Kim n Karen....On the Road: 2020

Wednesday, April 15...Home (Blue October)

After a toasty night’s sleep we woke up to snow...and two dead motorcycle batteries again. But we figured that would happen as the bikes were outside in 30^o temps without being on a trickle charger. Bike batteries do not like cold weather. Plan A didn’t work as Stanley didn’t quite have the juice to start them so it was time for Plan B which was pushing first Flame and then Zeus to the front of the truck. It took almost 10 minutes of being hooked to the super duper boost of truck energy before either of them started. We were willing to wait as Plan C would have been to push the bikes into the trailer or to sit down and cry...whichever came first. Plan B for the win!!!

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Traffic on I-80 wasn’t bad. We missed the bulk of the Chicago traffic because of where we merged onto 80. **Note: I should have said that the amount of traffic wasn’t bad; driving skills of those who were out and about were on par with what I’ve come to expect from drivers on this section of I-80.**

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Crossed into the Mitten State minutes before noon. Yay! Not home yet but seeing that Pure Michigan sign put a good feeling in all of us.

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Mom’s foot is doing better...she’s walking normally but will be quick to say that it still hurts. Her ankle has been sore; she thought it was from sunburn but the pain of sunburn is on the surface and doesn’t linger for 3 weeks. The pain she describes is internal; it’s also a bit swollen so I’m thinking her ankle as well as her outer foot bone was injured when she fell.

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Dropped Mom off at her house at about 4:30 p.m. Kim and I debated for about two minutes about whether to stay or head home. Kim figured we had plenty of time to make it before dark. The pull of home is great at this point so we got back on the road for the final leg of the trip.

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Today’s total mileage stands around 410 miles if I count the fact Rapunzel took us around a big ol’ country block before heading us in the right direction.

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7:15 p.m.....and we’re home!! Let the 2 week period of isolating ourselves begin!

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And at 9 o’clock we realized we were out of gas. No fire in the fireplace tonight and I have a call to make tomorrow. It’s a fine ending to another Kim n Karen Adventure. J

Tuesday, April 14...The Chair (George Strait)

Kim and I are establishing a routine for getting the trailer switched over from sleeping to traveling. Getting the bikes in and secured is the biggest chore. While I know that Kim could do it all on his own, it goes faster if I help...plus then I don’t feel like a damsel in distress being saved by the big strong man.

Today we were ready to lock and load by 9:30 a.m. Kim gets on Flame and click..click..click. Dead battery. Really?! On his way to get Stanley the charger Kim tried to start Zeus. Another dead battery. Kim’s certain he put both bikes in travel mode yesterday and since both were rolled out of the trailer in neutral last night, the dead battery thing was a complete surprise this morning. Would’ve gotten on it sooner had we known.

Both seats needed to be taken off and a bunch of wiring pushed aside to get at the batteries. Ugh! Flame started after a couple of minutes of being hooked to Stanley...Zeus wouldn’t start with Stanley’s help so we pushed him up front of the truck to get a super duper boost of energy. By the time both bikes were started tools had been taken out of the back of the truck, out of the trailer storage area and from behind the truck’s back seat. Then everything needed to be put back. Finally pulled out of the campground at about 10:30. Toilet issues last night and bike issues this morning...it’s just part of a Kim n Karen Adventure. 😕

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I couldn’t help myself...I started looking at Roadside America to see if I could find something, anything that we could stop at that would be open but absent of people. World’s Largest Rocking Chair on Route 66 ought to be the ticket. I did my research before I broached the subject with Kim...not far off the highway, it’s outside so we’d be able to see it and there should be plenty of parking area to turn the Beast and the Trailer around. If there should be other people wanting to see the 42 foot high rocking chair then we’d just wait our turn. He agreed and followed my direction to exit the highway. There was a mom with 2 little people heading in the direction of the chair when we pulled into the parking lot. We took the opportunity to record a birthday video for Rachel while waiting our turn to take pictures. The trading post was open; we were the only people around so we went in and spent too much money on our trinkets. Helping out a local business, right? Roadside America provides some background as to why there is such a big rocking chair in Fanning, Missouri.

The former World's Largest Rocking Chair was the brainstorm of Danny Sanazaro, who wanted to entice customers to his archery and feed store. Danny remembered a big rocking chair he'd seen as a kid on a family road trip, and he'd heard of a 34-foot-tall rocker in Franklin, Indiana -- Big John -- that he knew he had to beat.

