to see things approaching 400 years old. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6760eb09-bd54-4337-bd0d-52d47b1c8b4a/tempImagerDdR3O.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Some of the old streets are stone. I am sure the concrete between is a serious improvement over the original. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/cc3fd67e-cd7d-4992-b625-830fab8d2e8d/tempImageNvIS7j.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out There are lots of squares throughout the city that give a nice green space. This is Washington Square in honor of his visit to the city after he was President. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c09b521a-ba48-465e-9a8c-e4e00422cfc6/tempImage8oZMcJ.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Ruckus was not falling for the fake dog this time! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b349c1a0-db45-43e1-9710-729185f8db52/tempImage8Q7SHl.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out As there is not much camping near the old city, we found this parking garage that had RV parking and did not care if you stayed overnight. It was only $18. I would say that you should either be a heavy sleeper or stay out partying until the wee hours because everyone else does. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ed9a3d05-1773-4392-9189-7cf18e50a001/tempImagex1bcWz.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out This is the USS Huntly. It was the first military submarine and had a crankshaft that ran the entire length and was human powered. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4ac74872-9360-483f-b939-be528a12e3bb/C6E5A716-3E6B-45FB-913B-01C6E438A99D.jpeg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out After a night in Charleston, kept south and did a driving tour of Savanah, GA. It was a neat city, but we never found a place that we could park MzDazy so we could explore on foot. We continued on to a RV Park a little further south that had a nice pool to relax in for Mother’s Day and then on to Crooked River State park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e70d80d8-2d9a-42dd-949a-84b282dc07da/tempImagezNyC2m.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out We had been here back in February and really enjoyed ourselves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a5cf677c-4c52-481b-98b8-5e75e592e483/tempImageZGb4vJ.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out They have some very nice walking trails through the woods there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6ecf5c3c-94d8-46b4-94b8-40ee1df6958b/tempImagei1FqOi.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out After a couple of relaxing days at Crooked River State Park it was time to head down to DeLand and the big wedding. Well, MzDazy had a different plan. Not too long after getting up to speed on I95 the oil pressure made a dip. A minute later it dipped a little further. I had a good idea of what this meant and pulled over right away. Sure enough, copious amounts of oil were dripping from the engine. The dipstick was clean…… I added the gallon of oil we had with us and drove fairly slowly to the next exit where there was a truck stop. The mechanics there wanted nothing to do with a bus. After calling just about every mobile mechanic and a few shops, it was unanimous, nobody wanted to work on a bus. I called my favorite diesel mechanic, my nephew Kelly. He suggested filling it with oil and driving the minimum speed on I95 and stop every 25 miles and top it up with oil to get us to Kevin’s for the wedding and hopefully a shop that would work on it. That’s what we did and 115 miles and 7 gallons of oil later, we made it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9caf6dff-cc1e-4950-bb32-886e29a25348/tempImagev9jv78.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out With MzDazy safely on the farm, it was time for a wedding! Come Monday it was time to get back to figuring things out with this engine. Most of the oil leak was located and the cause of it getting so bad was determined to be very high crankcase pressure. A sudden increase in pressure means MzDazy’s engine most likely broke something inside. A shop was located and after much debate and soul searching, a new engine was ordered. Luckily for us, the Bride and Groom have a cottage that they rent out and their tenant was moving out at the end of the month. Since that was still a couple weeks away, we rented a car and headed back up to Georgia to spend some more time with Liz and Boyd. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2a8e08d7-0f4c-441c-87ed-adbdda1022ae/tempImageQKKeNI.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out We went and visited Kennisaw Mountain Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c0ba5190-2293-4f25-983c-d00da8457fc8/tempImageluhSPt.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out The old canon emplacements at the top of the mountain had a great view. I can’t imagine trying to storm the mountain with canon balls raining on you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1a2f1552-06b0-4fc4-bff8-ed4ee4fa780d/tempImagelNnlia.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Martha and I spent an afternoon wandering around downtown Canton. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9f1321d4-1a17-4331-be05-1feb257f9317/tempImageSYTdWK.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Imagine, we stumbled across a small brewery! what luck. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/03473ee1-77d4-4aa2-9f53-762d402444e3/tempImageZzjYgb.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out The nice people at Greenline Brewing pointed us to the other brewery in downtown. How nice of them! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/54cd4b19-8ac6-470d-a4ae-02ad8b186b5b/tempImageKflznf.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Saturday, we all piled in the car and headed to Helen, GA. It is a neat little Bavarian town about an hour and a half from Canton. This is where several scenes in the movie Smokey and the Bandit were filmed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/43f708c2-bca8-4457-8c68-ecfe498ec5f0/tempImage7EQh1l.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out Every year there is a “Bandit Run” from Texarkana to Destin, and then they all come to Helen for a few days. There were hundreds of Trans Ams and Buford T Justice was well represented as well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c0f19bb0-acd3-4e8e-b821-e04cd5f15514/tempImageyLQWKb.jpg Adventures - May Fun, and not fun - Make it stand out On Memorial Day, Boyd’s Family gathered at his sister’s house for a pool party and BBQ. Unfortunately his sister was out of town, but we all had a great time. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/time-with-liz-and-boyd monthly 0.5 2022-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/532edf45-f61e-48ea-9bf5-013e898ddd0f/tempImageBkw9s5.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out When we left Bristol we stopped for the evening in Nashville to visit with Michael’s friend, former coworker, and roommate from Sitka, Eric Goss and his wife Mary. We had a great time meeting Mary and spent the evening catching up. Their neighbor was kind enough to let us camp in her driveway for the night. She was out of town and I guess a few of the neighbors sent her pictures of the “Hippies in the Bus” squatting in her driveway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e53bd81e-9f34-4d81-ad9f-59d209a98107/13378113-32FE-474A-B90D-E6577009CBF8.jpeg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out We went on to our Aunt Liz and Uncle Boyd’s house in Canton, GA to visit and get ready for a 2 week trip with them to see some of the Georgia and South Carolina sights. While we were there we met Boyd’s sister and her family. Great people seem to run in the family. We started with 5 days at Old Federal Campground on Lake Sydney Lanier. This Army Corps of Engineers campground was the nicest campground we have been in for our entire travels to date. Highly recommend it if you are in the area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/84ad1128-84f4-47e3-a4e5-a4427c725a56/tempImagezzVVY5.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Martha and Liz hanging out in the shade, probably making evil plans! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/dbbf23ff-1f24-4e9a-9878-6f59595aab62/tempImageMlLynQ.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Boyd’s night to cook! Yippee! We took turns hosting dinner each night. Lots of great meals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/411f4886-f31c-4fdf-9595-9fe29d2e99bc/tempImageGLarrn.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Sadie, Harper, and Sophia love to go camping. These 3 spent their time practicing for the May Day festivities and decorating the May Pole. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e7ad939d-29ac-4c13-beaf-959b2c11072d/tempImagebf5USs.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Lake Sydney Lanier is a 44 mile long lake created when the TVA built a dam to provide power and water along the Chatahoochi River https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d57e8688-82bd-40ac-acb8-725b0385c17f/tempImageePo1Kt.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Boyd and Ruckus just hanging out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/60d86a77-66cb-42fd-ba17-96ef2954ed79/tempImageDHsFgX.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out On our way from Old federal campground to Myrtle Beach, SC we spent the night at a Harvest Host outside Greenville, SC. Golden Grove Farm and Brew had some great beer and pizza and a disc golf course for anyone that wanted to play. Ruckus definitely would have chased some frisbees. It’s always good to get some Gubment Cheez! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/683e33e0-a7d7-4203-a55e-d3a0682eb2b4/tempImagegEkGKt.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Boyd found a new friend on the way back to the RV. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5b76b674-6748-4d6d-8fc2-9574399240d0/tempImageaAhO1p.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Myrtle Beach and Pirate Land campground are a great place to take in the sunrise. We spent a week here enjoying all the area has to offer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/635d4553-00b8-46bd-af5e-a89fecb0608a/tempImageBxKzqL.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out We got adjacent campsites and made one common area. Some people might say that we belonged 2 campsites over…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/964d8383-35ad-4642-868a-1db6f268c677/tempImageU2zXak.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out The dogs are only allowed on the beach before 10 am and after 5 pm so we took a walk down the beach each evening after dinner. All the dogs loved it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8d8c457f-4acb-4baf-8e31-e9fe9522c172/tempImageSpVpae.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/982ce0e0-cc90-4eb2-88e6-003ce59c5e28/tempImageOw4RgG.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Someone made a very nice sand castle, we can’t take credit for it. Ruckus did work on filling the mote! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/277df949-ab3c-407a-98ba-f393f3d7bfd6/tempImageKIatWn.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out I never met these folks, but really loved their car. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a4b002cf-1a60-4c49-b656-7e26a89fadf4/tempImage9LskHC.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Pirateland had a very nice pool with a lazy river. Martha and I enjoyed it a few days. Only negative is that unlike Las Vegas, there is no bar to provide cocktails for the float. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f72c8a9c-0c9b-4945-8dd1-de692aa7e947/tempImageBuENps.jpg Adventures - Time with Liz and Boyd - Make it stand out Ever feel like someone is looking over your shoulder. We had a great couple of weeks traveling and camping with Liz, Boyd, and the girls. I am sure we will meet up again soon. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/its-bristol-baby monthly 0.5 2022-04-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/21365d1d-0cb0-472f-9f60-d42e54e383da/tempImage7h3REq.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out One of Michael’s long time wishes has been to go to a night race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Well here we are. Over Easter weekend NASCAR is racing on dirt at Bristol. Lot’s of folks are pretty unhappy that they are racing on Easter night, so we will see if they do this again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e36b483f-d614-470a-8165-920cddf1afd4/tempImage0fbEjw.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out We camped at the Rogers Gardens Campground right across the street from the track. These people did a great job of taking care of everything. It was the only campground around the track that was filled to capacity. They had a few bumps in the road, but fixed any problems immediately. I was very impressed with the Rogers family and their hospitality. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/08e13741-212c-4226-8cdf-3fb669774b2e/tempImagebxvfAi.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out We snuck into the track on Wednesday to see how the preparations were coming. They bring in dirt to cover the asphalt racing surface for this race. I would hate to be the guy that has to sweep up afterwards. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2ff1e611-2789-423c-85c0-27896b6b8869/tempImageA0heGr.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out Our campground even had concession stands for food, beer, and merchandise. Ruckus was having a hard time trying to figure out what he wanted to order. He ended up with kibble. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/66e3b1aa-0e08-42da-a06c-d28adc89c54f/tempImageKlge5w.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out We rented the scanner radios to listen to the drivers and their crews talk during the race. It is so loud inside the track that this the only way you hear anything. Talking to each other is impossible when the cars are under green flag racing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ff4d9252-b79c-4624-bec4-34429fe3408a/tempImageaxJIdL.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out We had great seats 32 rows up at the Start / Finish line. I don’t really think there are any bad seats in the place. A half mile track is not very big at all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c2cd42e5-56e4-4bbc-8d6d-4f57cf319ac9/tempImagewmi1fh.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out We took Ruckus out for a walk around the Track complex each day before we ditched him for the evening to go watch the races. He got to be pretty famous around there. Everywhere we went people were calling his name. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/52f7dd2d-70c5-461e-b935-9e37f45b3135/tempImage8nCjM4.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out There was a family camped down the way from us that was missing their dog and showered him with affection. They put out this paper machete dog and Ruckus could not figure out why it would not play with him. It was hysterical to watch him with it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3ae8d682-5283-4277-8c13-0447bcb0faaf/tempImageLNd0QP.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out Kevin Harvick is one of Michael’s favorite drivers. He does not like dirt racing though and found his way to the rear of the field a quickly as possible. Apparently that did not make it much more fun for him so he wrecked the car and went home! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/18f76141-833f-45ab-954a-a10989479b55/tempImageP1KlVM.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out The pageantry was great. They had the singer from Rascal Flats to sing the National Anthem which everyone in the place stood for. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/09927453-f817-416a-aaf9-ca02524f03f6/tempImageoG1tZP.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out It rained a few times in the course of the evening so the track stayed in good shape and the racing action was much, much better than anticipated. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/46c951f7-4cc9-4dbe-a3b6-4648d73ac024/tempImageiRFyQ5.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out During one of the rain delays, this fan decided to climb the flag stand. He saw the end of the race from the back of a police car in the parking lot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/32f9c994-aeb3-4b24-b4fb-b90ab0242f86/tempImageGh9VS9.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out On the last turn the 2nd place car tried to force the pace and checked them both. Unfortunately Kyle Busch was riding in 3rd and inherited the lead and victory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/44632c56-b00d-4ef6-a525-de55b0686ee0/tempImagea4O2NN.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out On our way out, we drove to Downtown Bristol. It is a neat little town that straddles the state line. Drive one way and you are in Tennessee and the other side of the road is in Virginia. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/03a2d7ec-bbaf-4063-af95-827b126103e6/tempImageqJigaT.jpg Adventures - It’s Bristol, Baby! - Make it stand out Our little family really enjoyed ourselves in Bristol. We hope everyone had a great Easter. We will defiantly be exploring this area some more. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/sun-n-fun-2022 monthly 0.5 2022-04-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/62cacb1d-0cbd-4471-8bf1-0e2747681b67/tempImage3sHuBk.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out Sun N Fun is one of the largest aviation gatherings in the country each year. There is everything from homebuilt airplanes to antiques, warbirds, military jets, and even brand spankin’ new airplanes! This has been on our calendar since we left Alaska last fall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/db8682a1-dc1e-42c3-bb22-d220f7537e21/tempImagesufuwg.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out On the way to Sun N Fun we spent a couple of nights in St Petersburg at Harvest host locations. The first was The World Famous Ferg’s Bar and Grill. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d8cef9ea-be82-4d86-a541-cd5f0d73e9dc/tempImage3s7sCJ.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out They had a Pizza ATM out front that baked your pie to order. We did not try it, but those that did said it would have been better if they were drunk! It only offered cheese pizza and pepperoni. I heard someone say they needed to add a combo like the picture on the front https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8e2ffc31-aeb0-4c1a-97e2-e8eadf76fb92/tempImagedb0ANE.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out They were very dog friendly and Ruckus joined us for dinner and drinks. I am not too sure about the axe throwing in a bar…… What could go wrong? Especially if you were sitting in the big chair when they threw them! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1d2a2df7-951f-49ad-b785-088176d5c644/tempImageUBEqhz.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out The second night we stayed at a small farm with this crazy Ficus tree. A family with 2 young boys camped next to us and they played with Ruckus all evening while their parents, the hosts, and us enjoyed chatting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1e559b32-a186-4de7-9aeb-22f84da446c3/tempImagereJIqT.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out We arrived at Lakeland Linder Airport a couple of days early and met up with Don and Penny Childs from Wasilla. We got to get this great site with shade trees and set up camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1e051561-07c3-4d75-a763-dc6c40fcf87a/tempImagePVXP8t.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out We had the place to ourselves for a while before this entire field filled up with campers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0798f893-a899-48fa-9690-80b2e41f6d82/tempImageTb968F.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out We woke up each day to this nice view of the pond. It was chuck full of fish! The farmers cows roamed by the pond throughout the day and enjoyed the moss that hung from the trees as a snack https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2b65dc39-1e28-465d-94d0-389fa5ea8833/tempImagecvNaSz.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out O.K. on to the airplanes! The A-10 did daily Legacy Flights with different warbirds like this P-51 Mustang. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/927074e9-1ac2-41a9-a12a-04ab42cb1b75/tempImageRQ4qD8.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out S.T.O.L. (Short Take Off and Landing) are all the rage these days. This one looks like it stole its landing gear from a Monster Truck. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/96458449-d3fb-48d0-9c36-f0b243f6ac43/tempImagemLDgVe.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out This is a Mustang 2 homebuilt. My friend Stretch Bachelor in Auburn, CA built and flies one he calls Lovely Lou. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/24d179fa-5962-43f7-a425-fd022d8bb870/tempImagefAcYxd.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out I found this beautiful Beechcraft Staggerwing out in the parking area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/89d26114-dd39-4302-94b5-558510eddbe2/tempImage4xBkvu.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out The night airshows are absolutely spectacular. They light up the sky with all the pyrotechnics. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/18fe3569-b838-46f3-adeb-9fbff229e9c3/tempImage8nBes8.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out This is the airplane that was flying in the picture above. He calls it a Yak-110. It is two Yak-55s joined together with a J-85 jet engine in the center. When he first flew, the sounds were very confusing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1c69207f-4188-4aa7-8a98-202518b8ed3f/tempImagedbyaBK.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out How about four SNJs doing close formations aerobatics in the dark! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7d5a46d7-247c-4799-9eec-725207db76c3/tempImageyDlXtH.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out If one of these lottery tickets wins, I am taking this Waco YMF-5 on Aerocet Amphibs home with me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/995e71d9-f473-4680-a93c-f8cd0cda6731/tempImagexJvDkh.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out If the jackpot is big enough this Grumman U-16 Albatross will be named Mz Dazy 2! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fb9dea7b-d48d-47d9-b314-4e6275be9263/tempImagem4kKd8.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out Doc, the only flying B-29 Super Fortress was on hand and flew several times a day. How would you like to be in charge of polishing that? I watched them refuel it once. It took 3 fuel trucks!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/37765982-71c8-42a1-8c0b-9036bf1f9947/tempImageLuETc0.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out A B-1B Lancer was open for tours. I was hoping for a high speed pass, but I guess they did not want to have to replace all the windows in the area! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/88fc18b6-9ed1-40f5-93cb-6b96904f6431/tempImageS9NTR3.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out How about the Navy’s turn at a Legacy Flight? A F-18 Super Hornet and an F-4U Corsair. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2e4435e4-577d-4995-8010-3120e13beee1/tempImagepLcxgd.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out Penny felt bad that the cows got penned up so that we could camp in their pasture so she gave them snacks from time to time. There was a bit of rain one day and this was the result. Luckily we were on very slightly higher ground. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c9467083-1ec8-4f5f-8a61-7336dad5b2cc/tempImagerpAtqx.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out This Osprey was having a pretty easy time fishing in the pond next to us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/cbc5bc3c-ee2b-4208-a0eb-3f2c3a954f2b/tempImage1jhHKN.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out Out wandering in the airplane camping I came across this Cessna T206H that I used to maintain for the California Highway Patrol years ago. It now lives the life of luxury in West Palm Beach, FL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c7eca53a-ee32-4162-90fd-91e1ede6726f/tempImageoVdZds.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out No trip to an air show would be complete without a corndog! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/86cf3382-3e48-4ed4-955e-f71611e72a91/tempImagepC2IAa.