Hello again from the eastbound country coach.We've covered some ground since the last report and have but one leg to go.We departed Weatherford, Texas for Shreveport, Louisiana.Arriving at the east entry gate of Barksdale AFB, we heard and saw the aircraft you see above pass directly overhead at very low altitude as they performed touch and go landings.These airplanes have been around for some 50 years now.Relics from the cold war.

They look very antiquated by todays standards.They were so low that even Daisy would lift her head to look at them.Can't imagine what she thought.We stayed two nights at the base since as members of the Air Forces frequent camper club, we got a night free.The second night was interesting.Our emergency weather radio came on (It's automatic) to warn of tornado activity.I cranked up the computer to see the radar picture.Sure enough, a line of T storms just west of us moving toward us fast.A tornado spawned and was reported.I sent Lindy & Daisy to the shelter nearby the coach.When the weather was 5 minutes away, I vacated too.We got heavy rain for a few minutes, then it got still.I looked at the radar avialable in the building and Lindy, Daisy and I went back to the coach.The threat had passed.About 20 other folks at the shelter hung around almost an hour fearing a return of the weather.It was over.The next day we found out the tornado had damaged the bridge entering the front gate of the base and it was closed for repair.

We departed on schedule thru the east gate for Meridian, Mississippi.Continuing on route 20 that we picked up out of El Paso, it was an easy drive for our one night stay there.The next day we departed for Gadsden, Alabama.This was another one nighter.The place sucked but we just needed dinner and sleep.Daisy got a long walk between the two.After Gadsden, we went to Sevierville,Tennessee.We had been there on the way westward and really liked the park and location.Parked right on the river we have a picture of it out our front window in an early blog.

Located near Gatlinsburg and Pigeon Forge, it's got lots of shopping and good restaurants.We stayed there 3 more nights.Known as Two Rivers Landing RV Resort, we would highly recommend it to RVers and plan to return at a future date.

Leaving Sevierville was not easy.Daisy loved the healthy, plush grass to hop thru.I never saw her enjoy grass that much.We enjoyed the stay a lot too.We were on route 40 for a while 'til we intercepted route 81 which would take us into Pennsylvania.We stopped one night in Salem, Va near Roanoke.A good friend came over and joined us for dinner at a nearby restaurant.A nice evening visiting.Next day we were off for Chambersburg, Pa.There we stayed for the first time in a Cracker Barrel lot that actually had "lanes" painted for RV parking.Vary secure, but to near I-81.NOISY.At least dinner in their restaurant was real good.The next morning we decided to have breakfast in the "Barrel".Pancakes, Waffles etc.We were full and I thought I wouldn't need food for a couple of days.We departed up route 81 to intercept I-78 into New Jersey.Arriving at our NJ home, Earle Weapons Depo, a US Navy base at about one o'clock.We use this place every year to visit all our friends in the NY-NJ area.It's a great time seeing everyone.Our schedule is pretty full for our nine day stay.As mentioned we have one leg to go for our return to NH.Today, we had heavy rains and raw weather we have not had in nearly six months.Except for the rain at Shreveport, we have not seen rain almost at all.It was kind of nice to have a real rainy day.Some time next week, we hope to have posted our final blog from this trip out west and back.I'll add any pictures worthy that I may find and will give you all the final statistics as to miles, fuel burn and other interesting stuff.We hope you have enjoyed following our trip and hope to talk to everyone interested in all the gory details.It's a great country, despite the efforts of all the dopes in government who are doing their best to destroy it.We had all positive experiences from fellow americans and particularly enjoyed the ability to meet military folks at the bases, both active duty and retired types.One to go........Daisy will have to re-adjust to a house that doesn't roll ..........................See Ya