Erected on April Fool's Day 2008, Danny's mighty chair dwarfed the competition: 42-feet-4-inches high on rockers each 31.5 feet long that weighed a ton apiece. It was designed by John R. Bland, a friend of Danny's with no formal engineering training, and built by Joe Medwick, the owner of a local welding company. Assembled out of steel pipe, the chair weighed 27,500 pounds.

A highlight of the chair's early years was its annual "Picture on Rocker Day," the first Saturday in August, when Danny would hire a hoist truck to lift lucky tourists to the chair's 20-foot-wide seat for once-in-a-lifetime photo ops.

To be certified by Guinness as the World's Largest Rocking Chair, the chair had to rock, which it did when first built. But the massive, multi-ton chair was so terrifying in motion, and Danny was so worried that tourists might flip it over and kill themselves, that he had the chair permanently welded to its base.

Records exist to be broken, and Danny's rocker was knocked out of the No. 1 spot on August 25, 2015 by a 56.5-foot-high behemoth in Illinois. Denied its bragging rights, the rocking chair was dutifully stripped of its World's Largest signage and repainted red as, "The Route 66 Red Rocker." But its new identity didn't rock the public's imagination, and after less than a year Danny went out of business.

The rocking chair, however, remained, and in August 2017 the store reopened under new ownership, with an emphasis on snacks and souvenirs. The big chair -- still the second largest rocker in the world -- is now promoted as the "World's Largest Rocking Chair on Route 66."

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Due to getting a heads up on construction closures on I-70 around Indianapolis we chose to take 55 North at St. Louis. From there we weighed all our options...campground, rest area or Walmart or busting right through to Ludington. I know Kim was really toying with the ‘Let’s just get to Ludington’ thought but it was too late in the day for the amount of miles still to travel. I had checked several Indiana, Illinois and Michigan KOAs...most weren’t open for the season yet. Well, that narrows our options, doesn’t it?

About 6 o’clock Kim told me to start checking for campgrounds...no luck with private campgrounds but I managed to find a KOA in Kankakee that was open. However, due to COVID-19, there were restrictions. I read them to Kim: Only long term, fulltime, essential personnel, and individuals with no dwelling are allowed to camp. Camping for leisure is not permitted. Tent camping, cabins, lodges, and restrooms are closed until further notice. Laundry is OPEN but will need to be scheduled. Curbside check-in or registration ONLY. During office hours, please wait in front of the store for an employee to come to you. Outdoor rec areas are CLOSED until further notice, includes playground and basketball courts.

We really didn't fit any of the categories but we’re not leisure camping either so Kim said to give it a try. “We’re travelling home...we’re self-contained and need a site just for tonight. Is that possible?” The answer was, “Why sure, we can help you out with that.” Yeehaw! Headed in that direction, found our nighttime check-in map, and set up camp. Tomorrow we’ll be back in the Mitten State. 😀

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Traffic is still minimal with the majority of it being truckers. The Chicago/Gary, IN area should be interesting tomorrow. Drove about 440 miles today.

Monday, April 13...Push The Button (Sugababes)

Today was all about driving. Usually I’ll check the Roadside America app to see what fun things there are to see in along the way. It breaks up the trip. But out of necessity this trip has been different. Stopping only for necessities...gas, potty stops and sometimes food. At those times I might get out and take a quick walk to loosen up the joints, maintaining a distance from people. Made 440 miles today...not bad for leaving at 11 a.m. and getting off the road about 7 p.m.

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We had planned on doing a drive-by at the Oklahoma City National Memorial...no need to get out, just drive by to let Mom see it. Due to COVID-19 the museum portion is closed and quite possibly the outside memorial has also been roped off to prevent people from gathering in numbers. But even just driving by we’d be able to see the Survivor Tree, the Field of Empty Chairs, the Gates of Time, and the outside fence filled with personal memorials. The way the Gates of Time are designed would prevent us from seeing the Reflecting Pool in the middle of the outside memorial; however, we’d still see enough to feel the emotional weight of it.

Forty miles out I queued up the directions on Rapunzel then turned my attention to reading my book. When I realized we were close I checked Rapunzel...for whatever reason she had cancelled the directions. I quickly tried to get them back but to no avail. As Kim kept driving along and Rapunzel repeatedly refused to even acknowledge that she was a navigational aid, I started getting ticked off. It was irrational I know but Rapunzel knows which of my buttons to push and today she was hitting them all. Not only did we miss the OKC National Memorial but we missed our exit lane because I wasn’t watching the road, I was arguing with Rapunzel. Take a deep breath...let it out. Do not throw your phone out the window...just take a deep breath.