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out With crumpled up Lottery tickets in my pocket, I guess I will have to find a 16 foot Lund to start my flying boat dreams! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7234a750-dce9-4787-98aa-9ae127e528aa/tempImagettBA32.jpg Adventures - Sun N Fun 2022 - Make it stand out With Sun N Fun coming to a close we had a great time with our Alaskan friends Don and Penny Childs, Dave and Ty Moore, and Robb Smart. Time to head up the road to Bristol, TN for the NASCAR races! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/beaches-beaches-beaches monthly 0.5 2022-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b9ddeda5-ebb8-4efd-9248-283002e32aa0/tempImagez1nHwt.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Our next beach stop was Sebastain Inlet on the Atlantic Coast. When we got there we went for a walk down on the beach and Ruckus found a new ball. It really put a smile on his face! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/397ec5e6-3a74-460f-901c-929a7e7db603/tempImageD1LtxZ.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We finally got the paddle board out. It was a bit choppy so learning a new balance sport was not in the cards. We asked Ruckus if he wanted to try. He jumped right on and sat down. If only I knew what a monster we were creating. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/27d5abb2-9178-4f18-a938-b02169839a17/tempImageKNLNkX.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out For our 2 day stay here, I got to paddle Ruckus around as much as I would. Every time you push the board away from shore, he shows up ready to go. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b757c5d2-a862-4fc8-aadb-5a70db312acd/tempImagekQqVqS.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Our next stop was Jonathan Dickinson State Park. We were there for 8 nights in 4 different campsites. It has the highest natural point in South Florida, Hobe Mountain, at 86 feet above sea level. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3f6f5f0b-bb26-494b-9bd3-883fdf465438/tempImageNly8fJ.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The sunsets here were pretty spectacular. This was our first site. we only had it for 1 night in this round of the “Florida State park Shuffle”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/37bd00c2-8288-43ae-bd75-5124071ee131/tempImage0Tf8MC.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out In the visitors center they had an aquarium with is SH-2F helicopter wreck in it. Funny, I may have spent some time in one of those many, many years ago. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/55112f2c-082b-4ceb-954e-806fff6ff3a0/tempImageerfmVB.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out This park is full of hiking and biking trails. We even saw some wildlife on our hikes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/100c7a1d-85f3-4a90-9b8f-e10fa3ee36a5/tempImagemjQ0cl.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out This tree looked like burning did not feel good and it wanted to leave a reminder. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/eab87b64-4c99-418e-a47b-2b8fa1f5921f/tempImageWIzeEC.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We learned one day that a 6.5 mile hike on a soft sand trail feels like 20. We had to talk Ruckus into finishing up the last 2 miles. We did not do that hike again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d69feab9-f1f1-496c-b9ec-02ee98a6742a/tempImagexqYA5d.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We had plenty of company in each of our sites. This lizard was very colorful. They must be easy for the birds to see as most of the ones we saw were missing their tails. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ba56163a-4c70-4ccf-8936-1c1ba1199f7c/tempImageh0X9Jx.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Our favorite one was the squirrel condo made in a dead palm tree. A very active squirrel couple lived in there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/34a804eb-7b5e-4204-9f63-11c0c25d88ff/tempImagem7bPCv.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out This was a deluxe condo! it had multiple levels with windows on each floor. He or she liked to play peekaboo! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/31315dcf-3b1c-4405-bcd3-3a274c22d43e/tempImagetIJ9PV.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Just floating around waiting for someone to want to take a dip. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/889a4f47-c617-4571-b3b9-be2a016b8e25/tempImageyjCQ1u.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out This was a very picturesque spot. Even though it was not right on the water, it had plenty to do and look at. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8656898f-8308-4d46-82cb-56a132cea2e9/tempImage2pYkEB.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Our next destination was John Pennkamp park in Key Largo. The Florida Keys are one of Michael’s favorite places on earth. We were lucky enough to pick up a 7 night stay here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7d4016f7-5809-415b-849b-5ecf70acb77e/tempImage9mftGP.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out There are only about 50 sites here and they pack them in tight! It is nice to have your neighbors trailer make shade for you since there was not enough room to set up the awning. But hey, you’re in the keys, you don’t want to sit around your camp all day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5d594d34-0085-41aa-94ef-198d7131a504/tempImagemo0Vl2.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Hey look who let me take him paddling EVERY day! I am waiting for him to learn how to bark a cadence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/069fd2a1-9498-44e4-901c-2feb099ec2e0/tempImagejJ4C1N.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The open water was pretty rough due to high. winds, but there was plenty of protected areas in the mangroves to play. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9e6a999e-d7ff-4357-a1c5-7af27a220f66/tempImageNns784.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Martha and I rented a tandem kayak one day and went paddling through the mangroves for a couple of hours. It was more fun with her than Ruckus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2997498e-8111-470c-a7bd-a330ba5b76e5/tempImagea6OPqB.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out You can go for miles through these trails. Unlike Ruckus, Martha even helps paddle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/40ac88f1-65dd-478f-9deb-ed8e2494dd2c/tempImageoy1Jkj.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out You can go through some tunnels as well. I liked that part, it was shady and cooler. I Gould hear the theme from the Jungle Cruise playing in my head. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/bab9bc52-3fd5-425b-ba20-0700e8aac993/tempImagerWgFCX.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The worm fell out the tree and landed next to me, in a flash the bird was there to claim his feast. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b05b9376-4a60-4a9f-9d1c-42894ce0aa99/tempImageFtECgL.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The wind died down and I got to work on the Stand Up part of SUP. I managed to take a lap around this basin and even survived a couple of boat wakes. This is harder than it looks for me and I look forward to mastering it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/37c531fa-55de-4a41-8910-94f2b18960c3/tempImagenCjp9C.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The park ranger caught this guy hiding under someones camper. He asked if I wanted to pet it or hold it…. NOPE! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7afb1b97-b387-4681-a50a-2d81f3ffeef9/tempImagezEgZg7.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We came up on this guy out in the middle of the Everglades on our way to the Gulf Coast. He wouldn't move over so we could pass and even MZDAZY is way faster than him. I have to say, I kinda wanted to punt him into the ditch full of Alligators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7bbefe09-772f-44df-9640-2d21662c62dc/tempImageEKzl0t.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We stopped over for the night on our way to our next destination at a Cracker Barrel in Ft Meyers. I have been avoiding Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Bass Pro, and the like as overnight stays for 10 months. Something about it just has not been what I wanted to do. Well I wanted to not drive 350 miles in one day more! We will probably do this again. You stay overnight for free. We went in and had dinner, Chicken Fried Chicken and a beer each for less than the cost of a State Park campsite. We even had leftovers for the next day. Now I am not looking to spend the afternoon sunning in the back lot, but for a late afternoon evening arrival, it works. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/722eb76d-8854-4316-9ec7-cf4ac0d2baf6/tempImage4EgCEv.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out That is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that spans the mouth of Tampa Bay. When we got to Florida I set Google Maps to avoid Toll roads. They have a ton of them here and they often run parallel to the Interstate. They are quicker due to less traffic so Google will most always put you on them. Well this $1 toll bridge saves you a 50 mile drive around Tampa Bay. The view from the top is pretty good too! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f1d0fb02-bf01-4007-99ed-42de1d4d6c73/tempImagegQAVun.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out The last stop on our tour of the Florida coast is Fort DeSoto park.Very nice campground but they isolate all of us folks with pets to one side of the campground, and don’t dare cross the line! Our site has a swamp behind it that we are either waiting for a gator or swamp person to crawl out. Luckily we have had neither yet! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fce0ac68-9a1d-4815-9712-f72d9c9b2c1d/tempImageiJ2FCC.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Took Ruckus on the 1.7 miles walk to the dog beach for a swim. Man he could do this all day! We only did 2 hours so he could make the 1.7 mile walk back to camp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/54ced7ba-0467-4cd6-82d4-6dc3d10fffc8/tempImageLiVVeF.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Martha loves the beach as much as Ruckus! Next trip a bathing suit is a must! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9c10d337-79d5-4c14-95c0-e90871d8bbde/tempImagegRtXDJ.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Walking from the beach back to camp. Ruckus trying to stay in the shade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d21ae947-6dd6-410a-a06c-b6b4c86e734a/tempImage8DuU03.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out We rode our Electric bikes to the Fort to check it out. Big gun they had to fire mortar projectiles in case of an invasion. They shot many in testing but never in anger. Whew! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/bd3085f7-f5ae-49d5-a0bb-893f2e6490c3/tempImageu6l9vj.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Martha’s best look is behind bars! Hahahaha. Really they stored ammunition in this room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d5502fa6-3b85-4daa-b4b6-9bf1a37c1af0/tempImageAT7zvl.jpg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out Walked up top of the Fort for a beautiful view of the Ocean. It was really windy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a5cb10a0-001d-443e-b723-6c5e0fb7333d/FBAE8DE0-C95B-43B8-B1DB-28E5D6A64DFC.jpeg Adventures - Beaches, beaches, beaches! - Make it stand out This little guy passed through our camp site then through our neighbors. I hear he is harmless but still, no thank you! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/6ihr8kcudn3gl6hteojtzm8wmnhhar monthly 0.5 2022-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1f586ede-5369-4f03-9387-b61a68f63c43/tempImageD7o6Ej.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out One morning while trying to figure out where to go next, stumbled across a 3 night reservation at Gamble Rogers. It would be our first beach campground after all this time circling Central Florida. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9ef88a25-a1cd-414d-b6ac-f953419a4a04/tempImageK8UdGZ.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out We were very excited to arrive and find this view out the front of MzDazy from our campsite. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8f1fc606-7f68-4d69-b35d-1bb07141a9e8/tempImagesCFezb.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out The first order of business was to get our feet in the Atlantic Ocean. That was our first dip in it since we got down here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b945720d-591d-4e80-a454-485bed8dba44/tempImage8DfQ8e.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out We walked up and down the city beach next door as they allow dogs. Ruckus had a good time playing in the waves. That sand is like glue! it takes a fair amount of scrubbing to make it let go of you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/846972de-73f7-4ed4-832c-a024602146d8/tempImageFOGXMm.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out You can’t take the beach out of a beach girl! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/38857149-852f-4410-a648-297d8afa3fe7/tempImagePnuvpL.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out The sunsets are pretty amazing here. Those are the real colors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9010b2ec-0bcf-4fe1-bcc3-3706672e2133/tempImageVV9uT5.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out On the second night, our neighbors, who also have a Skoolie at home, told us they were heading home and that we could have the remaining 4 nights on their reservation. Holy lucky stars! the beach for a week! They also gave me an even better gift. They told me about a website that notifies you of cancelations in campgrounds so you can reserve them. Everything coastal in Florida is booked 11 moths in advance. With the help of that site, I have filled out the rest of the month in coastal state park campgrounds, including a 7 night stay in the Keys! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4c23fe2b-d9c5-4781-9931-30488ef1fb15/tempImagezgcDfC.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out Just for a change of pace, Mother Nature decided to show us her darker side. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/00ba8f08-90b6-4e35-80e8-20cd1f62dcc5/tempImagewnzNZX.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out I think Ruckus is starting to get over his modeling career! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/42711380-4caf-4c54-a36b-a49b0cb41204/tempImagefQ21tv.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out After a quick consultation with his agent, he was back in the groove! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5dc8f1bb-e5b3-44ab-8a74-5800d21344b4/tempImageJCWvUw.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out We got to watch an Atlas 5 rocket launch. This is the aftermath. When I figure out how to post video on here, I’ll add it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d4762b23-569c-4d1d-a45b-7257c395b607/tempImageEGOpkM.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out There is a nice nature trail in the trees here. Sometimes it is nice to take a break from the sun. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9e364e52-6818-418a-a62d-746f1045d9ee/tempImagemWtG3O.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out We saw this Gopher Turtle. He was about a foot across his back. Ruckus wanted to investigate, but the hiss he made changed that idea in a hurry! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/84fd63be-634e-4cd7-9bc6-fea4a9e6d75c/tempImageokyBsX.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out This is Bike Week in Daytona. The lady camped across from us got tired of hearing the bikes rumble by on the highway all day. She headed out, but not before gifting us the last 5 days of her reservation! Our luck is incredible here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/11661672-a556-4bb3-8cf4-58b8ae25b129/tempImageqYjCLP.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out Now that our stay has been extended twice, we needed to resupply. We drove right through the middle of all the happenings.There are a ton of people here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7377cedf-0edc-4887-adbb-18163bc842ae/tempImageS8aYxQ.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out Our new digs, beachfront! The park rangers started getting suspicious of us. I guess people rarely ever get gifted a site, much less twice! Now what started as a 3 day stay has turned into 11. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a349a329-b3f1-4c19-87eb-4335ec0358c6/tempImagem2A8jI.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out Martha and I decided to have some grown up time, so we put Ruckus down for a nap and rode our bikes down the road for a libation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5b8aa451-f5d0-4976-8558-b25e38548983/tempImage7cK0Bg.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out What a cutie! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2a60f826-9e50-4476-ab8c-cfce4ac0e63a/tempImagesdBsV4.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out This guy showed up in our site chasing a lizard. I think I moved faster than the lizard! It is a Racer Snake. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/12cd6953-279b-4f27-8c3c-f4c3dcd57083/tempImagecdbXy3.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out These guys practiced their formation flying every day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/593dfb29-b32c-4918-b559-c50ac3c2595d/tempImagefeonPg.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out A 3 ship pass! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/92b62a22-8883-47fd-8e3a-dcf92b060a5e/tempImageI5NEYH.jpg Adventures - A little luck! - Make it stand out This is what is brewing here on our last afternoon while I make this post. I moved inside just in time for a huge dump of rain. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/skokie-swarm-2022 monthly 0.5 2022-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a859a4d7-8965-490f-b8db-177313e2bd3d/tempImagefgbrk5.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out Take a large camp in Central Florida and add 200+ Skoolies and other nomadic people and you get a Skokie Swarm! This was the 5th year that Travis and Michelle Mattson have put on this event. They do a great job of planning activities and letting the event flow towards fun. The group of people that attended were great. We had a great time meeting people and hearing about their nomadic lives. There were lots of busses to look at and everyone was more than happy to show you their homes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ddba7508-22f5-481f-b8ba-5d98eeb06de5/tempImagex3MbIQ.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out MzDazy scored this spot down next to the lake. We could hide out on the lake side when we wanted a little quiet or sit on the other side and be right in the mix. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/25d46019-bdc3-4433-8806-26bf54ab05c4/tempImagewRcrwc.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out We had plenty of room. It did fill in more as the week went on, but that just gave us new people to meet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/366d1f90-bd56-4226-8820-852404d44a1d/tempImageGujPgE.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out One night there as a bonfire to be enjoyed along with people making dutch oven deserts. That fire went through at least two cords of wood. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/75f88c56-7f91-4a65-a513-5acd6366d26d/tempImageEHRbeL.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out This caught Martha’s eye. She loved the skull with the desert feel to it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c7715d78-0a22-460c-abac-27ed53e57b55/tempImageTS1wS0.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out Purple is Martha’s favorite color and this just screamed I’m a wild one! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5bbafbb6-9a2a-4fd6-aa3f-f6bc654a0e8f/tempImagepoammW.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out Everyone has painted this one while drinking wine usually. hahaha https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e1067ece-a456-4f34-b523-34932f7aa4a1/tempImageViV6zE.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out This guy had to stop twice on his way from Alabama to remove the transmission to replace a seal on the side of the road. Pretty impressive roadside endeavor. The Covered Wagon was cool to see. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/14a6a3c5-15a1-4ae6-b719-fe03095abb25/tempImageMwNEZZ.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out There was a costume dance one night. I was impressed with how many people had costumes with them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/43eac11b-e564-4805-8535-20d5d7b94909/tempImagenlWwUT.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out This circle of swings was right near us. We had a good time and had some nice conversations around that fire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a89d211b-2ff8-44aa-aaea-d7ad478f8d8f/tempImageU6X9OS.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out The drumming is cool for a bit, but after a while…………. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8c61d418-b841-4b25-86ba-69b1ae312c58/tempImageiiDGB3.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out This was one of Michaels very favorite motorhomes. It is a Flexible. Never got to tour it though. Would have loved to. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3419eb2b-07f7-4574-a289-cd4ff0163b79/tempImageWVS2Lk.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out Martha thought this one just looked like fun! Weeeeeeeeeee! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a13f47f9-bf81-4030-aa51-066e5b628c5b/tempImageOu7j7d.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out Ruckus spent a lot of time staring at that lake. We finally saw a spot to let him retrieve his decoy and didn’t get covered in mud. It did cool him down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/30139ed9-412f-4c30-8447-5553cc34afb2/tempImagesESYgD.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out One of the events they had was called the “Beer Mile”. The idea is that you drink a beer, run a 1/4 mile lap, drink another beer and repeat until you have gone a mile. Ruckus and I took the slow and steady approach. While we did not win the race, we did keep our beer down! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/05f0a75e-0faa-4587-8ac1-f09024106b50/tempImageNQwb7Q.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out There were musical performances as well as Karaoke. This woman singing was French and it was entertaining to listen to her sing in French https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e0bb8ffc-e4e9-4c5a-a5fd-ae5a0246b604/tempImageBr1tfr.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out MzDazy got some new signage so that the people stuck behind us on the road can at least read these posts to know why we are so slow! I guess I will have to up my game and make more posts to keep them entertained. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d1442c59-d44d-45be-95f4-48e76d484366/tempImagelNeRNg.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out After being assured that the lake was gator free, Ruckus finally got to play for a while! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a8cd6e67-444a-4701-831d-12f166bbd21d/tempImagesI311N.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out This Woodie was done very well inside and out. This one is Michael’s favorite. The owner came by to check out the heater in MzDazy as a possible solution to his heat problem in his rig. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0292cae5-7669-40d8-850f-cb6691e838ff/tempImagepvMvZD.jpg Adventures - Skoolie Swarm 2022! - Make it stand out After an absolutely fabulous week with our nomadic brethren, it was time to get back on the road. Historic A1A to be exact! Hello Atlantic Ocean! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/chasing-the-thermometer-around-florida monthly 0.5 2022-02-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/55c1aff4-f550-4899-bf55-088f2c237690/tempImage2JVzTz.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Even Florida gets chilly in the middle of winter. There are 600+ manatees huddled up in Blue Spring State Park riding out a cold snap. The spring is always 72 degrees, and while that is not the warmest water, it is better than the 54 degrees that the St. Johns river was running at during this cold snap. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c19ebc63-ed2a-483e-887c-5246fbaee94b/tempImagemnuTE4.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Martha’s nephew Kevin invited us to come stay with him and his fiancee Meredith’s home in DeLand Florida. They have a few acres, so we just pulled around back and got comfortable for a week. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f813c2c2-fece-419d-b9ab-97fb031141ca/tempImagebjfAf2.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out It was great to get together with all of the Florida branch of the Crager kids and their kids. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/39cbd5af-a153-475e-8558-62d53768e2ac/tempImageQtVaaT.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out A nice cozy fireplace was nice to warm up to. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/30689432-2764-404c-b10c-cf83facd2b8e/tempImageMMdPM0.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Greg and Brenda Rushing joined us for an afternoon and evening out on the town. We have enjoyed many vacations with Greg and Brenda over the years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/30673c1f-33ec-4eb1-ad9f-faa57ab17e03/tempImagemV87AH.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Kevin and Meredith took a spin on our funny little bikes. After zooming around the neighborhood, they definetly approved! Meredith wondered why you would ever peddle at all! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/dba5c93f-4af4-429f-bb64-e27e1b24998c/tempImagelk3b0b.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out We toured Stetson University where Meredith works. It was founded by John Stetson of the famous hat company. Since they thought he was a larger than life character, they made this statue to remind you of that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/64b0750a-6da1-4511-b372-05085c176daf/tempImageNXIc2b.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Next we headed further south to Lake Hatchinea near Haines City. It is a wonderful county park. We enjoyed ourselves for a week here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4bd6ecc7-75a9-4c7c-abef-39d9e1ac0220/tempImageBeQ5qi.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out These Sandhill Cranes came by each day to say Hi. Ruckus was not too sure about them and the dinosaur like sounds they make. By the end of the week he had decided he could take them on! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7c639359-2fa7-4b83-b77c-add98232e726/tempImageJHHP3N.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Martha set us up for a run of 5 Harvest Host locations in south central Florida. First up was Turn 2 Brewing in Sebring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7243c490-abc1-4b94-a1c8-a5d42df97c9e/tempImageYqSnXW.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Tasty beverages were enjoyed. Definitely worth the stop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/165ac327-c8c8-4c6d-bf3f-698e76bde10b/tempImagerLtKb7.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Our next stop was Faded Bistro also in Sebring. We had a fantastic meal. The Owner was very accommodating and went out of his way to make sure we were well taken care of. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e7aed227-c0cd-451a-ae3a-6b1e79c2b258/tempImageOZ8iYE.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Next up was Don Davie’s Sugar Sand Distillery. We parked MzDazy right next to the tasting room and enjoyed the spirits that he makes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7e47f461-1e60-41dd-aa70-9b49822be22c/tempImage3HBK3G.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out The distillery is right in the middle of Don’s sugar cane fields. Ruckus decide these were the best sticks ever! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a14ddd1b-a281-4c6f-b51d-541a1aadaa9f/tempImagepx5GSU.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out This is what you find when you are the last one to bed! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/aa6304c6-b32f-4a22-986f-2711c009e1b1/tempImageYkAlL1.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out We stopped off at a park along the Peace River in Acaidia Florida for the afternoon. We enjoyed a walk under the trees and came upon this section of river where everyone plays and looks for sharks teeth. This is a long way from the ocean, so I am not sure how they got here. Ruckus did take advantage of this stop for a bit of swimming. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/36ddf5d4-05d0-4ce5-bc1b-f2e28bf43712/tempImagepHM4DV.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out We spent the evening at Linda and Gary’s Butterfly Landing. It is their home on 5 acres that they share with us traveling folks as a Harvest Host.She even gave us 6 of her duck eggs which we really enjoyed. They had a pond with a small gator too which was fun to see. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d03eb756-7ec8-47e4-9350-7d07619345ea/tempImagerXYWZF.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out This young Raccoon came by to say hi. He was not too sure about getting his picture taken. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/657f1ecb-1d4d-4f70-a147-5fe3485d5b37/tempImagemTDJrB.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Our last stop in this circle was Orange County Brewers in Lake Mary. It worked out perfect as this was Super Bowl Sunday and we go to enjoy the game on the big screens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fce4287d-a593-4a80-9f60-5823d0b0e43f/tempImage1HNiCS.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Florida seemed all booked up so we headed north to Georgia for a few days to stay at Crooked River State park right over the state line. Literally at exit #1! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/513acba7-e843-43d6-ba75-c2cf58d3d2e2/tempImage9hntnT.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out They even had a gym! I had fun playing on the machines. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8c149334-1555-4024-af63-5442d84ba035/tempImage8p7fDR.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out Ruckus learned about armadillos here. Something he can chase and catch that doesn’t seem to bite. They bounce along like a rabbit and ball up when caught. Ruckus just pokes it with his nose and then the chase is on again until the little guy can find his hole to dive into. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/dcb1db21-56c1-4f32-aedb-93b5ec413c6a/tempImagepcrigv.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out There were lots of nice trails around the park with great views to be had. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f5089488-4fb4-4fe6-bbaa-9e3a2531cf3d/tempImageFJBryk.jpg Adventures - Chasing the thermometer around Florida - Make it stand out We met up with Don and Penny Childs from Wasilla for a few days at Otter Springs. We had fun catching up on the happenings since we left their place in August. They headed back home for a month and we are off to Skoolie Swarm. We will meet up again next month to go to Sun N Fun together. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/winter-came-to-the-panhandle monthly 0.5 2022-02-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0475f391-f0c4-496b-b8be-4bbe914754f0/797FCC20-D099-463B-A3BD-B7DDE10A8063.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out As the sun set over Mobile Bay, we started looking east to Florida for some more warm weather. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f41cacdf-a84a-45dd-9b3f-e81dc362a9e6/17AE7D34-991C-473B-80FE-586F56742A06.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out As you can see by Martha’s pants, we were met with less than ideal temperatures when we got to Big Lagoon State Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3092e747-e8a8-4912-ae8a-dcaa53137e3d/D2B89079-2678-440D-A785-3C81FE3631B6.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Our next stop at Indian Pass near Port St. Joe had every weather except warm enough to swim! The wind blew a lot. It was great to be at a dog friendly beach again. He has been pretty sad since we left the dog freedom of Texas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e0fbe5c5-63ee-4eb2-a11d-98aca51800cc/A594143C-9DD8-4188-A231-6E5E6D82930C.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out People painted scenes on Palm stalks and attached them to some old pier pilings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/eb667308-8490-4e74-80a8-f5a12233fe03/8F5583C0-BC1E-4121-8A97-38DFE8D11DB4.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out The shell pickings were great the day after a big storm blew through. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b313c73e-e454-4f13-a512-3ab3e0479247/71925F50-2F3E-44A2-8D49-7A91171BDBDF.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e005bdac-e8a6-4fe0-b4ff-ef0857561c63/C0DB853E-C557-4140-B709-1656B2D059EA.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Clear and cold with this great full moon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/560c6967-9604-4784-939f-59aeeb5b1c32/69084FBE-B44D-46B3-BFEB-9B674D255B05.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out The Indian Pass Raw Bar served up some mighty tasty food! While I enjoyed some Oysters, Martha has some delicious stuffed shrimp. We decided to top it off with a pound of some of the best steamed shrimp I have ever had. Top it off with self service draft beer and I was in heaven. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/15aada4a-37d9-497b-b1c4-01ea7bbd50c2/8A9121D3-A656-42AA-AA5F-3C4DA89C3066.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Our next stop was at Otter Springs RV Park to ride out another cold snap. That fire ring wheel got a pretty good workout. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/28136698-0e3c-4f81-945d-38260901d7b9/264EF6E9-C86E-4656-829F-75F35DFA31E4.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out We spent the cooler days hiking around the woods. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8f075139-e663-41d9-ae20-3a57b741454c/41ACC9E5-B94E-47E1-A25F-4946B6D95C28.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Ruckus did not understand why we did not want him swimming in the green water full of bumpy logs. I tried to explain that not all logs are logs and he may meet an Alligator, but he really wanted to get in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a534bff3-eb2e-40a4-9bb0-ecff25bff0e3/C33DFCC6-DE7C-4420-B90E-F55AEC89C406.jpeg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Way down South on the Suwannee River. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/caca6d3f-2d12-4512-bc39-79a55720d6b5/tempImagewqTMdk.jpg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out During a visit to Blue Springs State Park we got to see lots of Manatees huddled together to beat the cold weather. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4e023a52-bb57-4acb-81c0-3bc64acca7fb/tempImagedDvUQC.jpg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out Somebody is watching for some dinner! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1c7b70ef-9cbb-4719-9596-5319b5d4b23d/tempImagejrewlo.jpg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out This 5 foot alligator was just hanging out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0e133bef-a258-4e94-b285-47bb2df35125/tempImagepB7v1K.jpg Adventures - Winter came to the panhandle - Make it stand out We had a great time touring Blue Springs with Martha’s nephew Kevin, but we really want to wear shorts!! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/uss-alabama monthly 0.5 2022-01-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/23b91828-eb8a-415c-b6dd-221141a64ffd/16DAAB87-A454-4DB8-AE3E-79D9C3EDA41D.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out We could not pass through Mobile Alabama with out stopping to see the USS Alabama https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/832e712a-e732-400f-bba9-b720a08fdf79/65EA71BD-3F26-40DB-8BE6-2CBA24E672B8.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out MzDazy with the Alabama https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fc7deceb-d529-4b95-8421-7a3100360aa2/A538DBEE-5DB0-47A4-AF2B-3121EE5CC22B.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out These babies throw a projectile 16 inches in diameter, 60 inches long, and weighing 2800 pounds about 21 miles! that is a VW coming from over the horizon to fall on your head! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ddbef28c-13cd-4919-9976-aa458c72b93d/0C0ECE3A-3636-45F1-A0D1-D20271955BD9.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Two men, a rope and that winch on the deck was what was used to move these massive projectiles. Don’t let it tip over! Don’t forget the ship is pitching and rolling along with the jolt of every time the 16s were fired. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/16c8eed6-cb84-435b-b56e-4fd7ecfee02f/FBB8F217-744B-4D25-A463-900ADCC5A8E7.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Martha was having fun with all the guns! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a852a07e-28a6-407e-b365-41dc8f519fb3/D5BBE6F1-52BF-45F8-82A3-795988F5BFA8.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Everywhere you looked there where pin-ups. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9c1ea6ba-fe2f-4e2a-ac75-119b82b0044f/42B5865D-3BB9-4195-BA84-BDFD7AE53F82.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Cereal was a breakfast staple along with sausage and oatmeal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e52f17df-4601-467d-aae9-7d382be5bbf6/CF4D91E8-6764-4F02-A11B-3ADF672DC9BB.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out After all that fiber and grease, you can go to the Head with 50 of your shipmates. There is another row facing this one with no wall in between. You know everything about your shipmates!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5604c749-f67a-41a8-9464-429b9165bb7e/277EC4E8-35A0-4E9F-869A-3FE5D33F4332.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out When you want to get away and have some piece and quiet after a long day of shelling a beach, forget it! Anything you did not know about your shipmates from your time together in the head, you found out here. Light sleeper? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d5a73e49-8107-4c57-8384-312dd49f9fbc/2085CC32-9C22-4158-9503-5704AC08FB3C.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out There were a few luxuries to make life seem more like home. If smoking was not your thing, they did have Cracker Jacks and Hershey bars. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d428ebd5-275b-4825-8935-dc24a700480b/E5A1F667-C386-4AD3-A7D4-4A3535398A57.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out If you can’t be a good Sailer, its off to the brig with you! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3f55fb73-011e-41d8-8444-bb186257c7aa/0B704F7C-B783-4BAF-A781-3C96DA5F0D86.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out This is the instrument panel for one of the high pressure steam turbines that moved this massive gun through the water at 27MPH. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/aa5d46ca-3433-4c6e-ba81-f055f5db06b1/0E7888A0-A83B-4F84-BA51-2C21C4CF374F.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Guns, guns, and more guns! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e63adb83-e544-49cb-8967-d2656653bd58/48B7D072-E540-491C-B70B-9505E037E402.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Also onsite is the USS Drum. Appropriately named as it is just one big drum! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/142e2519-f9bd-4d88-95f0-f2e3c461718d/76049E7F-4B0B-43F7-AF07-72CF49D55D48.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out If you like to stay close to your work, you can be a torpedo man. You get to sleep right next to the torpedos! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c4dc9ee4-1ff4-4ec5-9620-5bdd6d245e10/BFF95DAF-6968-42A8-88B9-3E17DB6832C6.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out Lots of brass to polish in here so you don’t get bored. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2685c8de-ad1a-432f-97bc-c297c9571a3a/EB09017E-5B0F-4A0F-9F75-1602A3035826.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out How would you like to spend you time standing between 2 Diesel engines? My uncle, Bill Daly, was a submariner for over 20 years. He is 6 foot 6 inches tall. I can only imagine all the bumps on this head. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ec49fab2-da45-47d6-a53f-aa03ef217599/C8AE3170-22E7-4DF6-BEF0-89D48105FA28.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out The men that ran these subs had to be able to do it all in the dark incase the lights went out. No thank you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/dea0cfc6-4546-4442-b8df-8f59c47b7d71/9D0A21FD-1F1F-4CAC-95D5-7C1C14668C45.jpeg Adventures - USS Alabama - Make it stand out I am glad I get to watch the sun set over Mobile from the drivers seat of Mz Dazy. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/and-there-goes-2021 monthly 0.5 2022-01-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4cc79a1a-33c7-494a-aa5e-b30e3ed2fb4d/D1B86752-5DAD-49E4-B14A-252EA4AA481C.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out MzDazy got to ride another ferry on the way out of Galveston. Next stop< the Bolivar Peninsula. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/62901442-97b2-4491-94f6-0a0befbadb19/98A667F0-6432-4C3F-826D-1840B4E5380F.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out On the west end of the Bolivar Peninsula the beaches are not crowded at all. We had a pretty good section to ourselves after the first day or so. Martha was in heaven discovering all kinds of sea shells. As a side note, leveling on the beach is super easy, just dig hole for the high side tires! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/481398cf-9d73-4da4-ade4-dcfba693b659/478C3173-EBEE-4F7A-892B-B7B04767CD8B.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Another beautiful sunset https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3b83ef6f-bcd1-4909-aaa0-fb433e4354b3/2C127127-3602-423F-AB3D-7F68F0BB01CF.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out This gives all new meaning to “dune buggy”! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7f13cad9-98c9-4442-bfd5-5c4f8bfd7894/9F5A76E1-72C7-4D39-8262-41978FB71807.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/bef05bcd-f94f-4e0a-90f5-fba85360ad6a/D3979F96-9791-4783-825B-02F2B926FE01.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out This cool cabin in the woods was our next stop in Warren Texas. My old boss Brad and his wife Syd live here now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b44a1bba-221f-42cf-94a2-a812d80c4a48/35463E18-B180-4980-891A-AF5E7E9026AC.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out It has been a long time since we all lived in Big Bear, California. Brad and Syd are great hosts and friends, we had a great time getting shown their corner of the country. Their dog George enjoyed having Ruckus to play with so much that after we left he got a new little brother! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0b0ce849-a4d3-42d8-8d06-1704d5ddd433/6D54A86B-D00F-4363-B6AF-9B86AC14EBAF.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out MzDazy got her tree up and a fire to keep warm one night when a cold front blew through. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a70c5304-390e-4689-bcd4-3fc5f82851a3/77B6B434-D975-4AEA-9F6E-87D043F01AF7.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out After a side trip to Alexandria, Louisiana to pick up some Bluebird specific parts I wanted from Ross Buss, we went to Lafayette, Louisiana and spent the night at Vermillionville Arcadian Village. They had a preserved example of life in this area during the early 1800s. A note about Ross Bus. The people there went out of there way to find the parts that I wanted that were old enough that they were not in the parts listing anymore. Some of the guys that worked in the shop came out and gave MzDazy a look over and showered us in compliments for her condition and the conversion work we had done. Some of them were doing conversions of their own and are stealing some of our “wow that is an easy solution” items. They even offered to let me pull into a bay if I wanted to get out of the weather to install what I had bought. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/815f69a7-dc25-497c-8d03-206e840ae5c9/3A9D8EB1-C16C-43EB-BA8B-E98B3883CE5F.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c01e9f76-7b42-4feb-8b71-50c3eba3bf8b/5EC5452A-9025-4262-BF33-E5186AE1769E.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Over the Mississippi River we go! That is the LSU Tiger Stadium in the background. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4c179b9b-8604-4425-bb98-67c825bbcd36/C29ED906-720A-4D71-91AA-D2A622A3AB7C.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Well this is a bucket list town! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d7d881c0-3740-41ab-871e-0086f095b2ba/1540BCCD-57DE-4740-BA63-706CD02CB2DC.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/241062be-5070-4a51-babc-051e818a7af9/E5B54EB1-7DCC-499A-B9D4-A24E88E12449.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out While we were in New Orleans we stayed at the Faubourg Brewery. As you can see they have a beautiful facility with its own park that lit up each night. Being Christmas, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/850dbe51-fd3c-4303-9ade-22fd35b8f09e/072787EA-5DD3-49DA-A733-DDF221CE3A24.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Martha has a friend in every city! In New Orleans it is the wonderful Andrea and her husband Scott. Not only did they lend us their car for our stay, but acted as tour guides as well. We had an amazing dinner at this restaurant that you would not have even known existed if not for them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a2adacf1-ec4b-42b4-9d1d-54fc59aecc7b/55AAD721-C15C-474A-AE84-EFF3236DB934.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a Beignet’s and Cafe au Late from Cafe du Monde. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0e9dd2b6-0ecb-40da-b51b-610496847b66/B03CD9BE-1F04-43E6-B57E-9FEBFA0A8930.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/55964181-9d5a-4548-8f04-f2e082fd7172/C12A86C0-9D71-4A83-B77A-7F546E990A6A.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Bourbon Street during the day is a pretty quiet place to take a walk. On a future visit we will come down at night and see the zoo! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f86a1b80-86b5-4312-a795-eea742f02fe0/95B93E05-665A-403C-ABC0-E6564B2AFD85.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Christmas Eve at the brewery. It was nice to sit out in the sun with a beer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d6ee7dd2-64b6-46ff-9963-090d3bcd1788/4C61CCF3-42A9-4E44-933D-1F19D2AFDFE9.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1e1faa5a-b040-4a2f-8a39-104aa30e4757/95A9871D-ECF0-4D8C-804F-12428BB4A0D1.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Mz Dazy all lit up and ready for Santa. She even put on the STOP lights to make sure he found us! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a74c27fd-f608-4e91-bc5e-0c7062ca50e5/E3FDF837-388F-4F01-B5E9-F49BBE93B0EF.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Santa brought us Lectric Bikes for Christmas!! Now we can venture a little further from MzDazy than we like to walk. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7cc765d8-ece6-40bf-9116-d26ddc7cb1aa/6F56A57E-7827-4B66-8DF3-02C878AAF2DC.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Andrea and Scott invited us to Christmas Dinner at Scott’s parents house so Martha put on her Christmas best! We had great company and fabulous food. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5b3efd0c-e863-40ec-9c6e-66a044ff7a10/17C5AF4A-919F-4078-85C7-CD3161570CEF.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out The day after Christmas we were back on the road, or rather the causeway. 25 miles long crossing the middle of Lake Pontchartrain to get to Fontainbleau State Park for a few days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7b3984bf-7e99-4f58-892b-4ea8c9cf05fb/91E63EE5-1330-4BD9-935C-87298272F156.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out That is one big lake! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d6577adb-3a89-4d61-9a25-d84eae4531bb/7B684C68-1F27-4BA0-9EDF-7D6C82C0BD0D.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Now we are in the part of the country that Ruckus does not get to dive into every bit of water he sees. This little guy was just enjoying the sun. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ef656f91-3796-463d-b954-9d0a8cb73b33/95EFB9BE-D32E-4823-BF2D-21BAAFBD1AF7.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out All the old oak trees covered in Spanish moss are really neat to see. This park is a former sugar cane plantation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e703e1d4-0adf-45fb-b8e8-b945bc7ebae4/6EEE759C-1693-46E2-8BFB-13F5E4A5F5A6.