We have started our eastbound trek in earnest.After leaving Lake Havasu we drove to North Phoenix for a few nights stay.I did get to fly my new friends Bell 47G helicopter.An earlier version of mine.For six days of travel, we made a fair distance.From north Phoenix to Davis-Monathan AFB(Tucson) for a couple of nights.The pictures here show Daisy preparing to leave D-M.The large green helo is the military version of the aircraft I flew for five years between NY and Atlantic City.Our three machines were stretched versions of Marine One.After leaving D-M, we proceeded to Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas.We decided to bypass Las Cruces as origonally planned.We spent another two nights at Bliss.Then, on to the next stop at Midland, Texas.A nice little park for a nights stay.We discovered that Daisy liked to sit on the swings in the dog run area.Apparently, they're there for the humans, but Daisy jumped on the seat with us.We were swinging a while and when we stopped, she started to"talk" to us.She wanted the motion.So we swung & swung & swung.................&.....you got it.After leaving Midland, we headed

on to Weatherford, Texas.Located about 30 miles west of Fort Worth, we ended up staying an extra night for a total of three.We visited mineral wells airport where a helo, like the one pictured here, was poised for fire fighting.When I went to see it, I saw it belonged to a company owned by a copilot I flew with on that type a/c over twenty years ago.He's doing quite well.Based in Michigan, he operates the company with six large helos and just bought a company in california which added to the fleet.The weather overall was clear and dry all along our trip.Although the wind blowing to 50 in El Paso wasn't fun.The coach was rocking & rolling in the parking spot!Driving was not a problem since the wind was on our tail as a quartering tailwind.So on the four legs from North Phoenix to Weatherford, Texas we covered some 1100+ miles.We're still making changes to the route home and are targeting NJ for mid april.Still really enjoying driving this thing down the road and looking forward to home and NH.We'll try and get a blog out a few more times and look forward to seeing (&talking) to all our friends.Particularly those of you following Daisy's blog.

So until then we'll see ya......Down the road!..............................................Adios

Daisy has left the building!Yes.We have departed Las Vegas and quite honestly it sucks!A real dust bowl.Almost always very windy and blowing dust to the extent of reducing visibility a lot.We had to close windows to keep the dust level controllable.Even though we have an Oreck air cleaner going 24/7.We won't return toVegas again.
We departed a few days ago for an easy 150 mile drive to Lake Havasu City, Arizona.A pretty nice town established only 40 years ago.A beautiful eighty mile long lake located along the California-Arizona border.The famous London Bridge appears in a photo below.Happy to report it is not falling down.Just a focal point for tourist draw. Lindy and I ate at
one of the best italian restaurants ever!The founder was-yes- an italian guy from Hoboken.Lot's
of Sinatra pictures on the walls.The food was out of this world.Also saw a great old car show on a street nearby.At the airport just two miles down the road, we got to see a beautiful B-17 bomber.In fact it flew right over our motorhome as we were parked near the extended runway centerline about a mile from the TZ.Got a neat picture for you below.We spent three nights at Havasu.
Today we made the 200 mile jaunt to the north Phoenix area.We'll stay two nights here.The stop is to visit a friend who has a Bell 47 just like mine.I'll be taking more pictures and gathering more info in the care and feeding of my machine.Yes if you read the blogs, you know I saw him the end of december when we were westbound.I did loose all the pictures of that visit when my Vaio stroked out.I'm hoping we will get to fly this time unless it's real windy again.We also are trying to get to Luke AFB in the morning to check it out.Our next stops are Tucson and then Las Cruce's NM.Only planning one or two nights at each location.Gas prices seem to be inching up a bit.Below 2 bucks a gallon in AZ.Above 2 bucks a gallon in CA.I got a load of diesel in Havasu this morning for about 15 cents a gal. less than the Phoenix area.So it's still a crapshoot.Than God for Blackberries and computers.I check the route a day or two before a launch to plan fueling.Generally I go six to seven hundred miles between refuels since I like to refill with a third of a tank indicated.Although it's not a hard and fast rule to stick to.When i find a bargain, we'll fuel up anyway to tanker the savings.Like we did in airplanes.We hold 135 gallons so that leaves about 45 gallons in the tank for "reserve".At the end of the trip, I hope to post all vital statistics for those interested who may be RVers, or just want to know, like me..............................................see you nexttime....B,L & D.