At the point we pulled off the highway into a parking lot we were beyond the OKC Memorial and decided to just get going forward on the correct road. Eventually I was able to get Rapunzel programed to get us out of the parking lot and back onto 44 East. As soon as she gave us our first direction, Mom said, “Oh, sure, now you decide to talk to us.”

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Made reservations at the Lebanon/Bennett Spring KOA and pulled in about 7:15 p.m. Still had time to set up in the daylight. I’m not a fan of setting up in the chilly dark like we did last night. After we got set up the entertainment for the evening was trying to figure out why the black water tank (toilet) was indicating full but nothing was draining. The owner of the camp got involved also...he was eager to offer helpful advice and lend us a plunger. It got a little messy and slightly smelly before the tank got drained properly. Shit happens...but it’s all good now. 😉

Sunday, April 12...He is Alive (Third Day)

Arizona and New Mexico are both in the Mountain Time Zone but AZ doesn’t observe Daylight Saving Time and NM does...so we sprung ahead an hour when we crossed the state line yesterday. Let the confusion begin!

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It’s Easter Sunday. We saw a gathering of cars in a huge parking lot in Alamogordo this morning...people getting creative about celebrating Jesus rising from that tomb, the event that changed everything. A church was holding a drive-in type of service. Celebrate Jesus’ victory over death and stay isolated plus worship with others at the same time. Brilliant!

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On the road this morning about 10 o’clock. At that time we didn’t have a destination in mind for hunkering down for the night. Alamogordo is about 360 miles from Amarillo and about 600 miles from Oklahoma City. Kim thought Amarillo wasn’t far enough and I thought Oklahoma City was too far. About 5 p.m. we decided that the Elk City/Clinton KOA in Foss, OK, would be a good stopping point. Made a call, got a site and don’t have to worry about where we’re staying tonight.

Kim was willing to forego using his sleep machine at night if we needed to camp in a rest area or a Walmart; a converter is needed to run it off the 12V trailer battery. I wasn’t willing to have him get a crappy night’s sleep; he’s the driver and being well rested is important. We don’t have a converter; however, we do have a generator which could power the whole trailer if we went for the dry camping option. But we needed to iron out a couple of issues if we were to use it in a public place: where to transport it to keep it accessible and how to keep it from being stolen. Came up with a couple of ideas but they didn’t address both of those issues. On our last hot dog run back in Eloy, Kim saw what could be a solution on the front of Alvarado’s van. A trip to the Harbor Freight in Casa Grande resulted in the purchase of a handy dandy cargo rack for a 2” receiver. The truck happens to have a front end 2” receiver so that took care of one issue and a decent size chain and padlock took care of the other. Now all the bases are covered if we have to dry camp...even if our rig looks a bit funny.

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Headed up US 54 to Santa Rosa where we picked up I-40. It wasn’t a heavily traveled road today and it goes through some wide open country. Saw a coyote and several herds of pronghorn and even though my mom accepted the oryx sighting yesterday in place of a roadrunner sighting, we’re still on the lookout. We just are.

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I figured if any restaurants on our route weren’t closed because of COVID-19 they would be because of Easter; as it turns out there not too many towns or eateries along US 54. The town of Vaughn had an open gas station so we popped in to buy bread, lunchmeat and chips. Raided the trailer for paper plates, napkins, condiments and we were set to have an Easter picnic. The wind was pretty incredible so we had our picnic in the truck.

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Cruised into the Central Time Zone at the Texas state line. My mind knows that we’re only 1 hour behind Michigan but my body still thinks it’s on Arizona time.

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Back when plans were finalized for Marilyn to fly out and ride back with us, I told Kim that if we came through Amarillo at the right time of day that Cadillac Ranch should be on our list of things to do. He agreed so we packed spray paint just in case. It worked out perfectly. Came through about 5 o’clock and stopped beforehand to change into warmer clothes because the temperature was dropping and the wind...well, it’s always windy in the Texas Panhandle. We had the place to ourselves at first; then 4 more people walked out.

Cadillac Ranch is 10 Cadillacs buried nose down in a field outside of Amarillo. Over the years the cars have become an ever changing art project...and the paint is inches thick. Kim and I were told about it on our first bike trip to Texas in 2015...told to bring spray paint and have some fun. This is our third or fourth time stopping. Today I painted a smiley face on one car and then Kim painted a big red circle where we put our initials. The wind was ferocious and chilly but the paint dried quickly. My mom just huddled in her winter jacket watching us but made sure we got pictures with her phone. She’d seen a snippet about Cadillac Ranch on a TV show and is pleased that she can now say that she’d been there. 😎

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It’s no longer shorts weather....currently 40^o with freeze warnings. Time to put the jeans, long sleeves and socks back on and turn on the heater. Bummer!