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Ruckus is becoming quite the ham! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/00cca7c1-ad7d-4ddd-938e-d0a4e1418f86/346BF54A-43D1-45DD-896D-EC6851F87E62.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Our next stop in Waveland Mississippi was the former hideout of the pirate Jeanne Lafette. I just can’t stop singing “M-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-crooked letter-crooked letter-I-humpback-humpback-I”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a03519d7-ba88-4ecf-958c-b7d88a1bb8c0/CF3D4E28-A683-4257-9F94-7A8D19F58431.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out This beautiful little house is right across the road from the gulf and a white sand beach. Perfect! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c5483bd4-a804-4c30-9551-ff48dfbf0abf/381555DB-DCFD-4330-86CC-048292ABBF3D.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out A little relaxing in the shade. If you have never been to the “Deep South”, the humidity is incredible. 75 degrees in the sun is like sitting in a sauna. I just can’t fathom summer down here! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/25820f2b-4e15-41a4-a8df-96c85ad88d5a/AAD87F49-C5CD-41BD-A64A-7F9394ECC9E5.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out After getting settled into our next campground at Davis Bayou in Ocean Springs, MS, it was off to run errands. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d1a8c845-1dd5-48fe-8a58-7f3a901401b7/EBA107C3-91E6-4659-BDF8-9787691F2F92_1_201_a.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out After a nice evening on New Years Eve with our camp neighbors Paul and Sallie from South Carolina, we slept right through all the fireworks. In the morning this guy came to drink coffee with us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/55f498c4-7e04-4e44-a7ca-ab7112eed934/2C00BABC-A082-48F4-AB7D-5C418E081CFE.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out Hello 2022! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/611444e9-70fc-462b-b7b5-42272ca9b6f5/02D8E9BB-E740-4910-B723-833AA0D03989.jpeg Adventures - And there goes 2021! - Make it stand out New Years Day would not be complete without a bowl of Black eyed Peas and Greens. May the new year bring good luck to everyone! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/a-month-of-beaches-yall monthly 0.5 2021-12-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5f9feeaa-9338-44c3-a291-4a4847bb33e7/8F993B79-4916-4F7C-BE8D-D3C55BA715DF.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Martha has taken her true form after being on sand for a month now. Ever since we got to the gulf, we have been on a mission to slow down, and that we have. First was 2 great weeks at Malaquite Beach in the Padre Island National Seashore. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f27159b2-9644-45af-9fb2-3c9c1e7888b5/1EBCF757-2768-4EB4-9FB7-6D4A6104D324.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out We met lots of great people during our stay there and even had a gathering in Becky and Les’ RV for Thanksgiving dinner with as many of the other campers that would fit. Luckily they had a large RV because is was raining. Becky and Les invited us to take a ride to the end of the island, 60 miles down the beach. Les did a great job keeping it between the navigational aids! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4ca268bb-e313-442c-b6ae-9695a7d98425/0BA7E96A-D48E-4CD4-81F1-166E42FC4545.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Lots of shells to be collected at the end of the beach where there is not as many people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1e0b0f14-508e-4300-ade0-d2024fec11cd/3BF0E0DD-F865-4443-91C1-AB5F75B6DCFD.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Jimmy Buffet says Jellyfish don’t pay rent. Well this one got evicted from the sea. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d091769d-22cb-4d81-9a50-3424f77e6df5/7C7799F2-A3B3-44EB-8CCB-0612CA2EF366.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out I found this old airplane wheel in the sand. Old enough to have fabric cords, enough plys to be from a jet (20), and a Navy serial number. I wonder how deep the rest of the plane is? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/62ac5ae7-7113-4244-aeb6-1d32fc904326/A5BF9EB2-D7CF-4AA9-9443-A034D07E88C3.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out When we left Padre Island MzDazy got to go on a ferry ride! It was a very short ride, but it was way shorter than taking the bridges back to the mainland and a round about highway to our next destination. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/90743ff2-1231-4da1-8dbf-a1fc86077ccb/5E3FDD41-FC14-4314-B884-1D35A2893A84.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Our next beach house was Magnolia Beach in Lavaca Bay. This is a shell beach and the only waves come from the passing ships. The plus to this is that we were able to park about 20 feet from the water. The crushed shell beach is super porous and any water you poured onto it was instantly gone. We took the opportunity to do some touch up painting on MzDazy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c591ca33-7327-405a-993c-8b3dd7001676/F69513FB-9134-477D-8B19-DA9025457F6E.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out All the houses around here have some level of Hurricane proofing. This one wins that contest hands down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/cb23c3b4-c101-494f-8e66-cdcdafffa0e2/757317CA-879A-4C32-A7C9-726872E771CC.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Being that time of year, it was time for MzDazy to start getting festive! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0e5d831d-a11d-4b07-bb1b-f5e76c616d2b/1EEA0B38-F471-4DE2-8952-65C14C24CBA1.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Martha made sure to pack in some of our favorite Christmas things so we would feel the spirit! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/041b487d-ae6c-442e-93cc-9b4b528c02a5/C9C35612-FB3A-4FBE-8A9D-99EC602D637A.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out After a week of beautiful sunny days, the weather turned sour and was forecast to stay that way for several days. Time to head up the road……. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/95818156-edd4-4dd8-a832-8a26e6a2d2e4/E2516F12-8361-43EF-9638-E1DE4BA4E5DF.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out We drove up the coast on back roads to stay as close to the water as possible. There were some really interesting places along the way and we passed through a town that was entirely Petro-chemical plants, yuck. By early afternoon we arrived in Galveston. We were definitely ready to stretch our legs. After we got checked into the RV park for a couple of nights we headed out exploring. The Pleasure Pier is an amusement park that sticks out into the sea. Steel, electronics, and sea salt air. What could go wrong? It turns out you can only have pleasure on the weekends this time of year. Even though it was closed the security guard made it clear Ruckus was not welcome under any circumstance. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1f6191ce-6635-4fe1-ab3d-b0b477f29a97/86664685-F09F-4B7F-BF81-32E7E4E94962.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out While Ruckus took his pre-dinner nap, Martha and I soaked in the hot tub. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/057ee9da-f0c8-451a-81ae-ed1ba5485bdf/D05A58BF-1464-4CA6-8A68-780798D5F207.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out We spent the next day wandering around the Historic District checking out the old buildings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c0149895-b75c-46ad-932e-0c20d39e6c14/22A1530F-3B7C-4AEA-9BF2-0060CA2F0212.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out These old mansions were built at the turn of the 20th century and have survived Hurricanes for over 120 years. Side note, Ruckus was really not sure about the “cats” on the fence posts. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b10d1968-d978-4836-a6ae-6ab13d0135be/FCEAF219-9071-404A-991F-96A9E3A4FE5B.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out This was on the door in the front wall of a house we passed. The color is nice and festive, but the knocker says “go the fuck away!” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/471b8302-76be-4cd0-8ebd-799e519e205a/D5156B6C-735B-4968-B8B0-CD5330AC0A60.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out Ho Ho Ho!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/89bece1e-1c18-49c3-b902-b3e5f8426f1c/BFF8694B-17C2-493A-A67D-A2908590EEC9.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out This was one of my favorites. It very much said “pirate ship” to me. The Oriental dragons on top were a nice touch. Galveston was a shipping center back in the day before Houston grew up and this home shows the international influence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/41fe962b-996b-4137-bbe7-72eccfb11c5e/D1B86752-5DAD-49E4-B14A-252EA4AA481C.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out MzDazy got to take another ferry to leave Galveston Island. It definitely feels strange to sit in the drivers seat and feel the ocean motion in a bus! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e52f80f6-bef2-469c-a45b-2692b87e2481/98A667F0-6432-4C3F-826D-1840B4E5380F.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out MzDazy found a new beach to settle on for a while in Bolivar Flats. The Christmas decorating continues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fcc37721-73e8-40a1-9c2f-56ade6834512/478C3173-EBEE-4F7A-892B-B7B04767CD8B.jpeg Adventures - A month of beaches, y’all - Make it stand out I am still getting used to turning my back to the sea to watch a sunset. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/thanksgiving-marks-6-months-in-mz-dazy monthly 0.5 2021-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2e112cd5-916e-44d0-998b-2042fe91bf74/42323F16-87BB-4122-8DD9-4A1F26171CF5.jpeg Adventures - Thanksgiving marks 6 months in Mz Dazy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/bb33f128-e881-4019-b710-6f1648542af7/D32759C4-D817-47A5-BBA0-15E8FC57A16A.jpeg Adventures - Thanksgiving marks 6 months in Mz Dazy - Make it stand out Martha’s favorite photo- just hanging out with a couple of friends in Roswell https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4d73a87d-0b59-4da5-a6ff-63b9f7d0e32e/tempImageQ3l9np.jpg Adventures - Thanksgiving marks 6 months in Mz Dazy - Make it stand out Michael’s favorite photo- just hanging out with a couple of fishes in Alaska https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d926e6a4-8e51-40d8-9716-bac22859b689/FFB9FF33-BAB9-40AF-B1AB-DAE52706B0D6.jpeg Adventures - Thanksgiving marks 6 months in Mz Dazy - Make it stand out Ruckus living the good dog life! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/bbq-and-beaches monthly 0.5 2021-11-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9591ee9c-ce64-4a31-a27c-e27c2e73f9ea/38669C17-8AE8-4B64-BB80-396D2ECE8B6E.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out We spent our first night in Texas at the City park in Junction TX. You can camp for free for 3 nights. During this time of year they light up the park every night. All the camper kids got to stay out and play way after dark because of all the lights. It is nice to see towns doing things like this.We ran into another past camp neighbor from Zion NP, Jeff and his family. It is funny to see people a thousand miles from where you met them in a small town, without a plan. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/233ff5e9-4efe-43ba-94a4-631313b26f9f/325DA031-866C-4B29-8BD8-965FEC8575BF.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out After a long hot drive from New Mexico to Central Texas, Ruckus was very happy that a river ran through the park! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/d90328c9-2cc2-436a-8cf0-c91ea229633c/02FDD91E-F560-4EAD-9E24-7D3190E54351.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out The next day we headed through the Hill Country to Austin. The Hill Country is nice rolling tree lined hills, which is something we had not seen for a couple of weeks coming across the Southwest. There is a German town called Fredericksburg that looked like a Christmas heaven. Then you pass through a ton of wineries and into the town of Dripping Springs. This town had more wineries, breweries, and distilleries than anyplace I have ever been. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3c1fdb48-3488-4137-a4e3-83d656e8e1d5/DBC5BD9D-84BF-4232-B66E-3B536204A213.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out We stayed in an RV park in Austin, right downtown so that we could walk to the great restaurants and explore the city. It is called the Pecan Grove RV Park. Very old school with big trees full of squirrels dropping pecans on you! We mostly stay away from cities as much as possible, but Austin just seemed like a place to explore. Like most other cities, it is surrounded for miles and miles with suburbs and traffic, but once you reach the city itself, it was clean and moved at a slower pace than most. This is also a very dog friendly city, Ruckus was welcomed EVERYPLACE. It was actually kind of strange. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/23b7b11c-f90d-4686-9ec9-6d847ec0dfa5/4B7D632E-53BB-40B6-8F51-18736534481C.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out The brisket at Terry Black’s was some of the best I have ever had, but the Beef Rib was way better! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6f7ae3b8-f6f6-4c1c-ba1c-9d4048aa552e/877CDC63-44C0-4E96-B402-C24AB10F8855.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out When we went through the food line the cooks gave Ruckus his own rib bone so he could enjoy dinner with us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1f50ace4-856d-40b2-b8b8-0242e2d6d512/56FC3A0F-9CC7-4C89-B764-5D6EC2107193.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out Texas is not trying to erase its Confederate past. The statues still stand at the State Capitol as they should. They will be here for people to come see and reflect on the past. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8ad42088-3edc-4f40-a064-d128302706f6/5AFAD9AC-5FF7-45F3-9CC4-414E8E3ECA44.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out Austin is a very walkable city. A river runs right through the middle with the big buildings on one side and a park strip and museums and theaters on the other. There are lots of art installations everywhere you go. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b5396160-10bc-485c-9449-2ce5d69d3bc5/4CD27970-1CC7-4D3D-9D74-F475E92F62D9.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out Ever since we left Alaska we have been “headed to the Gulf”. Well, here we are, Padre Sand National Seashore in Texas. This will be our campsite for the next two weeks. After that we will move a few miles and repeat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/76b499a2-a27e-43e6-a719-7627de1aea90/5888EA16-A46E-496C-82FE-86D493E56061.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out Ruckus has found a nice routine. We walk one direction up the beach in the morning and the other direction in the afternoon. As we walk we throw the ball for him and after a couple of fetches, he goes for a dip to cool off. He has not gotten used to the nightly shower to rinse off the ocean before bed, he fights it with all he has. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/40f11628-ee55-4539-9c9c-f7e2bddb3ac1/84599DB0-6059-4BE0-AAD4-7D6628C20FE5.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out From here you can walk 10s of miles in each direction. Most of the days have been mid 70s to mid80s. Today Mother Nature decided to turn on the air-conditioning to give us a break, 64 degrees cloudy and windy. Tomorrow it will go back to sunny and warm. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3bc53a88-b34b-4624-a06c-43c4c7f7ff74/2D5B3F84-A6FA-412C-B402-24AA62C6C6DE.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out This is what is on the “TV” all day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/60fa47d3-8df5-4509-a1fd-f4e0833df2ad/42323F16-87BB-4122-8DD9-4A1F26171CF5.jpeg Adventures - BBQ and Beaches - Make it stand out This beach faces the Gulf looking East so the sunrises are spectacular. That is one of our neighbors dancing to the sunrise. We have met some very nice people staying here. A fair amount of them come here for two weeks at Thanksgiving every year. Perhaps we will have to mark the calendar! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/the-land-of-enchantment monthly 0.5 2021-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5f4eaa55-e2b8-432e-96d1-5a1cdfe49a91/58F17B71-5C57-4E32-AA5C-4EDA75B1372F.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out After what seemed like forever we crossed into New Mexico on Interstate 10. They did a great thing building the Interstate highway system, but I think they are designed to be traveled at 80 MPH or more. At 60 you feel like you are not even moving. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b34b7360-867d-4cfe-a254-98dca16e47d9/F9698406-4C7D-4231-B982-E7C129BC0F15.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out For our first night in the Land of Enchantment we stayed at a Harvest Host location, Shakespeare Ghost town. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/14bb7f84-03f5-4f2a-8338-39530d2ce011/C16A2187-29D3-481A-86BC-5AFC7CDF6541.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out These are some of the remaining buildings on the main drag. They are all built out of Adobe bricks. There was even a railroad spur built into the town in its heyday. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/677e3ff9-8b74-4c91-8014-899fe28734c6/54F4AE6C-14D1-47E9-9F32-A285661BA42E.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This is Dave, he is the owner of the town and chief tour guide. He gives a great tour. He and his wife, and now a helper, are the only residents of this town. It would be cool to live in a ghost town. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9ae3df28-b58a-48c3-b3a9-b033dd2a1845/A3B4FF02-6B33-4A4B-9F03-A3F670F12546.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The hotel in town has a bar. The story goes that the round holes in the walls are from the patrons shooting flys off the wall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8adbb196-ae52-42df-869d-0d72336cd479/EEC40D75-A19A-4845-89D4-F8583039AC47.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This stove was used to cook for up to a couple hundred people a day. Lots of time must have been spent sweating over this to cook for all the hungry miners. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/30d78729-4266-4f2c-bc6d-97019d9d631b/CD43703D-AF15-4C56-9228-E0DA4107FCB4.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The dining room was good sized but must have been full all day long to get everyone fed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b520a9ce-5506-402c-b973-b551660d2b99/2FA8DBD4-8A18-4C05-B3EE-92A77D551423.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out If you complain about the cooking, you have options, left or right noose. No the real story is that they had 2 dudes that needed to be stretched and no trees around. They left them overnight to cool and in the morning when the stagecoach showed up and the people rolled in for breakfast they had to take down the stiffs first. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7b387c63-4f37-4d1c-bd2d-6b969862b339/ADA64370-B17C-4987-A363-A77A4904B4EA.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The town has a full service and completely functional blacksmith shop. I would have loved to fire up the furnace and make some stuff. The original shop burned down about 10 years ago when an ember from the furnace jumped out and ran amok. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/78a387ab-0e64-4039-a4ec-78ec00f2e4e8/E0FD23BD-FF9F-4FEE-BAF7-8CFF53B1B4DF.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Up on the bluff overlooking Las Cruces is this “Recycled Roadrunner”. It is made from all recycled stuff, the underside is old leather tennis shoes and his butthole was a brush from a floor scrubber! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/64daa3cd-4319-484d-822e-b7814e6bc51d/617B973E-1A52-4392-8FEB-83CC81CD237B.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Las Cruces is home to the Worlds Larges Chili Pepper. We stopped to get a shot of my hottie with the big hottie! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/77724458-6122-402f-9418-76fe82bf75f4/5DCD7C85-74ED-46BF-9A7F-E5B761133396.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out We stayed the first night in Las Cruces at Rio Grand Winery. As you can see they gave us a spot with a great view. This was a Harvest Host location. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/31f37605-1c97-49a1-bde1-eb6458cda358/75BA8040-C749-4A8D-8C0E-16075A60F38B.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out It just so happened to be Halloween and they were having a party! Live music, people in costume and all the merriment a winery can provide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3e7849fa-2d95-4e06-97ba-455d16c1f0d7/BC049F01-1074-4BAF-8234-0253764409D4.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Martha got to bust out her Halloween attire and we had a few beers from a local brewery, Spotted Dog. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1f97df09-a237-411f-948b-e2bacb1370d9/3306D5A2-6D36-47B5-A8F2-9956BD56795F.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The next couple of days were spent on the other side of town,the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument. There are fossils from the animals that occupied the earth before the dinosaurs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/470e1763-127d-40c4-9c4e-55993e6d84e8/3FE15105-B86C-48B4-A253-8D15BDF4EDDE.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out We spent our days hiking in the hills around here taking in all the sights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/7af243b7-5b93-4e0a-a4dc-bd4991d526af/449EDD45-516C-4395-89C9-671BB1CA03DC.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This is an old riverbed where the fossils are located. We looked a bunch and think we saw some, but the pictures just did not show anything. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6d392fda-0b92-4c24-9436-95f42cb83af9/9DFAFF6B-C327-4087-838E-40597B1175D4.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out So far, everywhere you go has a great “golden hour”to light up the hills. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/8a49cc12-0e2f-456c-8974-66d288625449/B8B0C5B5-08D1-42E5-8FEB-2134CB807FFA.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out MzDazy had a nice drive through the White Sands Missle test range to get to White Sands National Park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f24cd3e2-aa52-4939-a519-fe575e79102c/B9D7A0AA-AE92-4EDC-8929-E7A135E01E90.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This is the largest Gypsum sand dunes area in the world, by a lot! There are others in Mexico, but they are tiny. This place goes on for miles in every direction. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/cfd00826-6b92-40b8-8093-c8ebef59f773/0CB839F3-4E10-4885-8B56-F004307D6B67.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The sand was cool to the touch, but the reflected heat was pretty good. It was 75 degrees the day we were there, but it felt much warmer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/72d441f4-096f-4fd5-b3a1-bad4037696ff/385B9120-A58D-4177-8589-2D3C5E15D84D.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out MzDazy seems to just fit in here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9eb243d3-4c28-4a21-9eff-28c7d234c51c/1A03D9BD-DF7B-491A-A992-65BE6D2FAE21.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Martha has found her next home. The best part is there are no windows to wash! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4d151022-c235-43ce-b536-ff1487f3b4c1/E8FA6024-F451-43BD-85B0-E3F14808D1C2.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Of course we stopped in Roswell to see the UFO museum and research center. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6fb98f55-6962-41d7-8f3f-58640f73dc44/D32759C4-D817-47A5-BBA0-15E8FC57A16A.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Martha found a few friends in there. These are not the beings that you should get parking lessons from. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b65977b0-0243-451e-a56e-fc83d71235da/480D02C3-9B9E-4005-ACA9-390CC2FDADA0.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Pickled alien anyone? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/63f7dc2f-9efb-46c0-b86a-9ec8bd2994d3/E938206B-A1E7-4E7D-91AD-EB46E62F94B4.