So the other day we were at Red Rock Canyon.It was neat.In fact the next day some climber had to be rescued when he was stuck in mid air during his climb/descent.You can climb there but you need a permit.We decided to take a drive to the Valley of Fire a couple of days ago.This was even more spectacular than the canyon was.The very scenic road wound thru some of the most gorgeous formations of bright red rocks that went on for several miles via a loop road.I've included a few pix here, but they don't really capture driving thru the "valley" formed by the firey red rock hills.Daisy got in a picture to contrast the red to her coat.It was a long day but we enjoyed it.What is getting old out west is the dust.It's everywhere.And the dryness.Having humidity numbers in the single digits are common.We'll be happy when we are east of the mississippi!My Toyota is contrasting the large rocks in another photo.Tacoma will be at one hundred thousand miles in a few weeks.We'll have to celebrate with a margarita!
On Sunday, Lindy went to a brunch with a group from the park.She had a great meal and good time.Daisy and I stayed home (slept in!).Yesterday, we went to a Sportsman &
RV show at the Vegas Covention Center.Good news is that we got in free with our military ID's.
I was glad to not have to ask for a seniors discount.We ended up spending a lot on a complete set of titanium cook ware.So I guess we made up the free entry.You may be wondering why we haven't posted any pictures of downtown Vegas.Well the two or three times we were there, I didn't have my camera and we felt if you watch the opening shots of CSI (In Vegas), you'll see it all better than my shots would show.
We are now spending our last weekend at Nellis quietly.Lindy is enjoying the heck out of her new Kindle2 book device thing.She's had it only two weeks and has already read six novels!For avid book readers, like Lindy, this thing is a godsend.It's about as big as a large paperback and only a quarter inch thick.It will download a full book in less than one minute!So no more carrying a load of hardbacks with us, or looking for them, and paying a small fortune to buy them.The Kindle downloads for just $9.95.An amazing invention.Check it out at Amazon.Com.The warm eighty degree weather is to break by tomorrow and stay in the seventies.However, the wind is going to gust to forty plus also.Our next stop for those interested, is this wednesday to Lake Havasu City, Az.We'll spend a few days there sightseeing.They have the London Bridge there. If you remember, they purchased it from England years ago.It was dismantled, shipped, and re-assembled in Lake Havasu.From there we will begin our slow eastbound trek to the eastcoast and tentatively plan a mid-april arrival in NJ.We'll try to get out a blog as often as feasible on the road eastbound and are looking forward to seeing our friends in Jersey soon.Spring is here, enjoy longer days, shorter nights & warmer weather.For now.................From The Road,...............................over & out

Hi everyone!I'm getting to write a little to give dad a break.Yesterday the folks took me for a drive to Red Rock Canyon.They are a 25 mile drive west of the city of Las Vegas.
They are as high as 4700 feet above sea level.We got in free using the golden age card we now have for national parks.There was a 13 mile scenic drive road thru the hills and rock formations.We stopped about ten times for pictures.The rocks are red from having very high
levels of iron bearing minerals deposited over 600 million years ago when the formations were below sea level.About 180 million years ago, a giant sand dune formed over what would become the western US.Winds formed the lines in the sands, and over time the sand compressed into stone.After telling you that, isn't it a shame I will never see college!Anyway I had a good time and gave up a lot of afternoon nap time to make this pilgrimage but it was worth it.I actually met another long hair Dacshund named Izzy.We talked a few minutes about our quest for food and techniques to use on our owners ( push-overs in my case).Dad got a picture of me in the car window.And sort of like Alfred Hitchcock always having a cameo in his movies, well it is my blog.So, we are going to the Valley of Fire tomorrow to see,
you guesssed it ....more rocks.I'll be wearing my asbestos harnesses I'm sure and just in case I'll bring a fire bottle.I half expect to see Godzilla around some of these prehistoric looking areas.If we get some good pictures, I'll have them on the blog.Right now I need to go to the couch and catch up on some of my lost nap time...............................Daisy