Not a lot going on at the Elk City/Clinton KOA. Don’t know what Oklahoma has in place for COVID-19 restrictions but this campground isn’t anywhere near 25% of capacity.

Had the bikes out and heater running in less than 15 minutes tonight. Time was of the essence because it’s windy and cool. No time to be dawdling!!😕

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Traffic was so minimal today. Coming through the heart of Amarillo there was no oncoming traffic to be seen for about a mile down the road. Unheard of! Don’t know if it’s because of COVID-19, Easter or that it’s Sunday. Whatever the reason I’ll take it.

Saturday, April 11...Dust In The Wind (Kansas)

Since Kim had packed the truck yesterday our mission upon waking today was just getting the trailer back into travel mode. Batten down the hatches, find places for everything that we’ve been using and load the bikes.On my last garbage run I saw the kidddos at the playground and expressed my regret that we were going to miss the Ukelele Band Club’s ‘preformance’ tomorrow. They smiled big and said that was okay. Said our good-byes to Felicia from a 6 ft. distance which was so different from the hugs we greeted her with at the beginning of March. Pulled out of Picacho at 11:30 a.m. with visions of home dancing in our heads. Got lots of miles to cover before we get there...wonder what adventures we’ll have along the way.

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We stopped at Dwayne’s in Bowie, AZ, to show Marilyn where we always buy the pecans that we bring home to her. Bought pecans, pistachios, peanut brittle and peanuts in the shell. Then grabbed stuff out of the trailer for lunch and ate at the picnic table provided for such an occasion.

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Made reservations at the Alamogordo KOA. I was told they are allowed to only have 25% capacity during the time of COVID-19. Glad we made the cut.

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As we crossed into New Mexico I could see what I thought was a dust devil up in the distance. After watching it a bit I decided it was just the look of the mountains out there. About a mile away from what I thought had been a dust devil we discovered that it was a full blown dust storm. An entire field had dust rising from it...very difficult to see the buildings or mountains beyond it. Thankfully it stayed confined to the field...it didn’t stray onto the road. There had been several series of signs about what to do in case of blowing sand; I’m glad we didn’t have to put any of that into action. Can’t imagine living in an area that is prone to such a dust display.

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Driving along US 70 in the area of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico we saw signs advising to beware of animals. A discussion ensued of what animals we wanted to see with my mom declaring that she didn’t want to see any dumb deer. She could see plenty of those at home. Well, o-kay!

Kim excitedly pointed out some elk...I looked, Mom didn’t see them. I’m not sure those were elk, Kim. They have straight antlers...don’t elk have sticking out antlers? I’m serious...the antlers were straight. So I googled ‘deer with straight antlers’ which resulted in a picture and description of an oryx. As soon as I read ‘native to arid part of Africa or Arabian Peninsula’ I laughed and said, “Well, so much for that.” Kim told me to search for exotic animals in New Mexico and what do you know but several articles about importing Barbary sheep, ibex, and yes, the oryx popped up. One article explained it this way:

New Mexico is blessed with a range of native big game species and hunting opportunity that are hard to match in the West, and sportsmen must ensure that mule deer, pronghorn and other native species get the habitat they need to thrive into the future. But exotics provide an additional opportunity that few, if any, other states enjoy. To many of us, oryx, ibex and Barbary sheep are a much-welcomed chance to hunt big game.

So, how did this bonanza of exotic hunting opportunity come about? And what are its implications for New Mexico sportsmen?

The answer to the first question is easy. The Department of Game and Fish, back in the 1950s and ‘60s, contemplated the introduction of non-native species to fill habitats that were perceived to be inhospitable to native big game. Various species were investigated as potential candidates for introduction. The three mentioned above finally won approval, as did the Iranian ibex. Greater Kudu were considered too, but eventually were nixed.

Blah, blah, blah....

The question is no longer whether these species can survive far away from their native ranges, but how to control them adequately to keep them from impacting New Mexico’s native wildlife populations.