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out I love the X-ray image. Its eyes look like pinwheels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2c3957f5-415c-49c5-b7d0-6af087c63e02/BE12545A-A16D-4404-B8AD-05E1347A1981.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out After meeting our family from a galaxy far, far away it was off to Bottomless Lakes State park for some relaxing and reflection. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/0e93639a-776a-4571-bd8f-1f73d87d9312/98C5253E-7ED3-46F5-AC02-83C7EC1E0312.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The last bit of sun makes for great pictures with all the stripes in the rocks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/92372b35-c554-4e62-b006-1b0d5dea7032/D2B931F5-9066-4157-8006-2F24D694CF76.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out These lakes are actually sink holes that have filled in with water. Some are as much as 90 feet deep. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/02c87d77-5fc4-468d-97c2-f45c92640592/5CB6D50A-3E3F-4571-ACFE-F4A0A8CDB799.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out You can’t complain about a spot like this to camp. The main campground was full, so they said to just pick a spot. They apologized for not being able to get an electrical hookup. Not a problem for MzDazy, those solar panels are making all the electricity we could need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/133452dd-046a-493e-b0ae-2362f74604e1/A6BE87A6-3880-46C2-B014-935E43139E54.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Ruckus got to swim in one of the lakes. The shore line was scalloped in front of the picnic shelters so that you could sit in the water in the shade in the afternoon. Sounds like a plan, I am sure in the middle of Summer it is very hot here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/ad7557bc-32f5-4423-b89f-efe47d5e232c/B1F3B54B-D328-4A81-937B-4C5263C0BCBA.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out It was cool to see all the different directions the stripes went. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/26a50f72-8762-47ea-adf6-a32fcc50e119/E815E536-3098-43F8-969F-50BD98B3AF99.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Do these boots make my butt look big? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/083250d3-d2a9-434f-8d41-b6bd405886a1/180EF598-F32A-4584-BBBC-AF316EAEC7BC.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out You never know who you will run into while checking in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3de07bd5-0c58-4234-ba98-51dd5147bf6d/BA5F1C54-32C4-4C6D-B8CF-492B64C39B9F.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out The rock castle on the hill across from the camp ground would have been fun to explore, but it was fenced off. I never found any information on it, so I don’t know if it was an original structure or if it was built there to get attention to the area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3ac1df47-7cef-4d4c-914d-101f9d456dd2/CD8C7DC9-02DF-4E84-9934-7DAF9BD32D30.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out MzDazy got to see another National Park! I have to say that with the limited access, no camping, and out of the way location, this is a park I would have probably never visited if we were not wandering by. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/01558327-4774-46a4-989d-bf9625532985/B20CE29A-1CD6-4703-88AF-D0F6B271A24C.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out 755 feet below the visitor’s center is the real show. Pictures will not do this justice. This cavern, The Big Room has a trail around it that is 1.5 miles long. In some places the ceiling is 250 feet high. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/063f59e9-70b1-4bb2-9d26-4e7a82123b91/5BE23361-DCDC-4FAD-9D37-A5DDA8D0E2F2.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This was all formed by sulfuric acid eating away at the limestone for millions of years. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/53a24810-e3a2-49b9-ab33-abb0cae5c68a/7A0A6D3A-EB04-45B0-976D-D643638EF7FD.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out You can let your imagination run wild with some of the shapes. This dragon was watching over one end of the cavern. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5d29a8b1-9a6c-4c56-b01b-4e3d9bfa03a3/909213DD-05F1-4B67-A6E1-176937A94F67.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out This toad was just hanging around. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2e6eff27-67e8-4969-a3fc-d529cbd8f52d/5973642C-363C-4C43-BEDC-6DC8388708E5.jpeg Adventures - The Land of Enchantment - Make it stand out Some of the intricate details formed in here were amazing. I would defiantly say Carlsbad Caverns Nation Park is worth driving out of your way for. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/the-warmth-of-arizona monthly 0.5 2021-10-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/3959cc1a-f23b-40a7-ae81-b862948e9eb9/94C753A1-8DD8-4B32-BD39-9A8534EAB379.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out After a fairly long day of desert driving, we crossed the Colorado River into Arizona. I love my people in California, and especially loved meeting the latest addition to out family, Indy, but I always feel better when I leave the state. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/35813e79-4716-4f6c-940f-3e9f664842a0/27FD8D98-E0AD-4000-B2B7-9C9605A1C2B6.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out We made it all of two exits into Arizona when we pulled off onto some BLM land and set up camp for the night. We sat and watched the sunset over the Colorado River and patted ourselves on the back for stopping when we did. Right away there was a big backup on the Interstate. We sat in 3 ten mile long backups between Barstow and the river, so we were done with that! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/45fb1d3d-e57e-44e9-aecd-11a2ece1914e/3F3B28FD-E945-4D0D-BD90-7123D9872FD0.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out In the morning Ruckus and I went for a little hike to see what we could see before a day of driving. We left here and headed towards Chino Valley, AZ where Martha’s brother, sister, and their families live. When we got off the Interstate we pulled over to stretch our legs and let the coffee out. I was surprised to see that MzDazy was also releaving herself on the ground! Coolant was draining from the water pump. We quickly topped off the reservoir and got going. We drove the remaining 30 miles to Martha’s brother Tim’s place very gently. MzDazy stayed pretty cool and got us there. The nice thing about MzDazy is that the engine is a Cummins 5.9 Turbo Diesel. That engine was put in millions of Dodge pick-ups so every auto parts store has the basics. By the end of the day I had gotten a new water pump and installed it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/fb19a10e-c509-47c2-8f08-e70549e15816/31948D0F-A395-4505-B657-C442ED63F53B.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Martha got to spend her birthday with her brother Tim and sister Betsey for the first time since she was a kid. We won’t say which birthday this was, but she gets all the discounts! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/62a56768-b802-4636-ad45-963e9a9b46c3/557A2F56-DE6C-4E68-90ED-C0D791FA22ED.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Niece Rebecca and her boyfriend Derrick came out toTims to celebrate the occasion as well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/28968cf6-9198-4436-b633-6505319ace6c/959900A1-DD62-4019-82C5-6A04955D1B2B.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Betsey’s son Lauren was on hand to share some love with his aunt Martha. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c2d6733b-9bba-421e-be50-bfb9d981b647/D6DB1887-E8CA-449E-A65F-9C8020DB58C8.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out MzDazy had a comfy spot right in front of Tim and his wife Sheri’s place. It was great hospitality! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5433bd67-b23d-4718-8846-927385b2d08f/5983ED9E-E7EC-4905-9C3C-479E20983C9D.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out All of the roundabouts in the Prescott area have great Western art in the middle of them. Can you see the hunter with binoculars above the deer? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6e05124c-e589-49ee-950c-50fc73692e5c/837C7C16-19D1-4229-A6CB-18EACE8E5691.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out When we left Chino Valley after a great visit, we headed over to Sedona to see all the beautiful scenery. We had last driven through this town in 1997 and let me tell you it has changed! It was more like Beverly Hills than the sleepy town we saw back then. A quick stop for some groceries and out the other side! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c6703d5b-d7c4-432f-bcf6-e9e46d273781/D9599FE8-BF18-495F-BDAD-20BCBE5E01E2.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out A few miles down the road we found a nice bit of USFS land to pull off for the night. It was fairly popular, but quiet enough. We even ran into a young man from Virgina, Jimmy, that we had camped next to near Zion NP. Small world for “Rubber Tramps”! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2dd1f583-3a39-4d26-8fba-a95df0d3f9a3/AF9DF53E-C5D0-444F-99CE-CE41C0E13D3A.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out One thing does not look like the others! We stopped at a truck stop to make some lunch and have some great internet service. I even did my last blog post from there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/5c311a3d-5590-43fd-948e-908fc64a9177/DF33F32C-4651-4283-91B8-EB352DD1A4B1.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out We found a nice secluded spot and settled in for a couple of nights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a22cd3b2-b09a-4278-8221-b4da95d5f32d/4D4BD2A9-8C21-4622-86E4-9AF2C3C0AEDC.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out We had a nice morning hike to the Aqua Fria river. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1444667a-9d36-414f-9014-a3630f06b224/6E0B6BAA-BF2E-4CE4-AB1B-D4EC88906840.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out When the trail got to the river there were Petrogryphs to show the early indigenous people where to turn to go hunt deer. There were definitely lots of deer near where we were camped. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c273ecb4-feff-4462-9257-984b35a6d856/0FB2D5A1-93F2-478B-981B-40AFB032720A.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out I climbed on boulders and Ruckus played in what was left of the river. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/9e9eb227-d87a-4d62-91b0-04f28ac42b56/AC56FCB5-C066-4A5A-AD92-7F4D0CAF749D.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Next up was a night with Martha’s long time friend and the Maid of Honor at our wedding Renee’s house in Mesa. It was great catching up.I love you Renee! Was awesome to catch up with Quianna too and quiz her about her date! Her neighbors were great and did not mind us camping out in MzDazy for the night. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2309610a-cd73-43b7-bc80-e90d84424d89/982854FD-169E-4FA3-B3B4-9A59EC864026.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Our last stop in Arizona was Tuscon. The Pima Air and Space Museum is located right across the road from Davis Monthan Air Force base, home of the boneyard. Unfortunately they are not doing Boneyard tours at this time due to COVID, but the A-10’s, F-15’s, and other fun toys have been flying a lot! I have been away from airplanes for a while now and was in serious need of a fix. This is a huge museum and they had one of nearly everything! Ruckus was welcomed and the docents treated him like their own. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/24834b14-9011-4c1d-ad6b-f5059da4415b/9C29295D-EA90-4378-BA37-9913EE8364C3.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out They even had the homely SH-2F Seasprite that I spent many hours riding around in when I was a young Sailer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/6b59c669-4f16-448f-99ab-4f11d4a92e89/9B66D668-B20A-4E19-B91B-473A5D473158.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Their B-17 exibit was a hanger to itself. It was very well put together and really gave you a feeling for the aircraft and its role in WWII. Side note, you don’t want to be the guy in the belly turret. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2b8e7f19-7ba1-4e7a-9f06-4e941f2b4d2e/9DA58BC7-F21C-4FD3-936C-4BBA5D6EFD85.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out I am not really sure why this was done to a few airplanes. I think I know an airline in SE Alaska where they might fit in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/b44c39eb-b3c2-435e-bc20-98e920a7a52c/CE0AD1D4-A65E-4557-9149-7BA24B4F0C62.jpeg Adventures - The warmth of Arizona - Make it stand out Arizona definitely has some natural beauty and is home to some of the people we love. Now we are off to explore New Mexico tomorrow. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/vegas-babyand-a-baby monthly 0.5 2021-10-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/af89697a-9f6a-4df6-9b01-f1b8c9cb534a/1B2F2E7C-A361-4D13-8318-E53F1897E730.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out After a beautiful spot by Zion park with all the peace and quiet, we decided to head into Las Vegas for a few days. Martha needed some new sneakers and her favorite Sketchers store is on the Strip.And new M&M shoelaces to go in them! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1a6b2959-6a57-4311-9031-4d00b68c4b4f/E7D78516-B794-4E71-9DF9-3FDBF0624527.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Circus Circus has an RV park right next to the hotel on the strip. The amenities were on the poor side, but location, location, location! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/30142ecb-762b-4c2b-8e52-68ee577baf19/A1A1DD49-7E7B-41C5-9951-2B5689EDD05E.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Ruckus got to strut the Strip a few times. The first day we walked to the M&M store at the other end of the Strip to get shoelaces for the new sneakers. 8.5 miles round trip. Ruckus got a ton of attention as it seems every young mid-western girl in Vegas misses their dog back home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/c814f533-d745-49b7-91a6-acbed8ddcab5/DDEE2C4E-1C28-409C-ABE5-50BE93FAE730.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out We even made it to Rome. Well sort of, MzDazy can’t swim so we just stopped by Ceasers Palace. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/23d659ab-c247-4547-91ac-a78a4ccf0ee5/B54F2893-223F-462C-B343-3F940F58FC17.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out We needed to get some laundry done, so we popped it in the machine and waited by the pool for it to be done. I must say this has been my favorite Laundromat. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/e86cac14-b3f4-4ed0-ac0f-3f9e975ccbb2/B927BA94-722A-4F6D-861C-2BA9CDED52EA.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out On Monday we were going to head up Hwy 95 to camp for a few days before heading to Big Pine to see Mike, Emma, and Indy, but the wind decided to blow 70 gusting to 100 out that way. We decided another day in Vegas watching the dust storm would be better. MzDazy blown on her side was not what we wanted to see. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/382f04d4-9e8a-4a2d-b985-1dece6f4325c/72D23CE1-4DE8-4493-908C-2EC02EC71EA6.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Meet Indiana Wyatt Haisten, or Indy for short. He came along last year, but with COVID and our impending trip, we did not get to meet him until now. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f956460c-876d-4f0c-b89c-8e5aa40f5b2f/C53B7FAE-FC49-4CB2-8D57-03B2565092F5.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Mike and Emma took us to a small farm and orchard near Big Pine and we had a good time picking our own treats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/a89e1e06-bf7a-4420-bb0c-9e41043c8c52/1DE7F4C5-7318-46E0-9D67-5730AE91CB95.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out This happy camper had a basket load of Asian Pears, her favorite! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/4d35d2f9-a130-48e1-969a-5b70e5b737a9/1EB45B21-9468-4842-8960-ED06356A9A23.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Indy supervised while Mike and I, mostly Mike, secured the solar panel wiring on the roof of MzDazy better so that it would stop slapping the roof while we drive in high winds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/f24cd03a-f99a-41fe-bf58-f74b22563559/95A66225-3064-4CD3-8733-A911B3D2A3B5.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Ruckus got to go swimming with Mike’s dog Moose. Moose is getting up in the years, but put on a clinic for the whipper snapper when it came time to retrieve decoys! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1f34a783-7ca9-4c71-9306-922643b66bad/8ADBEA44-F48D-4346-A20D-2B45E53A2323.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out We went for a short hike in the Ancient Bristlecone Forest. It is about 9500 feet of elevation and spending the last decade at sea level did me no favors! The trees were living, but almost petrified. Some of these living trees are over 4000 years old! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/03c1020b-2526-419b-ba25-784de47fc078/EDDD7100-8689-4592-8A29-7B32C64D699C.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Indy had the right idea and hitched a ride with Mom. I just don’t think I would fit in there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/15448be4-4741-4459-b9c3-235c05745cbe/72AC1107-56B3-4167-954B-EC349486557C.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Grandma and Indy got along from minute one. They had a great time for the entire visit. Every time I looked they were making googly eyes at each other. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/2dd99038-a402-4a93-9229-ec3456095132/BF3ED3EF-73F2-4C41-ACD3-740E3A4DDCA2.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Like most kids, Indy kept his distance from me most of the time. By Tuesday morning Mike had gone to work, so if he wanted to hang out with a dude, I was his only choice. We had a good time playing with all his toys until it was time for him to go to daycare and us to hit the road. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/09ec00b6-60bb-45e8-81b0-86e343c84d68/94C753A1-8DD8-4B32-BD39-9A8534EAB379.jpeg Adventures - Vegas, baby!…and a baby - Make it stand out Back on the road……….. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/zion-national-park monthly 0.5 2021-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633642408253-KZXEVGFLAEA6VQ5GQJAM/006CBE66-6C88-48D6-84DA-B8B4D5B5406B.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out On the way from Salt Lake to Zion National Park we stopped in Beaver, UT for the night at Beaver Canyon Campground. The lady said she had one spot left, but it was kinda narrow……. I can get MzDazy into anyplace! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633643246838-1RCDJ3A7BKH3OO271MBD/A04AD9B4-2ABF-4899-A816-B3C863AD780B.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Most of the sites seemed to be more permanent in nature. They had built cool living spaces along side their RVs. This one across from us appeared to be a bar. Too bad nobody was home! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633643382636-72BFODDQTN1J37ITVGAI/9D94C0F7-FE53-49C0-B4B8-298E02577424.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out A couple of spaces over was this one that was Gambrel shaped and the entire end was glass. They had a wood burning stove and an unobstructed view of the mountains. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633643519424-D454CJP7WUY7EQSVIDSN/740E2CC8-F342-4527-852D-0C5A10F07414.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out In Virgin, UT we passed this cool tourist trap. Before we leave, Martha will get me in there! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633643655424-DF32UNV92QFT572YJVO9/94FBFA7F-5A4F-48B0-926A-8B03BCFB0D5E.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out We arrived at Zion NP later in the afternoon. Parking was full for miles. After getting turned away from the RV parking area by a great employee, we went and checked in with the 2 campgrounds in the park to see if they had any cancelations. No luck. We decided to drive by the RV lot on the way out and the attendant ran out waiving at us to pull in. I think he was more excited than we were that a space had opened up. That gave us the opportunity to go to the visitors center and make a plan for the next day. See MzDazy hiding in the back? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633643992719-T6PNFUV2XNNN44W1FFRZ/A86F6FF2-1689-46A6-8020-5C65A17190F2.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out One benefit of poor planning is that it forces you to find better places. This is a section of BLM land we had passed on our way to the park. There had been a thunderstorm and flash floods we drove through leaving the park. The views here beat any in the park campgrounds by a long shot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644252950-GHLHIJ5YUQDHATO0IRCO/96D9213F-3655-49DE-ACC3-0DF3B8C86012.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out You could not turn in any direction without a spectacular view. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644349194-OO8ZF9ZD434DCZLNVS69/13595A7B-6000-4162-B498-A1E01214C5D8.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out And then the sunset started lighting everything up, no wonder they call it the Golden Hour. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644476277-UY9IB7HKB25ONO3I23BH/3EC24AA1-2880-4B7E-B704-69ED56238F20.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Since it was muddy after the storm, we spent some time adding to the Halloween decor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644598165-U6AOAGDQSNGEVD808LKA/B21FF48B-12C6-4CDA-B389-E5DDD79DA031.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out This one will probably stay all the time as it seems fitting on the toilet seat cover! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644690359-9M4YHG1CX99AX8ROABTV/05C1482B-0E5F-4D6C-BD7C-E12EF51FD7F1.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out MzDazy’s fancy hiking boots came in handy when all that red dirt turned into slimy mud. A less well equipped Sprinter van got stuck right behind us. Silly Vanlifers, you can’t keep up with MzDazy! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633644896669-HKJM6OIXL5WW3NE0UHIU/0E395209-75FE-4548-8B80-E5AD9456EFB5.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Martha had a great idea to get us a parking spot in the RV lot for the next day. We got up early, grabbed a cup of coffee, and enjoyed the sunrise on our 20 mile drive back into the park. Once we had a spot secured, we made breakfast and got ready for the day ahead. Our National Parks are not dog friendly at all. There is one paved trail in the park that Ruckus was allowed on. Other than that he had to wait in MzDazy while we went hiking. That is why it was important to us to park inside the park where we could get back to him sooner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633645537822-733R23ATX9GG374F768R/3052FCC0-1CD5-4E27-8E63-CF9FE67C5B58.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out We rode the park shuttle to the end of the line and set off on a hike along the Virgin River to the area they call the Narrows. The scenery is awe inspiring. The Narrows is a section of the Canyon so narrow that you have to walk in the river to pass through. We were not properly equipped so I guess we will have to come back in the future to do that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633645840318-K0GAQ4FUX1TS5C94HJYO/2C75205F-97B5-4F4D-ACDC-A0D7B04E1262.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Martha makes some of Mother Nature’s best things better! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633646008689-MJE4T7INCI1ENODGXW9F/F24C8906-F4F0-43E6-8538-B6A459227046.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out The sandstone walls make the neatest shapes when they fall. I was trying to figure out how the plants grew out of the cracks like that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633646195142-N2JYXHU1E7IRJ69VY8AS/AD801B07-4002-4C15-A55D-02C5EBF1414A.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Everyplace you look, you just can’t get enough! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633646454619-LY2TS4RESIOFHVNPMAHN/AB55B82B-D415-441B-B850-3FF373E1F2FF.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out I know you can’t make them out, but the tiny ants at the top of the cliff are people walking a trail that is very narrow and has 1000 foot drops on both sides. Those of you that know me, know I won’t be one that trail! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633646655607-W5OXUMVFABYGK8H4WIBY/3BC8FCD8-5440-443D-AFB2-E03937C2ADC2.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Our second hike of the day was to the Emerald pools. There are 3 of them at different elevations and distances. Being our second hike, we opted to just do the lower one. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633646840488-QC781M8GY1OVT1SRSDHJ/9DC7E541-FBFD-4E8C-BA3A-271857C68386.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out I was able to climb behind part of the waterfall. It was nice and cool back there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647067191-MP6N948D5HPUKFU42WVS/17524BDE-B30B-4A5D-816E-130C338396EE.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out One of my favorite things to photograph, Martha. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647283822-XE7R5KKPL4JSBPN5K3YP/C3BD354F-657F-448A-82EE-3974AE730E16.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out My other favorite things to photograph, AIRPLANE!!!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647475450-2K14A8JY8H1XHN5KAY69/AE324322-94F9-43E1-BAF6-4514CF7068FA.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Ruckus did get to go on a short hike after lunch. Mom and Dad were getting pooped. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647574123-9TGALCKDQIXKM3DVXT8I/988CD5CD-7D5D-435A-82CC-58C6C897793C.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Check out that cool sandstone arch up there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647747728-TX6W01J85GP3EFW6N46V/E6EF1963-25ED-4CD6-9A26-9469B6E15C50.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out See, I told you we would stop into that tourist trap. It was kinda fun though, don’t tell Martha I said that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633647944376-L7WHJZUTX7W3HQLA6O95/67E20055-31AE-42A0-A2C0-E43E8F2DC52D.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out After nearly 8 miles of hiking in the park, relaxing with a view is defiantly in order. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633648059210-HWDEQVAK2IU2490SDHK9/E7112579-EEA3-4078-8691-42D6332B4328.jpeg Adventures - Zion National Park - Make it stand out Ruckus was a trooper today mostly snoozing in MzDazy, so he got to finish off the ice cream. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/heading-to-high-ground monthly 0.5 2021-10-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633625335409-J4FV27N7YQM2SK2GUF2Q/tempImageeDJa8v.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out After 3 weeks in one place, it was time to hit the road. We are headed to Utah to see Jessica, daughter #2, and her family. We prefer secondary highways when possible and with a cruise speed of 62mph, I generally choose the route with the least miles. Google maps takes speed limits into consideration when plotting a route, but 80mph speed limits on the interstate don’t help us any. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633625674908-IDYKMHNRNLQ9N20Y9WQB/tempImageoyBpyr.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Another advantage of secondary roads is that you get to see more than just truck stops. Cattle round up anyone? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633625926827-2YBBR5XDZCI3KRFMUM2N/tempImage7g668A.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out We stopped on our way through Boise at Camping World. We now have a new “living room” rug. We also have a few more items. Do not go to Camping World thinking you are just going to pick up one thing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633626260674-0JHKX68YXC5QCSX245GG/tempImageQxdofO.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out We broke up the drive by stopping at Lake Wolcott in south eastern Idaho. We stayed a couple of nights and just relaxed. Ruckus never relaxes when there is water available. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633626776696-WPJ82E17DE96HITE4B1W/tempImagecOUdqY.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out The park that the campground is attached to is absolutely gorgeous. I lost count of how many deer were living here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633627015146-QWWE83WBDVNT31X9OV55/tempImageuKkn2l.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out In the morning we had deer looking in through the windows in the door. When I opened the door to take a picture, this is as far as they went. Hunting season or not, there is no hunting in the park. I think they read the signs! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633627280400-39UXASRO1VZ0UPX3UDAX/tempImagevYtJYI.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out The park had lots of fun things. Martha found a new friend. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633627402447-J58610LVZNMGFEQMKYEI/tempImageSYtGei.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Another state line crossed! Hello Utah. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633627838687-LZWFF8EECZ6NOFPN9X6F/7CE42B6A-C446-4727-AA94-4C0F91792342.jpeg Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out This is the hill you climb to reach Jessica and Adrian’s house. Once we got up there we saw the signs saying it was a 12% grade. It was 1.2 miles up that road and thank goodness for the tune up to MzDazy because I can assure you that she would not have made it otherwise. We found an alternative, less steep way down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633640323433-QCC4QXUL1EH2WKHWTR4P/tempImagergj6k1.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out On Saturday Adam (lower left)making the goofy face, and his flag football team had their playoff and championship games. They won them both and are League Champs! Adam is quite the player and scored multiple touchdowns. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633627664222-WSEDDBMAIQH4GVLK2WE7/tempImageAGcuGI.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Ruckus had a great time playing with the kids and his doggy cousins. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633640624296-7LX5ZKUFMNGNQEJRYCEH/tempImageYcRJwY.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Jessica took some time around the campfire to impart a wee bit of her blogging knowledge and skill on the old man. navigation should be a little easier and future posts should have some snazzier photo content. If you want to see how it is really done, visit www.butterwithasideofbread.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633640123623-2IEXIYJRD2QRS3BZ8M4L/tempImagewgxdd4.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Sunday was Adam’s 8th birthday. He is the youngest of 5 and a pretty cool kid. We were very happy to spend his birthday with him. This is the coolest cake topper ever, it popped open, spun around, and played Happy Birthday! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633628321256-316ZVTA988XNK5E21OIG/tempImageh3Eq2y.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Crepes were his request for breakfast. Jessica and the gang made a fantastic “crepe bar”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633629000521-MTT2ORMOSBZED8Y94FTJ/tempImageFPbCK4.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Everyone was happy with his breakfast choice. Here is most of the gang. Adrian, me, Leah, Thomas, Adam, Colin, and Hailey. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633641084401-KH6T7FFODM6AWFA9RO4J/tempImageheue81.gif Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Everyone wants in on the gift opening fun, well except Grumpy Panda! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633628596741-JCNUPDRZTQN5HG5DN21R/1031A684-6615-4D2A-A60E-860EF3B9CFA7.jpeg Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Leah was trying out for a future job as our driver. I think she will have to wait until she can reach the pedals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633628779556-P6CPTX8TEBADS67RC7S2/7A15E6AB-9A1B-44B7-A3E3-20BA30A8DE65.jpeg Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out These two look so much alike. It’s like looking at the same person 50 years apart. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633629276721-SQOSFSN04CIMFJIIRGAO/00654CE0-ADAE-4B5B-BB57-29C421B5F620.jpeg Adventures - Heading to high ground - Make it stand out Adrian and Jessica have an RV pad along side the garage. It made the visit so nice to be right there. Thank you for the hospitality. It was awesome to have time to visit with a professional blogger and get some tips. I think you will all notice some nice changes. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/bampd-walton-ranch monthly 0.5 2021-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633223289279-LG9S7H6Z8UKWG8CSFWAP/tempImageLHd1um.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out My sister Dona and her husband Bobby have a small cattle ranch in Emmett, Idaho. We stopped in to visit and do some of the things to MzDazy that we were not able to get done before we had to be out of the house. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633190261565-FMLEC5RO26M2MY28USK2/tempImage7lReDt.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out We just happened to arrive the day before my Birthday. It was great to spend the afternoon floating down a tranquil section of the Payette River with my mom, sister, and Martha. We went out for dinner at a local steak house, and then back to Dona’s for desert. At least they were kind and left the first digit of my age out in the candles! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633190613841-1AGK446W1NEGNQDW2UH3/tempImage5osKHt.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out Dona and Bobby are busy with a project of their own, building a new home and ranch operation on the back of their property to move into. MzDazy looks so small next to that barn. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633190783475-N0UGNV1UJI9FEWLXNWXI/tempImageKVOWhA.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out Martha and my mom went to work making window screens for most of the windows. It is fantastic to be able to open the windows without inviting in the entire insect kingdom. There were times I felt like Lord of the Flys! While they were working on that, I went to work on the engine. For the drive down from Alaska, our average driving speed was 48 MPH. I like to go slow and see the world, but that was too slow. The nice thing about the 5.9 Cummins that is MZDazy’s heart, is that adding power is relitivly simple. A new set of larger fuel injectors and a set of higher RPM governor springs was just what we needed. We now cruise at about 62MPH comfortably. As an added bonus we picked up another MPG on the fuel economy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633191227492-FL6F3I1BR4TTTY1WUOSY/tempImageUTQskf.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out My next project was to add these sections of rain gutter above the windows in the kitchen and above Martha’s seat. It just popped into my head one day and I told Martha about it. I don’t think we passed a single Home Depot after that without her asking if I was going to stop for rain gutter! It is now done and road tested. They work great, not a single thing tried to dive out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633191481925-DRZVGH582QSW381D2CZB/tempImagef1mCWe.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out One of the big projects on my list was to add an additional storage box where the air conditioner would have been. After all the door was already there and there is no such thing as too much storage. A local fabrication shop welded it up for me. Installing it was another thing. It was definitely a two man job, but luckily for me, my long time best friend Chris Johnson lives nearby in Kuna, Idaho. While Martha flew to California to visit with 3 of our daughters for the weekend, I loaded up the new box and headed to Chris’ new shop for the installation. The box fit perfectly and with Chris’ help by the end of the day it was painted, sealed, and mounted. We do work well together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633191886537-G87CRA1R760DHW384U2O/tempImage2IAp2z.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out It was not all chores while we were there. My nephew Kelly lent us his Razr UTV and Dona, Bobby, Martha and I headed out into the hills for an afternoon. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633192019331-MEB0XZ67P66P28U43Z11/tempImage1MJfFy.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out We stopped at one of Dona’s favorite spots for supper. When we came out, a storm was blowing in, so we high tailed it back to the ranch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633192388663-XTGNGBMPXRSTL61K57CC/tempImagesVHhja.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out Ruckus had a great time playing with all his dog cousins on the ranch, but no stop is complete with out a water test. It was hot on this day and he definitely enjoyed the Payette river with his Grandma Jo and I. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633192141482-PT34DZX05OTLECI3GVOD/tempImageoxqm2Y.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out MzDazy posing for a “golden hour” picture. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633192202579-F77MSO4H6V1UL0KYJ49R/tempImage3CYHo4.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out A late summer sunset at the B&D Walton Ranch https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1633192278638-H00TNZCE0D5QIM4F4407/tempImageP3cnkd.gif Adventures - B&amp;D Walton Ranch - Make it stand out It is great to have a big sister that you can just hang out with. Thank you for all the hospitality! I love you Dona! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/make-like-a-duck monthly 0.5 2021-09-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632151539309-8O8PHG4JNBAVTEVDLRVB/tempImage8QQpgR.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out That is fresh snow above the Matanuska Glacier. Since our goal for this trip is to maintain a temperature of 70 degrees or so, it means it’s time to go! All our ducks are in a row, supplies have been put on for a two week trip down the Alcan. Day one will be from Wasilla to Tok. Once in Tok we can get the required COVID test to enter Canada, do their online pre-registration, and get the last tank of fuel before crossing into $1.40 per litre. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632152069330-KP1WMC8WN7OU5GGMXX5S/tempImageqcIpDr.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Upon arrival at the Beaver Creak border crossing, we were prepared to be pulled aside and have MzDazy thoroughly searched. Damn Dirty Hippies in a bus! Right after hearing the dreaded French Canadian accent that had come with some of our more grueling boarder crossings in the past, the young lady boarder agents attention was drawn to a couple of motorcyclist that pulled up too close to a gate and set off an alarm. She then asked us the minimum questions and sent us merrily on our way. I am pretty sure it did not go as smoothly for the guys on the motorbikes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632152492491-N9I21KHUO4XXGV9GU3MG/tempImage9gVXEd.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out The scenery in the Yukon is absolutely gorgeous, but you are looking at one of the very few stretches of good pavement in the entire territory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632152699857-2MFOL8UE43BN18DHIP63/tempImagexZVBzZ.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day two ended after 389 miles of driving in Whitehorse, YT. We found a nice campground and checked in. Of the many open sites, they assigned us this one. It had about 6 inches of clearance on each side for me to back into it. When I stuck it in there on the first swing, a lady that had been standing by watching shot me a thumbs up and a “nice park”. When we arrived in Whitehorse and stopped for fuel, I noticed some coolant leaking. Upon further investigation I found a failed hose coupling. A quick trip to a hardware store right before closing and we were fixed. I am glad we were in a city when that surfaced. we are about to drive for very long stretches with no amenities at all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632153460684-B7FZ3YX3HD7MTEYD8NC7/tempImage3vEJ9F.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day three we set out along the Yukon River headed for Watson Lake. This bridge is one of only 4 that span the Yukon River. We had crossed one of the others a few weeks back near the Arctic Circle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632153725899-Q5CNIPRJP37O9CVVZ9JT/tempImageRRqWEk.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out After a few days on the road, you find new ways to entertain ourselves. We started playing a game of “what does that cloud look like?” We decided this one was Yoda from Star Wars. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154037215-AJ8NKIVV22QD5LIOI5CU/tempImage7kA74r.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Upon arrival in Watson Lake, we found that the “nicest RV Park on the Alcan” was a gravel lot behind a truck stop. We decided we would take a break and tour through the world famous sign post forest and then keep going to what was going to be our next nights stop at Laird Hotsprings. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154422119-E3ELPBQMP1LV662NU5OL/tempImagef1HlRp.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Hey, that’s close to where we are headed! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154576870-YDYXOBOJR7IAC729DSYF/tempImageBQalIU.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out We used to live there for a while. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154721540-M45ZQU6H7IJKBWQYLKK6/tempImage6NnbCL.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Three of our daughters live here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154859288-59E20O715TX9QHH4G6VH/tempImage0e0FHx.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Martha’a brother and sister live near here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632154998514-6Y82WNCI5C8P3M4KWMMA/tempImagedKdYlR.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Back on the road after stretching our legs we came across this herd of Bison lounging on the side of the highway. Right after this picture was taken a few of the males decided it was time for a little head butting. That was quite the sight. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632155225364-04ID439U13DJL0X4FW6S/tempImage8cQ7yO.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out After 418 miles, we pulled into Laird River Hot Springs, got the last campsite, put on our bathing suits and went for a much needed soak. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632155418092-KEJEH7CF83GFF81C8A4M/tempImageZyxbbM.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out These hot springs are in a very peaceful setting and even with a few kids splashing around we relaxed and soaked the road away. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632155667597-N4DDMAEH1H0AIL8UE9TF/tempImageJAzrLM.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out We decided day four would be short, 40 miles, to Mucho Lake, BC. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156043433-7NXI1TVU1NZP42LD9XLD/tempImagem5NWTb.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Ruckus was very exited to have a lake day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156189114-LJMACXEZ3JHO4KBD4G3H/tempImageQUoyW2.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Nothing like a day at a lake with airplanes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156334332-FX5HEUSNBQKVXVQSPHXM/tempImageYmq1kb.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Ruckus talked me into joining him in the lake. For a lake at the top of the Northern Rockies it was not too cold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156509115-L9ABKDCG4WB9IRM70ZPY/tempImage7m4sBt.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out They pulled this Turbine Otter out to do a 100 hour inspection. It was its first one for the summer. That was foreign to me, as we would be on the sixth or seventh for the summer on the floatplanes in Sitka. Thats a lot of airplane to only fly 100 hours in a summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156755991-74S4KC81HOWAKT5A3PVF/tempImage5PJ5eM.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Northern Rockies Lodge was a nice day off in Muncho Lake B.C. A really cool fire pit at our camp site. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632156922615-T436QJZNWEKLCO5WYDLX/tempImageWta08w.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day five was over the top of the Rockies. It was like driving through a wild animal park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632157086596-GAR0EJUQN2XT9I8QS6LS/tempImagettKkl6.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out These two wanted to race. MzDazy won in the end. We stopped for the night in Dawson Creek BC. 412 miles and that finishes up the Alaska Highway portion of our trip. Dawson Creek is mile zero of the Alaska Hwy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632157609123-UK1LKHQYEDM2YA3LUM72/tempImagerS9ytQ.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day six put us out onto the plains where MzDazy can stretch her legs…. It is Kilometers per hour. The end of the day was in Drayton Valley AB where after a mere 336 miles we stopped for the night. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632157765566-IVYKH0CZ8U4Q20G1XLOE/tempImageYCUEIn.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Calgary is a big city. 1.3 million people and they were all on the freeway this Saturday afternoon. We went right by to High River AB. We explored the town and took Ruckus for a swim in the river. That night we stayed at at a Harvest Host location, High River Brewing. We met some really nice people that were traveling along the southern part of Canada waiting for the US to open the boarder to Canadians so they could snowbird. The beer was good, we BBQed in the parking lot and put day 7 to bed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632158525704-U1LAUKHZ3KQ9E4LCN08R/tempImagegQhggJ.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day 8 was a lot of driving across the plains, first in Alberta and then in Northern Montana. It was nice to switch the speedometer back to MPH, but man we sure slowed down! We saw multiple of these mile long trains pulling oil tanks. That is what happens when you halt pipelines…. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632158865863-JNI8BJBQHKFMBXE4KCYT/tempImage9R2O6x.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Not a whole lot going on in Northern Montana. We did se some Antelope play…… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632159016039-8864N8N2WK8I5TOO7D7V/tempImageSMQ7Wq.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out With all the fires burning in the west, visibility was pretty poor. We called it a day in Butte, MT after 433 miles. Notice the other Alaskans heading south. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632159202733-62HQBTFACO95AKLHQI0M/tempImagefUfik8.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out After the sun set in Butte, the lights came on and we realized we were right next to the city. We could not see it through the smoke. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632159345789-VWI4Y88FOSW6VCPASCCT/tempImage7RZZgW.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out Day 9 took us into Idaho. We took a secondary highway that cut 70 miles off of our route and greatly improved the scenery. 450 miles to kick it in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632159565204-8KA3STF478V6PQQ5MF74/tempImageQsu3fH.gif Adventures - Make like a duck….. - Make it stand out 3010 miles from the South Hollywood Airstrip in Wasilla, Alaska to B&D Walton Ranch in Emmett, Idaho and a return to summer at 95 degrees. Dang that’s hot! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/fairbanks-wants-us-to-stay monthly 0.5 2021-09-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631222340194-9NS6C0WIYDHNG6ZMNTC2/tempImageaLevZ7.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out Once we returned to Fairbanks from our adventure to the Arctic Circle and got up to highway speeds, it became evident that MzDazy was hurt. After calling around to nearly every shop in town and visiting a few, the great people at Trailer Craft said they would fix her. A new transmission was ordered and now all there was to do is wait. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631222670469-VPZ94QCX5FUPRKOYBJ2X/tempImagetQXcas.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out We found an RV park right next to Fort Wainwright and enjoyed the daily airshow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631222790701-UFRRKT5J5QQG3D9CHGRT/tempImagezd6BZP.