I'm still learning use of the Nikon so while not perfect I thought they were good and you can get a sense of the precision timing these pilots

have in executing their aerobatics.Lots of blaring hard guitar rock is playing on the speaker system as the "Birds" perform.Also

several patriotic songs interspersed.Watching

and hearing this show is an experience I would

recommend to everyone.Check their schedule on ....The USAF Thunderbirds

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Week two at Nellis AFB has gone by faster than week one.We didn't do much the first week here.Didn't have to go far to be entertained.Meaning Red Flag was on going.Every kind of fighter was overhead our motorhome to include aircraft from Canada, Great Britain and Austrailia.Some 80 takeoffs a day.They will use live weapons in these final stages as it ends friday.We've been at the BX and commissary often.Also met some nice folks.One guy is an Army Appache pilot currently flying UAV's located in the mid east.Yes, they're operated/flown from right here.Another couple are from our neck of the woods, Maine.We went to casino "hop" with them since they've come here for years and know it real well.Daisy stayed at "home" for that trip and did real well.We leave the radio on and she can look out some windows for entertainment.

One trip she got to go on was an easy and scenic ride to Hoover Dam.About a 30 mile hike.You can see her in the pictures above.She met another friend there, a german shepard named Lady.Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to leave her in the car according to garage attendants.We didn't know that before we went.It was cool enough out to not be a problem.So, we didn't take the tours of the dam.However, we were ok with that having recently seen a documentary on the building of the dam.Just the size and magnitude of the dam were interesting enough.We parked in a couple of different viewing areas.We decided to drive over to Boulder City airfield to see what might be interesting.Well, the two major sightseeing companies that service the Dam and Grand Canyon were based there.Twin otters and a fleet of helicopters.I wanted to "fly" with these outfits after retiring from the Boeing airliners, however that was not to be.I was only going to do it for six months.Six months here, six in Hawaii and wherever else they have good sight seeing for helicopter ops.Having done it in New York for a few years, I can say it never got boring and the passengers were always enthusiastic.There's nothing like flying a helicopter.I'm glad I have one!

Today we had a special treat.The Thunderbirds put on their "kick off" airshow for the commanding general.He kind of gives them the hand wave blessing to start out on the road across the country on their show schedule for the 2009 airshow season.They invited family and friends and retiree's.I got to use my new Nikon to it's fullest.Using continuous shoot mode, I shot about 650 pictures!I couldn't believe it.But, I got a few gems.Remember a broken watch is correct twice a day.Well, you take that many pictures, your bound to get some lucky shots in there.That's how a lot of weddings photographers work.Shoot a lot of pixs!I'm going to put a few shots on this blog.Hope you like them.The "Birds" are good and put on an excellent display of precision flying, but I must say I prefer the Navy's Blue Angels.Their shows are much more exciting and very little delay between manuevers.They seem to do a few daring manuevers also.Now you Air Force folks remain calm.It's just my opinion after watching these teams for some 40 years.I also enjoyed yesterday's practice by the Birds.I was out cleaning the Tacoma and had taken some photos of them from my area.I had put the camera in the coach and some 5 minutes later the roar overhead was deafening.The venerable diamond formation flew directly over my motorhome at about 5 to 700 feet AGL.Now that there was impressive.

One last thing that we enjoyed was visiting a Mini-Cooper dealer here in north Vegas.What a neat car.Unfortunately not towable, we still would consider one in the future.They can get over 40 MPG in stick shift transmission versions.They're are really comfortable too.One other thing we've encountered out west.DUST!Very dry and everything gets a layer on it.Never thought I'd look forward to some humidity.However, in their defense out here, they are having a long dry spell.We haven't seen rain since a few days in december at Arizona.Tomorrow we will go to the Venetian casino for lunch with our friends from Maine.Weather has been sunny with day temps in the high sixties expecting eighties in a few days.We see temps moderating in the east and hope to have good weather for our slow trek eastbound.We'll take about two weeks to get to the New Jersey area.So 'til next time ........................................ QSY, Good Day.