Well, now we had to go back to see exactly what we saw. It was less than 5 miles and due to the absence of traffic, turning around wasn’t too difficult to do while towing a trailer. We found ‘em and sure enough we were looking at a herd of 10 to 15 oryx. And now, because Kim found a herd of oryx in the middle of New Mexico Marilyn has let him off the hook for finding a roadrunner. 😏

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Found the campground, got set-up, and ate a hodge-podge of leftovers for supper. Alamogordo/White Sands KOA is a fairly large campground and it looks like more than 25% of the campsites are occupied. Oh, well, we’re keeping to ourselves so I guess that’s not an issue for us.

Friday, April 10...Tears in Heaven (Eric Clapton)

Just couldn’t bring myself to walk the frontage road this morning. My body just said “Uh-huh...no way”. Kim said his was saying the same so we bagged a formal walk. Not saying we didn’t walk at all but the 2-3 mile jaunt down the frontage road didn’t happen.

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Got word yesterday that Jim Malewitz, a longtime friend from Charlevoix, suddenly died. (His death wasn’t related to COVID-19.) My heart goes out to his wife Sandy...I’ve been on the receiving end of that sucker punch and it’s devastating. And because of COVID-19, there won’t be a celebration of his life until later...so the family is just left to linger until that can take place. After Jeff died there was so much busyness going on the first few days: friends stopping by with meals and condolences, planning a celebration of his life, shopping for funeral clothes, dealing with an influx of family, etc. I later realized that those few days were a cushion against what was to come and I was grateful that I had that short time of diversion. Sandy and her family won’t have that cushion...and I just can’t imagine the stress of the entire situation. My heart hurts.

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This is what’s happening with people we’ve gotten to know during our stay here:

· Heard some outside noise early this morning, maybe about 6:30. When I got up I was very surprised to see that the site next to ours was vacant. Derek, the maintenance guy here at the park, and his family have been tucked back in this little alcove with us. But this morning he hitched his trailer to his truck and left...everything gone. It was related to some drama amongst the kids and other parents in the campground; his wife demanded they leave, so he quit his job and they left. Now what?

· Jason and Angie are heading back to Spokane next Thursday. Washington’s COVID-19 numbers have stabilized to a point they feel it’s time to head back. They came earlier than we did to escape winter and decided to extend when the coronavirus hit. I can relate to that although Michigan’s numbers haven’t reached a stabilized point yet.

· John and Ruth along with their daughters Dorothy and Esther Ruth are from Virginia and have been here almost as long as us. They’ve been living in 2 tents using their vehicle for storage the entire time. They came here because John has Parkinson’s and his doctor thought the warmer climate might help him. He’s on medical leave from his job but recently told Ruth that he’s ready to take a medical retirement. Dorothy who’s 22 has a job in Casa Grande so the family is looking to move over that way...living in a tent with summer coming on just isn’t feasible. I assume they still have a house back in Virginia since John was hoping to get healthy enough to return to his job. *Note: I’ve seen improvement in John since they arrived...his walking has gotten much better. So maybe the warmer weather is doing him some good.*

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I saw a handmade poster in the bathroom today advertising an event on Sunday that made me wish we’d picked Monday as our leaving date. The poster says it all. These are most of the campground kids. I heard a rehearsal yesterday...it just would be fun to watch.😎

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Today was packing the truck day and it was definitely a Kim thing. No help required. After sitting around camp in the morning I walked over to the roping arena to watch one last time. I video-called the KY WonderKids to show them what I was watching.

There was another youngster there today; he came over from the barn area on a horse, sporting his own lariat and wearing a belt buckle that spanned a third of his waist. Hard to tell with him sitting on a horse but I’d say he was maybe 10 years old and it was evident he’s been doing this for a time. I thought that someone called him Neil. The cattle come in various sizes and George called him over whenever a small calf came up to the chute. Neil swung that rope with authority for one so small...or maybe he just looked small sitting on that big horse. There were maybe 8 other riders today of various ages and skills and it was fun to see the look of interest and pride on their faces when Neil was out there doing his thing.

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Late afternoon I rode the Tom Mix/Park Line Loop one last time. Kim had to run to Casa Grande so I was on my own. Not a problem...I could take my time seeing the sights. I stopped in at the Tom Mix Memorial...talked with a couple of other bikers who had stopped also. I think they were less interested in Tom Mix and more interested in a place to sit and have a couple of beers. Continued onto East Park Link and when I passed the raven nest, looked over to see a raven sitting there and silently wished them good luck on raising their youngsters. Gave a glance over at the hawk nest but couldn’t see anything because of distance. It was a good ride!