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out We found a Harvest Host that was a distillery called Arctic Harvest. They had a nice tasting room with delicious cocktails and a food truck for dinner. MzDazy waited out by the garden where we spent the night. One of the benefits of these places is that you can have a couple of cocktails and go to bed, no driving required. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631223026613-X7HN5UL9OZ8XI2ZKB6VD/tempImageCuAgIl.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out We rented a U-Haul van for a day to wander around Fairbanks and see some of the lower key sights. This antler arch is along the river walk downtown. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631223233626-RGNJLCCFE8X2QGOOJXSY/tempImage2Pw0QY.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out When we got back on Friday to drop off MzDazy, the nice guy hiding in the corner, Adam, broke the news to us that there was an error in shipping the transmission and that it was at their facility in Anchorage. It would be Tuesday before it would show up…….. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631223421909-C53VIL6ZLW5G4TAYSWJY/tempImageYhtLZN.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out They had pitty on us and let us stay in MzDazy in their lot until it got there. Over the weekend some rain was coming and Martha could not stand the idea that this van would get water in it. She took her stool and duct tape and went to fix it up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631223767147-5XJK6E4YX9QODNF0HAUE/tempImage3EEFNT.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out When the rain set in, it got cold. This was not the usual summer rain, it was very much fall. Apparently Fall starts in August in Fairbanks. MzDazy kept us nice and toasty. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1631223961833-PUHM6VAO31IPPMF88D4B/tempImageuSKjn9.gif Adventures - Fairbanks wants us to stay - Make it stand out After some great work by the crew at Trailer Craft, at 5PM Wednesday, we were off on a 329 mile test drive. All went well and 7 Hours later we were back in Palmer. With the first signs of Fall, we decided to speed up our Southbound departure. Michael helped a couple of friends with airplane work while Martha got our affairs in order so we could get ahead of the impending snow in the Canadian Rockies. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/f5wkfu3pe1hcpcwrz1cbp8qdhhge89 monthly 0.5 2021-08-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628200888218-W4WQ7Q5CX4QO96N6DSNX/tempImageCBbqyk.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out From the very first thoughts of building MzDazy, we had a destination in mind, 66.33 degrees North. There is only one way to get there on the ground in Alaska, The Dalton Highway, AK11, The Haul Road. This highway is mostly dirt road from 66 mile north of Fairbanks all the way to Prudoe Bay at the Arctic Ocean. You may have seen it on Ice road Truckers or many of the other Alaska “reality” shows. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628201505176-P23G60JM49IQARDSJNVH/tempImageKo46Kl.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out When it was time to select the new shoes for MzDazy’s adventures a consultation with a great tire shop led to the selection of these bad boys. He kept suggesting more highway (paved) friendly tires. When I kept pressing for more aggressive tires he finally asked, well where the heck are you going to go in a bus? When I told him the Dalton, he immediately said here is what you need. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628201905806-CMO23NLZKP0D4HCWEGBU/tempImage0qBqwr.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out The highway was built in 5 months to support the construction of the TransAlaska pipeline. Money talks! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628202133492-C6IKXVQDQ3BV2ODV5LAC/tempImageaSfa04.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out The bridge over the Yukon River is one of only four in the entire 2000 mile run of the river. The oil pipe is suspended under the wood deck roadway. It is a pretty steep decent on the bridge headed North. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628202512990-M610XL3M9VL0TCYGNJF1/tempImageL2444Y.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out Having not really had a chance to get a firm handle on MzDazy’s range yet, let alone on a road like this, we stopped at the Yukon River crossing to top her off since there would not be fuel available until we got back to this point on our return. When I saw the price of fuel, I thought I was in California! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628202790518-NGTT8VZ6WRVDG7AIQ1EB/tempImageJRqE56.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out Four miles past the Yukon River and six hours to travel 130 miles, we stopped for the night at a BLM campground. The camp host Sylvia was very nice and spent the better part of an hour telling about the area and the highway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628203171249-V6LAYWZW6UGE4N3V4U6S/tempImagev2wx11.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out Behind the campground there was an abandoned Roadhouse operation. We wondered around and checked out all the vintage signage they had collected. Note the “far north” attire required for survival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628203734843-3VL69MM15TD5N5P95OEF/tempImageoJUKgN.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out If steep grades are your thing, this is your road. Every time you make it to the bottom of one of these unscathed and without burning up the brakes, you take a big sigh of relief, until you realize you have to climb that on the way back! some of these grades have names like Sandhill, Roller Coaster, and Beaver Slide. They are all in excess of 11% grades. At the top of most grades they have a sign to tell you the grade so you know how to proceed, on these they just have a sign with the name of the hill, Good luck! The road itself is built up 7 feet above the surrounding ground, so if you get off the road it will not end well. MzDazy did an admirable job on this road, but these grades were definitely her’s and my limits! We climbed these at 12MPH and those previously pictured tires were worth their cost hands down. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628204320323-JISP4TWGVJL8TLBTC1TP/tempImageHQcB8M.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out We stopped on top of Finger mountain to take a break and walk around a bit and take in the views. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628204433402-594SIP849KTDCAVQJBYL/tempImageIt7XAr.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out That is Finger rock in the background. It stands 40 feet out of the ground at this time and gets pushed up a little further each year when the ground freezes. Early aviators used it to navigate back to Fairbanks as it points right at it when flying southbound. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628204655567-C3OFZKL3M1FZ0J0QWO0H/tempImage4uEUL3.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out It does not matter how old the kids get, show them a rock and they are going to climb it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628204772865-VT1M0G8MA96P5CRJKDZG/tempImageei2Qt5.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out 199 miles north of Fairbanks MzDazy crossed the Arctic Circle, 66.33 degrees. The imaginary line. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628204892045-7GI7NO5NGXF7BO26Q2QW/tempImageWvXxT3.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out One for the scrap book, probably as far north as we will get. Its all south bound for the next several months! Notice the attire, 87 degrees on August 3, 2021. Happy 16th Birthday to our Granddaughter Hannah Jane Hutson. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628205262202-UZOETKAH1RBVVJ69WRD0/tempImage0ClpaT.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out After 140 miles driving that day, we were all very happy to find this pond to camp for the night. Ruckus got in a swim and Martha and I had a couple cocktails to settle the nerves after that road in a 1991 Bluebird Bus. I now understand the other peoples astonishment to see an old bus at the Arctic Circle! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1628205464864-8996I9VG9EHNHVO98H9N/tempImageWnJ9eW.gif Adventures - An imaginary line at the top of the ball - Make it stand out After 250 miles on the Dalton Highway without pavement, this was a welcome site. Dalton Highway top speed for MzDazy was 35 MPH and the low was 12. South bound and down, loaded up and busin’ A-we gonna do what they say can't be done We've got a long way to go, and a longtime to get there I'm south bound, just watch ol' "MZDazy" run https://mzdazy.net/adventures/getting-into-hot-water monthly 0.5 2021-08-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627926350513-UZ86VF16LWDEOKF76R3G/tempImagevewN7D.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Heading north up the Parks highway, we passed through Healy. No Skoolie driver in his right mind could pass up Stampede Road. This is the location of the bus that Chris McCandles died in at the end of the Jon Krakauer novel Into the Wild. They flew the bus out under an Alaska Air National Guard CH-47 last year to keep more dumb people from killing themselves trying to get there to see it. It seems several people have done so in the same river that kept Mr. Alexander Supertramp stuck there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627926680150-P13GXF1JXSWHL9OH3EID/tempImageWvwfa9.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Then nice thing about driving your house around is that you can stop any beautiful place and make lunch. The wet spot on the pavement was there when we got there. I did not do it! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627926820967-6U37PVJ046DU1ASC0RYH/tempImageLhhbuW.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Our next stop was in Nenana where the highway crosses the Tenana river. Every winter they put that big tripod on the frozen river and sell chances to pick the exact date and time in the spring that it will fall through the melting ice. You can win some serious cash. They have it on a web cam for everyone not in Nenana to watch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927033845-3VDD38T4IWE0SN0YL6MT/tempImagenuaps6.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out After getting to Fairbanks to find that the state campground had been shut down, we scrambled around and found that we could camp in the parking lot of Pioneer Park. It is a great park with a carousel, little shops and ice cream shacks and even an outdoor Salmon Bake restaurant. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927202508-QGEJFMTICBXNPP6E6AHR/tempImagea4mge9.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out The best part to me, other than the dog friendly beer garden, was the aviation museum in the park. They had lots of exhibits of early Alaskan aviation. There is also a Railroad museum and Native Heritage center. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927369558-BJVUYBCFF3DMSF6OVU9K/tempImageJ3b6AV.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Up the road we went to Chena Hot Springs Resort. They have a nice campground we stayed in for a few days. You don’t lead us to hot water and think we are leaving too soon! The hottest part of that pool was right at the buoy that marked the bottom of the ramp. You did not dilly there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927536609-Z9BR6FKNCUS3MO4XFUY9/tempImageLCZWUw.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out I have a knack for ending up near airplanes! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927674222-OM4OMU03BOPHISI7AONY/tempImagehiELAG.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Ruckus and I went for a hike up this hill that gave us a good view of the resort and surrounding area. Luckily it had rained a little and got rid of the smoke from the 40K acre fire that burned right up to the resort. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927804788-Z7WSUKFLFF68EFDPXFJV/tempImage4XLaeE.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Martha doing her best Lilly Tomlin impression in the big chair. That dragon was protecting the greenhouse from intruders. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627927904304-EG0EZ6YT2O7FJ2VQSWWQ/tempImageh9G33q.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out This tractor was not rusted solid. Parts seemed to move freely. I am pretty sure some air in tires and gas in the tank is all it needed to run again. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928020067-HG3SUMY3CLUEZXX7HFGT/tempImage9iHXEO.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out On a hike around the valley, we came across this bridge. It had many patch jobs. Definitely not Mz Dazy approved. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928122191-U0BM3SH7J5NL86EE6923/tempImageY6ewwN.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out After a few days camping and hiking at the hot springs, Ruckus decided we should camp by this lake for a few days so that he could have some water therapy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928268944-PFZ4KP9NJJ0TH3WANK9D/tempImageQfZc9P.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out The state stocks this lake with Rainbow Trout, how could a guy pass that up? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928370310-KBL0ZJJYLKXL4MLGIR0X/tempImagem1qbP7.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Ruckus wanted to help release the little ones. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928441802-S82TDNEFW0N6YSCXY1PA/tempImage9FL8ud.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out The birch forest really lights up on a sunny day. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928512840-0KZSZB1CBU6EQTNB1R0G/tempImageqgGKHZ.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out We decided to go on an adventure and hike around the lake. Not many people even stopped by. Most just drove in, turned around and left. One couple did stop to catch a couple of fish and another stopped to chat a while. At least we know it was not the weirdos in bus scaring them away! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928680537-CB8FAL5BU9W94EQB9A1U/tempImageMpYjqG.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out We found this guy guarding the trail. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928756948-KPDZEAQFS16MW7HALKTP/tempImageW0N3K7.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out The weather was so nice, we even had a rare sighting of Martha in shorts without a Hoodie! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928840425-MVLLJ2G3MITTX22X3VXS/tempImageBpBlY1.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Ruckus even had his own fetching pond off to side so that he would not disturb the fish. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627928909291-S91655LV7I7C3H1PU4H8/tempImagerB0viW.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out On Saturday we decided we wanted some trout for lunch. In all of 30 minutes we had two pan size trout caught, cleaned and cooked. They were delicious. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627929025965-1PB2R0ENBYNGUPK6OMN4/tempImageBdCFvx.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out No trip to the Fairbanks area is complete without a stop in the town of North Pole, AK. We took this exact picture two years ago in January. You can bet the clothing was different!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627929171048-3GXWOAOBDFQMH6RFZY1P/tempImagenrYFit.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out Rudolf and the guys taking a break from their flight training. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627929253162-ZVS6B5220EPPUVI9K674/tempImagePxCwhN.gif Adventures - Getting into hot water - Make it stand out And down the road we go………. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/two-week-time-out monthly 0.5 2021-07-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235046053-BSD4PZV1ATJCG16A4FJK/tempImageRqcSFu.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out When Ruckus heard that we had to take a two week time out while I served my Jury Duty, he couldn’t even bring himself to get out of bed to get a drink. No, seriously, I take my civic duties to heart and there were some other chores that need to be handled also. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235243957-4O7STRTVABOLWWLWQOB0/tempImagexndsNA.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out One of the first tasks was to pick up five weeks worth of mail. MZDAZY got her permanent registration and personalized name tag. Never, ever have to renew. Thank you State of Alaska. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235409247-AYTNIN9XYTP162REE3RY/tempImage8SdOgX.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out We spent a couple of days camped out at our friend Terry’s hanger at the Palmer Airport while I finished up some work on another friends airplane (not pictured). Terry has tenants with neat Beavers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235561581-LPVBBSR07GMPE71DIVWA/tempImage0ehqfh.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Not a bad view for a hanger camp out! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235637422-DTPBJP09JKQTYLBHJTMB/tempImageeaydaf.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Friday night BBQ with John and Makiko, and Terry and Petra. Airports are for more than flying! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235789589-AWPM05ENR4WOU6PL7XQH/tempImageCd8YoB.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out No Jury Duty on Saturday, so off to Alaska Raceway Park for a night of racing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627235911305-N1897GVT3R94H7QQG1QA/tempImageDOa5sp.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Alaska Raceway Park is part of the Harvest Hosts group so they set us up with a nice grassy spot right outside of the pits for the night. The racing action was good and the competitor for the most part had a good time and were more than happy to talk to me about their cars for was long as I would stand there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627236168845-7DK1WCO9V5TGSDVFKHSZ/tempImager6SgEF.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Sunday we headed to the Forget Me Not campground near Big Lake so I could help a friend out with an Annual on his airplane. Ruckus was very happy with his own private lake. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627236283842-56GQQXWQZ8XZM5ONLZN0/2A8AFBED-5A76-4CFE-A298-C7E6FE7EE802.jpeg Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Steve’s little J-3/5 is a joy to work on. It was lovingly restored by a gentleman in Juneau a few years back. It is also fun to teach Steve about his airplane. Steve is a new pilot and learned in this airplane. He works on remote road projects in the summer and left on this afternoon to go back to work in Dillingham, quite an adventure at 85mph. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627236524678-NMR95K3QOP1VKWQIFAVW/tempImagejSSNFl.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out Next we headed over to our friends, Don and Penny’s place for a couple of days. Don helped me with the welding to build this table and wall in front of Martha’s seat. We had a Wonderfull seafood feast that I was so busy eating, there are no pictures! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627236746178-VYU98WF4I8ALN57LB4TI/tempImageKiQR3i.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out That feeling you get when you are released from Jury Duty! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627236831029-6OYOFE7EO6GP82X0TS49/tempImageNx4ZNB.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out The night before we headed out we went to dinner at John and Makiko’s with Terry and Petra. Makiko prepared the BEST dinner. I can’t name all the things I ate, but it was all so good. Makiko was even kind enough to put a little sear on Martha’s Ahi. Mine was delightfully unharmed by flames. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1627237095544-SVNSYSGSDNH0TX8KUIWT/tempImageYoKgU3.gif Adventures - Two week time out - Make it stand out After a rainy night in Talkeetna, we headed up the Parks highway for the interior. We will be staying a few days in Denali Park on our way back so we stopped to gather information to plan for it. I think it must be the COVID situation, because none of the park employees were very helpful and just sending us to someone else or just telling us to go online. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/back-up-the-kenai-we-go-jury-duty-awaits monthly 0.5 2021-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625961972008-46R5ZYQAV78NJX23JWVG/tempImage77pipE.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out The first day we kept short and stopped at Stariski State campground. We were the only ones there and got this site on top of a cliff with a view across Cook Inlet. That is Mt Redoubt on the other side. It is a volcano and still throws temper tantrums from time to time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962228948-CXIX3L23Z83HNHTFQDF3/tempImagetvINsK.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out This is what happens when you have lived in Alaska for a while and the sun comes out. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962374566-NQPE20638CEYOPPABC2Y/tempImageQGILof.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out This sun induced paralysis continued until about 10pm when we headed into bed with squinty eyes and red faces. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962522546-0WW9567E9JOF4DIVVKIK/tempImageViJzh2.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out The next day we headed up to Captain Cook State Park at the end of the Kenai Spur road. All those rocks behind me are JUST barely submerged when the tide comes in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962684071-AG6GWEZI1FLZNFUU3GV0/tempImagek0BMHU.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out We spent the afternoon wandering around down on the beach and up on the bluff just taking in all the sunny views. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962822770-QYRHNM52UXTAR2UJ61GN/tempImageFOSYpE.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out Most evenings, we can be found around a fire. I think every sweatshirt I own smells like a campfire. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625962969015-JOD6XANRMMBOD4LT86I3/tempImagernfgeM.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out After stopping off for groceries and fixing a broken electrical connection that made MzDazy not start when we got back with Fourth of July supplies, we headed off to Centennial Park in Soldotna to prepare for the holiday. MzDazy received many compliments on her festive patriotic attire. Luckily for us the electrical problem was found in pretty short order and I even had the correct size splice on hand to repair her. In the middle of repairing the wire, a gentleman pulled up and asked if I knew Jason in Homer. I said yes, just left him. He said Jason had him on the lookout for us for the past couple of weeks. Hard to hide in MzDazy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625963485563-8E7LAEP0KAKVT2FDKCLZ/tempImageG3udHT.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out Across the road from Centennial Park is the cross country ski area. We spent an afternoon and 7.5 miles walking the trails. It is great how many green areas the City of Soldotna has in it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625963700059-72F2BFUAY8NDJWZWF2PP/tempImage6UUY9M.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out At one point Ruckus came hauling ass back around a bend in the trail with a cow moose hot on his tail. After calming the moose down and getting a hand on Ruckus, I looked around the bend to see what all the excitement was about. About 50 feet way were these two, just munching away. I guess Momma Moose would rather not have the yellow kid join them for lunch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625963953445-EDVMUEDK4AYCIZ1D15VG/tempImageEI8R51.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out In the end, I think only the “adults” were concerned at all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625964174155-WVSKC5T90NBFSRCYGGBB/tempImage9qvlkJ.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out This guy raided a nearby camp for some “nuts” to store for winter. Ruckus startled him and he dropped it. Ruckus scoured the bushes until he found it. We made him give it back. With all the commotion, the campers came out of their tent. We asked if they were missing any candy and he held up an empty bag. Makes you wonder how many the little guy had squirreled away? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625964449985-EJZNCBV3AQWE2072MLDA/tempImagekYQV3F.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out The afternoon of the Fourth we went to the Rodeo. It was a small one, but was fun just the same. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625964594648-SO68CJ4ARGPAGD2STTRS/tempImagepsL0Se.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out This young cowboy looked to be about 13 and maybe 85 pounds with the dirt in his pockets. He had to wrestle that steer to the ground. It drug him all over the arena and even tried to scrape him off on a fence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625964750337-IRIW26DVV8QVUCXKN585/tempImageamL8jq.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out In the end, the cowboy prevailed and the whole place erupted in cheers. I am pretty sure the steer weighed 4 times what the kid did. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1625964893471-5ZJGS7C0DJFW12WWXOUM/tempImageWFnaCg.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out A large swath of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge burned in the Swan Lake fire. Around the camping areas and such they did a good job of protecting the trees, but everything else was left to burn as nature intended to cycle the forest. We stopped in this area last year and people were harvesting Morrell mushrooms by the bushel. This year the fireweed has grown over the area and is starting to turn the place into a giant pink carpet. By next summer there will be baby trees again. The birds are back nesting and other wildlife is repopulating the area. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626029010477-RY58BNU66C3YUPCYYI46/tempImageNAHK7Z.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out Ruckus and I went for a hike over to another small lake. By time we left, all that fireweed was starting to bloom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626029148050-MVYT5AUASBKSZ80YKFLB/tempImagev1gaBe.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out All over the state, there are these public use cabins. They are provided by whatever agency owns the land. They are a wonderful resource. Martha and I used them frequently when we lived in Sitka. This one is on Kelly Lake and is a half mile walk from the parking area.They even provide a small boat for your use. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626029360461-BQPF3HMLNHH2OHYCM1LZ/tempImagetP3Xg5.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out Kelly Lake was just down the road from the Lake we camped at. It made for a nice walk to go over there. As you can see, some of our tax dollars are being put to use to build trails so that we have easy access to these beautiful places. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626029669582-JUMC9ENGSBR27ZQ7CUHT/tempImagee8Ms7W.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out MzDazy found a nice spot on the shore of Peterson Lake to settle in for a few days. The trees provided a very nice wind break. While we like to see lots of new things, from time to time we like to sit still for four days or so. We try not to spread out too much each time we stop, but there is always some amount of that and you have to pack it all up to go again. This spot being on public land with few amenities was FREE camping. If you want to see a full time camper get really excited, say FREE CAMPING! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626030058441-J9906X7DRC0SZZOPMGUF/tempImageF3pdkV.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out This is an island in Peterson Lake just off from the camping area. There was a couple building a compound out there with their many very friendly dogs. The Fish and Wildlife Service did not seem too keen on this and came by daily to see what they could see. I have to say, that even though they sent their law enforcement officer out to investigate, through binoculars, they never went to the effort of going to the island to see what was being constructed. Those people hauled multiple loads of stuff a day out there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626030406228-WQ7QT6DVBJA5OZ5988LI/tempImagezKSM3a.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out Even Alaskan dogs get sun paralysis!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1626030521463-XJIMK0P45N829GZ3EGAP/tempImagen1nYhX.gif Adventures - Back up the Kenai we go, Jury duty awaits! - Make it stand out While it has been a great 5 weeks on the Kenai Peninsula enjoying the beautiful scenery and visiting with friends, it’s time to head back to Wasilla for Jury duty. Hopefully is will be short and painless. The next plan is a Northern loop so stay tuned! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/gm6tnonqkwnoi52oysm7bl5kcy7xng monthly 0.5 2021-06-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624902911296-RY4DV4MU568OCBESZKW3/tempImageBeeDMe.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out That little strip of sand, rock, and tourist traps is as far west as you can drive in North America on the national highway system. It is the Homer Spit and it sticks out into Ketchemak Bay near the tip of the Kenai Peninsula. We spent 5 days at the “fishing hole” about 3/4 of the way out to the tip. We met lots of nice and interesting people from all over the country and never even set foot in the famous Salty Dog Saloon, or any other bar either. Mz Dazy is well stocked! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624902976462-E9LEWYQ7825X7PW3B3BN/tempImagehzMrPp.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out We stayed a night on our way into Homer at Whiskey Point RV Park. They are a part of the Harvest Hosts program we joined. They have some spectacular views and are run by very nice people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903045885-0ZJYWYLK99F71OYXH8VP/tempImageNApInX.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out On the way back from the beach, Ruckus mistook a giant mud hole for a swimming pool He came out vey happy with himself looking like a spring lamb. Martha said he looked like he had on ExtraTuff boots. He did not enjoy the resulting ice cold hose bath! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903099913-VFQKGK01MLE0AIFG547J/tempImagegfPxcm.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Once he dried off, he came to apologize. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903156625-Z4WD61EMA71KZ7V8STAB/tempImagecfAPRv.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Martha’s true form as a Mermaid is showing! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903206067-QO731KG6KZNEKQMXTBDS/tempImaged2q6sf.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out This mosaic tile floor is at the Homer Visitor’s center. The very nice ladies that worked there insisted we take all kinds of brochures for things we had no interest in. Our fire was easy to light though! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903261891-A1JNBDV7060P05G56SOD/tempImagecxX3ab.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Mz Dazy had a Doctor’s appointment on Friday. While she was there a friend and former Harris air coworker, Kelsey lent us her car to go explore. This is the view of Homer from Skyline Drive. Boy was it windy up there! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903318566-1YIBMJTE5T32ALC9RLG4/tempImageM1P4FN.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Down on Bishop’s Beach we found this driftwood log cabin. It looked like it was in current use. Maybe check AirBnB for rates! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903389865-WPAGKHGC68PNOTW1FJOZ/tempImageXnTxM1.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Tidepooling is one of Martha’s very favorite things to do. Homer did not disappoint at all. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903466071-EB3B07SM0DE2L0GG2G00/tempImageC0qZhi.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Being as the wind is always blowing on the Spit, there are lots of kites. the big one was at least 20 feet long and the little one is a Pterodactyl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903495408-QNKYOPJJW6BIIUG2EVAX/tempImageR6S7mt.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out A nice JUNUARY day for a walk on the beach at low tide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903536513-Z8KSR4LSJZD1LVPS9JEB/tempImageyWdGCk.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Those ridges in the sand made the ball bounce erratically, so Ruckus got lots of exercise. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903604564-M8I2SWY4BIB3Q5JRMIO6/tempImageEcKpil.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out Mz Dazy watching the action at the Fishing Hole. The day before they had opened up to snagging of King Salmon and there were people shoulder to shoulder throwing and yanking giant weighted treble hooks as hard as they could. I stayed out of range! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903641167-JKY5P8L7OX2M2AA1ILJK/tempImage8WQC6V.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out This Eagle claimed the fish cleaning station as his. He chased dogs that came near. Unfortunately, many of people there fed him to get pictures and the Wildlife Trooper had to hang around to “educate” them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903691379-F77RS8749OR35ES26FDV/tempImageb2nVeH.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out A safe place to watch the action. Martha started referring to the windshield as the TV. “Turn off the TV and come to bed”. That horn button is a great drink holder. That meant close the blinds! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624922875714-GRJZ9DLCSQ72PVRQGJ9Q/tempImageqGR35q.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out On Sunday we met up with our friends, Jason and Trena Dagenheart and their kids for dinner. Moose burgers were awesome. On Monday morning, Jason and I got to help out the current owner of our favorite Beaver, Nothwind Aviation, where Kelsey happens to work, fix a problem they were having. Aviation is a very small world. Jason took care of that Beaver for Harris Air when I got there, then me, then Paul, and now Jed at Northwind. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624903724955-F05CFDHJQ8OCVK0O5FUV/tempImagelrCAKE.gif Adventures - As far West as you can drive - Make it stand out At 11:32 PM, the sun set on a great time in Homer Alaska. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/down-the-kenai-we-go monthly 0.5 2021-06-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624384201280-S15XBNRVEBQCD59G4KD5/tempImageEIeMIs.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Our first stop was Quartz Creek campground on Kenai Lake just outside of Cooper Landing. It was the day before fishing opened on the Kenai and Russian rivers so all the sites were reserved through the weekend. We lucked out and got this lakefront site, there are only 4, for one night before the reservation kicked in for the next camper. Being Glacier fed, the lake is a beautiful teal blue. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624384536184-2DTUEKWT8YS090TGB8AB/tempImage0vgOcZ.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Ruckus is on a mission to test out every body of water we come to, Kenai Lake, check! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624384972437-V5EAXP2V2SK9M0JA0HBU/tempImagekIhaYj.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out The view from our campsite was pretty stunning. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624385158195-R90T3J0OMBO5OFQROSYJ/tempImageb7h0JF.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Our next stop was at a Harvest Hosts member, Timberline Farm. Frank, the owner met us when we arrived and helped get us situated in the nice camp spot he had created for Harvest host visitors. He gave us a tour of all of his greenhouses and let us sample some of the different varieties of Kale he had ready to harvest. We bought some Kale that was so good, we ended up eating it all and buying more before we left in the morning. Nothing better than fresh food that was not harvested too early so it could be shipped all over the world. We look forward to stopping at other farms on our travels. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624393212335-11Q536JM8H5ZHUV192I1/tempImageutPC5c.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Centennial Park and Campground is right in the middle of the city of Soldotna. Once you enter the park, you would have no idea that you are right next to a highway in the middle of a city. The Kenai River flows right through and there is a trail with stairs that lead right into the river. We stayed here for 5 days. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624393548350-W97BJ799HIVJK70WLEGL/tempImageNcpR0y.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out It took Ruckus a bit to get used to walking on the grates on the boardwalk along the Kenai River. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624393668617-ESQZEFP0NLHE6DZW6RK7/tempImageGqjgMu.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out With the river right out your back door, you have to get in there and see what you can get. I hooked into several fish, but did not get any of them successfully to the shore. One of them fought for several minutes before snapping my line and taking all my tackle. I met a very nice retired Marine named Pell. He showed me the technique for “flossing” for sockeye. At the end of my first day fishing with him, he filleted and gave me one of the 2 fish he caught. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624394031307-3SU3OE08GEDK78IM4EGY/tempImageHgwk1u.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Kenai River from the Sterling highway bridge. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624394164818-2N77SJXY5DIUIZ0BPE30/tempImageVC9XTE.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out It’s a ruff life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624394283914-ZX5UBY8JMGAGLFY4APQA/tempImageawB1t6.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Nice spot for a family photo while we walled to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center to buy a pass to all the federal campgrounds. You only have to pay half once you pay $80 for a lifetime pass. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624394505095-Z3J8AUJ988H89QAZKQS2/tempImageX2huUw.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Tustumena Lake was the next stop for 5 days. Ruckus is like a kid at a hotel with a pool. Once he sees the water feature, he is relentless until he gets in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624394924044-6SL4IYDT6RIGLIWR6K5K/tempImageWjdUmN.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out We went out on a walk and met Miss Moose. Ruckus walked right past her like she wasn’t even there. Miss Moose did not mind and just kept browsing. We got Captain Oblivious back with us and decided to go the other way. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624395202890-CWB2OK5F8ECK9CEPB8LE/tempImageFPi3v9.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out We tried to walk the shoreline of the river up to the lake, but ran out of passable ground and shallow water. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624395334557-VSWSVWSZLBFRSJYY2N1J/tempImagemHVIxw.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Give me strawberries and I’ll make you a Daquiri!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624395491505-JLRHZQL0EZ60VL9MDSKD/tempImagehFzQnZ.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Fresh Sockey, strawberries, and Kale. Mz Dazy’s kitchen can do it all! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624395612819-U0FWJ81EBDHQLALYOQ30/tempImagePvuxMx.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out About a mile up the hill from camp, we found “cellphone hill”. It was nice to be out of range, but we always managed to get up here to check in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624395924351-5AAANOOZC452U87I5IDG/tempImage90P18r.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Here we are on June 22 at Johnson Lake State Recreation area. Ruckus can see the “pool”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624396077437-JZKCCT6I928Y1ADSIH7N/tempImageJGQpLe.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Grouse roosting in the trees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1624396200992-5LNYY6D8P665NA53Y3NC/tempImagelN4Hug.gif Adventures - Down the Kenai we go - Make it stand out Contemplating where to go next………. https://mzdazy.net/adventures/building-a-home-for-adventure monthly 0.5 2021-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623807616099-Q9GLC2J45XMA0F5VNXM9/5E73B4FC-9C9B-40D2-B136-5B14696FB816.jpeg Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out The blank canvas as we got her in October 2020. 1991 Blue Bird TC2000 35 feet long. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623812913290-G9L869OU0TQ1WNMUF7NM/567E51B4-D86A-4F13-85F2-474B33F2745A.jpeg Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We were lucky to find a bus with most of the seats removed. Each seat weighs in at more than 50 pounds and hauling the dump would have been expensive. The seats that were still there required grinding the heads off the bolts as the nuts under the bus were just rust. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623813162826-PC4LER3LVAD29T4RQ4IV/tempImagewuz4gp.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Removing the old rubber and plywood floor was fun. They use spiral nails at the factory, so I cut the floor with a circular saw set to not dig into the steel. After is was cut into about 18 inch squares it was easier to pry up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623807242784-DXVLD4FS8OUDXE6BM6U4/tempImageZGEJLv.png Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Stripping out all the plywood floor, ceiling and side panel steel, and insulation. We were very excited to find very little rust under there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623813422116-5DZG3E6LNZFEEPQVPZ6U/tempImagesUsblZ.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We started removing windows from places that need to be covered by solid walls, like behind the shower and closet spaces.We sheeted over the openings with 18 gauge steel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814006046-C4YNLF7YI4YUQ1NW418E/tempImage3dT1s7.png Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out After patching a rust spot and painting the steel floor, Martha taped over all the bolt holes for the seats. The first thing to fit was the shower pan as most of the other features would need to fit around it. And yes it was cold!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814126027-SBVCUEVT8VIGLHC6XCST/tempImageq7UyER.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We installed 1 inch blue foam board insulation and 1/2 plywood subfloor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814254473-SXQH2M5RYY2Y2E1P9WET/tempImage2ynsnJ.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out The shower and closets are framed in 2x2 and screwed into the steel frame of the bus. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814376939-O7K2FS0SPYV9S5DT1WGE/tempImagezCAGjw.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out After insulating the side walls with 1.5 inch foam board, we covered it in 1/4 inch plywood. When Martha painted the plywood we found out that paint does not like -20F temperatures. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814547675-1PI2WTWH3AU7F59YJCOU/tempImagemXq5dS.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We decided that we needed to wait until the temperatures got above 0F to resume work. The moose liked the peace and quiet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814677111-0TOBOYU5DSE1BQI4V7CT/tempImageVQP22d.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out The flooring went down and the adhesive took 3 weeks to cure at 0-20F. Tongue and groove was decided on for the deciding walls. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623814826744-W6OYBV2QYX2OSXP6P0CT/tempImageeDLuTQ.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We just remodeled the kitchen in the house, so we replicated it in tiny form in Mz Dazy. Same countertops and stain. Same sink, just a little smaller. We came up with the idea of a toolbox for kitchen drawers so they could be lockable for driving and not made of particle board. Toolbox was $150. It holds silverware, utensils, spices, pots, and pans. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623815115530-R5QORFLCPBWSIK6BZW55/tempImageYXLISV.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Martha was elected to go up on the roof and sand and paint it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623815858984-GGFXVS1QU3A4CBP2PRQG/tempImageuEt6fL.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Mz Dazy with her shiny new white roof to keep the sun from warming us up too much. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623815969383-QB5O8IRZQXLXC349CRKC/tempImage5Y13Nm.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Martha and I built night stands to be skinny enough to fit the bed. That is our 75 gallon freshwater tank that the bed helps hold in place on bumpy roads. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623816255347-76OBBKRDA8RWVVAWERA5/tempImageD1tJ3k.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out The silver Rustoleum paint started going on and the two MaxxFans and solar panels went on. We spent about $100 on paint for the exterior. I don’t think Earl Scheib would have done it for that. We wore rubber boots for a month to work on her while the snow melted. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623816494407-ABBTNMTG5XP28QENMUWK/tempImageZd2HYt.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We call this our Las Vegas shower. Room for two, LED lighting, and color backed clear wall and ceiling! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623816643114-M65PY5LW20YJJA5BZI15/tempImageHIXN72.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out An 11 cubic foot refrigerator freezer to keep the vittles and beer cold. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623816740783-WZ9DQH3APU88FZBL9A1O/tempImageI3Bh1J.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out The couch and dog throne all set. Those overhead cabinets are framed in steel and bolted to the frame of the bus. You can do chin ups on them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623816940510-CDJHTCI1B5RG3P6GFOQW/tempImageYPxmCV.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out We got her all new shoes at Big Black Rubber in Wasilla and wanted to make sure she did not get stuck, no matter how far out we go. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623817079474-42FM0C4UWMIKBW3KH7PO/tempImageICEVC6.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Plenty of power for all the conveniences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623817158021-YY91W5SGP3UKIQALBIDJ/tempImageOzdk6M.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out A comfy bed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623817237580-STA73V0E6SO8YEU4QYFD/tempImageFFjZIG.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out A nice couch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623817316839-XAW9S1WYQEJNCFA8VA3R/tempImageUaaR6Q.gif Adventures - Building a home for adventure - Make it stand out Tada!! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/and-now-we-begin monthly 0.5 2021-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623805048132-7ERX2RS7GLCF9JYUZ1RF/tempImage8JCOir.png Adventures - And now we begin… - Make it stand out MZ Dazy at the full hook-up park. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623805195278-COTY5L1NI07RD6HJWZAW/8629A3B9-FA1D-4356-AC53-926D5675B8C5.jpeg Adventures - And now we begin… - Make it stand out Mz Dazy at Lake Lucille. No hook-ups, test 2 passed! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623805339785-I3JB4HUHXSSNV1KQTQ94/tempImageXmlOmV.gif Adventures - And now we begin… - Make it stand out Ruckus testing out Lake Lucille https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623805422477-XVJFVA4YMXXDL9DZ1O47/tempImageamWSfr.gif Adventures - And now we begin… - Make it stand out Mz Dazy making electricity for the first time under cloudy skies. Test 3 passed! https://mzdazy.net/adventures/category/Travel monthly 0.5 https://mzdazy.net/adventures/category/Relationships monthly 0.5 https://mzdazy.net/adventures/category/Health monthly 0.5 https://mzdazy.net/adventures/category/Culture monthly 0.5 https://mzdazy.net/adventures/category/Sports monthly 0.5 https://mzdazy.net/contact daily 0.75 2021-06-14 https://mzdazy.net/about daily 0.75 2021-06-14 https://mzdazy.net/home daily 1.0 2021-09-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632238906924-SJK8JN6QDZ8AO48KFFGO/tempImage6fk1Xf.gif Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1632239095461-T4QOSX48ZT4NALPWPWHM/tempImageJ7XeL1.gif Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60c78e516f8ceb3994295ce9/1623691838194-UYF5PQILXX7IPVZMQWY2/tempImageBOCzJe.gif Home - Mz Dazy is a 1991 Blue Bird TC2000. Se was converted during the winter and spring of 2021 to take Michael, Martha, and Ruckus on a life of full-time adventures.