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A bird hit me today when I was on the Tom Mix Highway. I was toolin’ along and saw movement off to my left. Before I could formulate a thought something hit my ankle and suddenly feathers were swirling around my head. Ewww...Ewww...Ewww! At that point I was certain that I was going to find mangled bird somewhere on my bike when I stopped but thankfully that wasn’t an issue.

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Bike miles today: 93

Total miles: 2782

Thursday, April 9...I Spy (For the F.B.I.)---(Jamo Thomas)

OMGoodness! the obsession with walking that’s overtaken us because of Fitbit Bingo! Along with the fun of Bingo is the fact that we don’t have much else to do so we walk, we ride, and we eat. And I suppose there’s a small hope in the back of my brain that I can cancel out the eating with the walking, but I don’t think that’s happening. Before the sun dropped below the horizon I had amassed enough steps, minutes and miles to complete the Bingo pattern. Yay! 😊

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On today’s walk we noticed a light pole on the side of the road that had no light, so what was the purpose? It looked like there was a video camera at top pointed away from the highway out into the desert. Hmmm...video camera. Could this be something to do with the border patrol? Trying to catch illegals? There was a tiny metal sign on the pole...took a picture. Valmont CCTV was engraved on the metal sign...Google time. I found this info on Valmont’s website:

As the technologies to enhance and secure public safety continue to evolve, there is none more crucial right now than the video camera. But the camera is only as good as the pole or structure that provides the view. That’s why many local, regional and federal public protection agencies trust Valmont® Structures to design and manufacture the reliable and durable poles and sign structures that can support the vital work of protecting the public.

That doesn’t answer why there’s a video camera or who is doing the monitoring but it does kind of explain what...it confirmed that it’s a pole. 😐

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Train came along and the reason for the video camera was soon forgotten. There was counting to be done. Kim was a little ahead of me so I was able to count out loud this time. We both counted 232 cars with 5 engines...3 in the front and 2 in the middle. This train was between 2.38 and 2.60 miles. Amazing!

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So following a pattern we’ve sort of established, we walked, we ate breakfast and then we jumped in the truck for a little ride. The purpose of today’s ride was to do a final check on the raven nest out on E. Park Link Drive and while we were there take a peek in a nearby hawk nest. I’d seen a hawk sitting on the nest so I knew it was active.

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First up was the hawk nest. Oh, no... Look, cows are under the saguaro. It looks like they’re standing guard. Agh! Kim said no big deal so we grabbed our tools and set out on our mission...I let him go first. 😏 The cows danced around as we got closer and then they just ran off. Whew! That’s better. Before the cows ran off Kim thought he saw a couple little fuzz balls in the nest...sure enough, I saw three babies through the camera lens. And as we’re standing there we hear distant screeching. Both of our heads swivel in the direction of the noise. Oh, shit! It’s the parents...where are they? Do you see them? Will they dive bomb us? This nest was higher than the raven nest so it took some stretching and several attempts for Kim to get the angle of the phone correct to get a look inside the nest. I could see a little head watching the proceedings. All the while we were hearing the screeching but we couldn’t see the parents anywhere. Finally got a shot and vamoosed it out of there. It wasn’t until we got home that I realized we were wrong about what was in the nest. There were 3 little ones and 1 dead thing.OMGoodness! Kim, look at this picture. There’s a dead thing in there and it doesn’t have a head! Ewwww!!! Mom or Dad Hawk dropped off some lunch for the young’uns before heading out. 😐 According to research I believe these were baby red-tail hawks.

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Next was the raven’s nest which was easier to reach. I was hoping to see some little ravens but no such luck. Still five blue-ish eggs. But it looked like there were more decorations around the edges...sort of like decorating a nursery.

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Our bird watching done for the day we colored some Easter eggs. It didn’t take long...there were only 11 eggs and 3 people. But we had some fun with it. 👍

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We decided to take a bike ride and Marilyn came with us. Just a scenic ride, no hurry. Probably our last one as a group; maybe I’ll be able to sneak one in tomorrow. Chances are we won’t be riding for a while when we get home so I want to take full advantage of the opportunity available here in Arizona. We’ll be packing most of our extra stuff tomorrow in preparation for pulling out Saturday morning...bikes will be the last things loaded since Kim and I are sleeping in the area where they travel. If time for a ride presents itself, I’ll take it...if it doesn’t happen, I won’t pout about it.

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Mom’s foot is getting better in that she’s walking normally but still has pain...and probably will have until the suspected broken bone heals.

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Kim is out imaging for probably the final time of this trip. It’s a very clear night and the moon isn’t going to be making an appearance until later. That’s another thing that probably won’t happen once we get home...not because of the shelter-in-place order or our quarantine but because of the cloudy Michigan sky.

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Bike miles today: 64

Total miles: 2688

Marilyn’s miles: 753

Wednesday, April 8...Hold The Line (Toto)

Kim walked a lot yesterday and this morning said his hip was nagging him throughout the night. He wasn’t sure how far he’d be able to walk today but was willing to go with me this morning. We walked farther than the green sign but not quite to the COVID sign.

Yesterday the lines were painted on the recently fog sealed portion of the road. It was interesting to see that the painting crew got a little off course with the outer line; it ended up about a foot away from meeting the line on the portion that wasn’t resurfaced. Oops! So it was blacked out and repainted. It makes for an interesting visual on approach...the road is straight but the line now has a slight angle where the two lines meet up.😏

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The trains out here are long...it’s usually just an educated guess as to how long. Today we all took the opportunity to put the subject to rest by counting the cars when we were stopped by a train. The cab of the truck was so quiet one could almost hear each person counting in their heads. There were four front engines, one engine in the middle and 183 additional cars for a total of 188 cars. Earlier research indicated that train cars were generally between 53 and 58 ft. long which made the total length of this train somewhere between 1.89 and 2.07 miles.

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A couple of days ago Kim wanted to know how the roadrunner got its name...no signal where we were at the time so I forgot about it until now. It seems Kim is not the only person asking these burning questions. Gary Clark posted an article in 2012 on the website chron.com about this very subject:

The funny-acting roadrunner gets its name from a habit of streaking like a pint-size racehorse down roadsides. With long, skinny yet strong legs, a long tail for balance and an outstretched neck and beak, the roadrunner could be called the thoroughbred of running birds because it can reach speeds of 18 mph.

When I was growing up on a farm, I heard my elders call the roadrunner "the snake killer." I've often wondered why that folk name didn't persist, because many times I've seen a roadrunner with a snake trying in vain to wrestle out of the clutch of the bird's robust beak.

A Spanish folk name for the bird is paisano, which loosely translates to "countryman" or "friend of the same region." Because the bird dines on snakes and scorpions, I can understand why people gave it a friendly moniker.

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Decided to take another stab at seeing a roadrunner by heading out toward the petroglyphs again; it was a good day for a drive. I asked if we could go out as far as the hawk nest; I just wanted to see it again and maybe get a better picture. When we got close to it I thought I saw two bodies on the nest edge. I quickly snapped a couple of pictures while in the truck then got out. Taking pictures from a distance wasn’t working as I was having a hard time holding the camera steady in the wind. Getting closer meant using less zoom which meant the camera might be able to overcome any movement on my part. Getting closer also allowed me to see that there were two little heads peeking above the edge of the nest. Oh, happy day! How cool is that?! Took plenty of pictures; then back in the truck when I was showing Mom the pictures, I realized that there was actually a third little head visible in a couple of the pictures. Yeehaw! Didn’t see any roadrunners, though.

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The petroglyphs were much easier to see today because the sun ducked under a cloud while we were there.

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There are anywhere from 5 to 10 kids in the campground ranging in age from 3 to 9. The three kids across from us are homeschooled so the mornings are usually kind of quiet...afternoons get a lot rowdier. The owners’ son, 7 year old Ozias, likes to be in charge...if the other kids don’t follow his lead, he may very well go pouting to his mom that ‘the other kids are being mean to me again’. Felicia doesn’t usually fall for it.

On my walk today I saw 4 little girls having a makeshift nail salon party on the picnic table at the playground and nearby, behind a palm frond, there were 3 boys building something out of cardboard boxes. A voice rings out proclaiming them to be “He-man women haters” which made me smile because I could tell it was Ozias that said it. Made me wonder what led up to such a pronouncement. 😏

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While the thought of traveling cross country in the middle of a pandemic causes me some anxious moments, it feels like it’s time. Arizona, and specifically this campground, has been a good place to ‘hide out’ so to speak but it doesn’t feel as safe as it once did. Yes, there’s a core group that has been here together for more than a month but each of us comes and goes and it’s anybody’s guess as to what type of precautions we all take to minimize exposure. And now it seems as if the social distancing mandate doesn’t apply here. Especially among the kids. As new campers/visitors arrive and mingle the chance becomes greater that exposure will happen. For that reason it feels right to be heading home. I know we have a plan to keep ourselves as safe as we can but it’s still scary to head out into this kind of unknown. Aghhh!

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By the time we got back this afternoon, the wind had increased and so had the blowing dust so we didn’t take a bike ride. But I did manage to get 16,200+ steps. 👍

Tuesday, April 7... Dancing with the Devil (Set It Off)

Kim got right to working on a trailer project this morning so I took a morning walk by myself again. But I was able to make a couple of phone calls and then listened to a podcast so my mind was occupied with something besides the tedium of the task at hand. I set a goal of 3500 steps for the way out so I’d have a total of at least 7000 when I returned to camp. Problem was seeing the numbers in the bright sunlight; it didn’t matter that I turned to view it in my shadow, the contrast simply wasn’t there. So it was more an educated guess rather than a certainty about the number of steps when I turned around. Had over 7200 steps when I got back to camp so it proved to be a good guess.

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It took a lot of searching but we figured out that the lizard we saw yesterday is actually a Desert Iguana. Movement is what drew my attention to it which is when I noticed that it was larger than the lizards we see along the frontage road or in camp. Got a couple of really good pictures so it was a matter of spending some time comparing my photos to lizard images found online. Tedious yet rewarding. I know what it looks like so I’m not including the physical characteristics here, other than to say that it can grow up to 16”. Otherwise this is the information from rosamondgiffordzoo.org on the desert iguana:

Behaviors:

Hanging out on a prickly pear cactus

• The desert iguana can survive the most extreme heat. Temperatures of up to 115°F can be tolerated.

• The animals are diurnal (active during the day) when most other animals are hiding from the heat.

• The desert iguana hibernates during the winter and becomes active again around mid-March.

• During the day, it is usually found on the ground foraging for food in shrubs or basking in the sun.

• The desert iguana burrows near shrubs or sand hummocks (knolls) where it can escape from the heat and predators. It often uses the burrows of the kangaroo rat.

Fun Facts:

• The desert iguana can lose its tail. By dropping its tail, the predator will go after the tail which allows the iguana to escape to safety.

• The desert iguana can mark its territory with a secretion that fluoresces but no one else can see.

Two questions popped up when I read the Fun Facts: 1. How does it drop its tail? and 2. Can the fluorescent secretion be seen with a blacklight? 😏

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The four stabilizing legs (jacks) on the trailer have been exhibiting signs of having been left in the down position when the trailer was moved, allowing each to catch on the ground, bending slightly and weakening...and it didn’t happen on our watch. However, with our movement inside the trailer for the past 6 weeks, the leaning had become very pronounced, making the trailer more jiggly than ever.

Kim ordered a set of replacement legs, much sturdier than the originals. They arrived earlier than expected so that was his project for this morning. And while the jiggle isn’t gone, it is greatly diminished.👍

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On Sunday we came up with a tentative exit plan...heading for Michigan on Saturday, the 11^th. The trailer jacks were supposed to get here on the 9^th and that would have given Kim a day or two to change them out. Well, that job’s done but we’re still sticking to our original departure date. We’re both assuming that Governor Whitmer will be extending the shelter-in-place order until the end of April and depending on how long it takes us to get home, our two week quarantine would be done at about the same time. And if she doesn’t extend the order, leaving on Saturday will still work.

The plan is to camp our way home...whether in rest areas, KOA campgrounds or truck stops. It will minimize our exposure to others; we’ll also have access to the kitchen and the bathroom. Of course, we’ll have to take at least one bike, if not both, out each night so we can set up the couch for sleeping; we’ve discussed the best course of action for doing that knowing that being flexible is the name of the game. Packing differently than we did on the way out might make things easier also.

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I went for a walk around the outer perimeter of the campground around mid-day. As I rounded a corner shielded by bushes I was surprised to see a 20-ft tall dust devil swirling in the middle of the road about 15 feet in front of me. It was maybe 5 feet in diameter. I watched it, mesmerized by its dance like movements. As I stood there I could have sworn a hand extended toward me with a finger beckoning me to come join the dance. Uh, no thanks! My experience yesterday taught me that a dance with you would certainly bring new meaning to the phrase ‘Dirty Dancing.’ I’ll just watch. After about 20 seconds it moved up the road and then disappeared. I was frustrated with myself because it’s one of the few times I left my camera in camp.

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So today I walked, I napped and I took a bike ride. Not a particularly profound day but I managed to fill the hours. Kim is out imaging right now despite the full moon. He’s using the big scope and the H-A filter to counteract the brightness of the moon. Beautiful night.

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Bike miles today: 65

Total miles: 2625

Tuesday's route