One [...]]]> One of the ways we’ve discovered to arrive to a city feeling more in tune with it, is to listen to podcasts from local community radio. It’s a great way to get a feel for a city, know some of the current issues and even get hints on local places to eat and shop.

One podcast that we regularly listen to is Chicken Lips from Salida, Colorado’s KHEN 106.9. Salida is a city we love to visit often.

It sits along the Arkansas River in the midst of the Rocky Mountains and is quite scenic. It has a wonderful quirky small town artistic feel, as well as a couple of microbrews. Salida is also, incidentally, the site of our second date (they haven’t installed the plaque yet). Our good friends Andrew & Teresa Koransky also settled there after their nomadic year on the road, which is our reason for coming back. They’re incidentally the host’s of Chicken Lips, which is only partly why we continue to listen.

Teresa and Andrew spin up an amazing collection of unique tunes that really keeps our driving days fueled. And they frequently feature locals on the show and highlight events and issues – so we get to stay in touch with one of our favorite cities as we travel.

We were recently visiting Salida, and upon our arrival we mentioned to TnA (as they affectionally refer to themselves) that we had listened to Chicken Lips on our drive into Colorado. We had learned, for instance, that the city decided to keep the RV trailer dump station free – a definite plus for us RV traveling technomads.

We asked if we could interview them for a video piece on local community radio. And they got an idea in their head and convinced us to get up early the next morning and join them on the air too!

You can catch our radio interview on being technomadic on their podcast #65, and meet Teresa & Andrew in our video interview.

So next time you’re traveling to a new city and want a bit more of a local feel – search out podcasts from local community radio. It’s a great way to get to know a city.

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Just like its more famous cousin located downtown along the Washington D.C. Mall, the Udvar-Hazy center houses an incredible collection of aviation artifacts, including an SR-71 Blackbird, the Space Shuttle Enterprise (the one used for in-atmosphere [...]]]> The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center is located near Dulles Airport, just outside Washington D.C.

Just like its more famous cousin located downtown along the Washington D.C. Mall, the Udvar-Hazy center houses an incredible collection of aviation artifacts, including an SR-71 Blackbird, the Space Shuttle Enterprise (the one used for in-atmosphere flight testing), an Air France Concord, and you can even see the Enola Gay – the bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb.

There are literally hundreds of aircraft of all sorts on display – ranging in size from ultralights to airliners, and in time from the dawn of flight to prototypes paving the way for tomorrow.

As an aviation buff (and licensed pilot), I was like a kid in a candy store. I spent hours running around from plane to plane, and I thoroughly enjoyed the free docent guided tour.

You can also go up into the old Dulles control tower for an exhibit on air traffic control systems, and for an unparalleled view of airplanes taking off and landing at Dulles.

Check out this video featuring some highlights:

The City Museum is no ordinary [...]]]> We’re often asked what our favorite things are in our travels. The City Museum in downtown St. Louis, Missouri is without a doubt, on tops of that list.  And who would have thought that in the center of the midwest stands one of the most amazing creations around?

The City Museum is no ordinary museum, however.  Sure, it is full of found things that are preserved. And it gets the ‘City’ part of its name because the found things are entirely from within municipal St. Louis.  But that’s where the museum part ends.. because this is definitely a place where you don’t just look. You touch. You crawl. You slide. You climb.

This place is what you might imagine would happen if you gave Peter Pan a blow torch.

Let’s start with the roof.. which has a praying mantis, ferris wheel and bus lurching over the corner.

And then there’s the MontroCity outdoor playscape sized for kids and adults which has a network of wrought iron slinkies and slides connecting two airplane fuselages, a fire engine and a castle turret.

And inside, you’ll be dazzled by whales, tunnels, slides, a circus, a skateless skate park and inner caverns with a 10 story circular staircase.. and slide!

Here’s a video we put together after two trips to the City Museum in the past month. I think it at least starts to capture just how awesome this place is.

Have I mentioned the City Museum is awesome yet?

Many thanks to our traveling friend, Matt Bell, who rendezvoused with us for one of our visits to the City Museum and allowed us to film him for this piece!

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Located at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, spending some [...]]]> A meshing of civil engineering and ecosystem art, the Fairmont Water Works interactive center gives a peak back in time to when water distribution throughout Philadelphia allowed the city to survive and thrive.

Located at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, spending some time at the interactive center is well worth your time – and definitely check out the short movie that tells the story.

Time Period: June 30 – July 29
Miles Driven: 1904

We had no plans for how to spend the summer. We had toyed with the idea of finding [...]]]>

Indiania to St. Louis via Philadelphia & DC

Time Period: June 30 – July 29
Miles Driven: 1904

We had no plans for how to spend the summer. We had toyed with the idea of finding a nice campground in the Smokey Mountains and parking for several weeks to catch up on some work projects.  We had toyed with ducking into Canada and getting some international time under our wheels in a cooler climate.  But then one of Cherie’s clients called and asked if she could be in Washington DC in mid-July to teach a class. We looked at the calendar, and said yes!   So we booked time in Philadelphia with friends, and off we went.

Philadephia, Pennsylvania

On the day before we planned to leave Indiana, we got a call from Chris’s folks who were leaving Baltimore and headed back to St. Louis. We saw that there was an opportunity for a rendezvous, so we left a day early and met up with them outside of Dayton, OH for dinner. It’s wonderful to be able to take advantage of nomadic serendipity.

When then traversed across Ohio and Pennsylvania, stopping a couple of nights at Laurell Hill State Park, and then serendipitiously discovered the Flight 93 Memorial while driving around backroads.

We arrived in Philadelphia in time to attend a 4th of July party at a 300+ year old house that one of our followers invited us to attend. There was live music jamming and a hoppy local IPA beer on tap.  It was incredible to celebrate the 4th at a house that literally saw the birth of our nation.

We toured around Philadelphia, on actual assignment from TripFilms to produce a few video pieces on things to do and eat in the city. It was fun playing tourist and visiting the Philadelphia Art Museum, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, Waterworks, Comcast’s Largest Television and more.  We also were blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with dear friends.  We both had friends in the area that pre-dated our relationship together, which always makes for a wonderful time of getting to know each other better via our past connections.

Washington, DC

Next up was our visit to our nation’s Capital. We found Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park to stay at, our first experience with staying at a RV park that dubbed itself a resort. It was close enough to Bethesda, that it made Cherie’s classes easy enough to teach.

Still on assignment from TripFilms, we played tourist in on the Mall in DC. We even got to meet up with a friend who was also on business from Florida and spend the evening catching up and visiting museums.  We also had the pleasure to meet Jonathan and Dasy of WeGoFar, who are about to set off on a long term nomadic RVing adventure! We can’t wait to rendezvous with them out on the road!

After DC, we relocated out to Reston, Virginia where there’s a reputable Jeep dealer – as we were due for our regular maintenance on our tow vehicle.  We took care of that.. and off we continued.

Appalachians

The Transformus regional Burning Man event was about to happen in Asheville, NC, and we had hopes that perhaps tickets to it would manifest for us. Unfortunately their ticketing process is not very nomad friendly – and we couldn’t find last minute tickets to attend.

So, we started our eastward trek and decided to spend some time in the Appalachians. Off we headed to Shenendoah National Park for a couple nights.  We loved the scenic drive (sorry Lonely Planet, we don’t concur with your ‘scenic drive to end all scenic drives’ evaluation.. but it was pretty nice).

Next, we went into the Blueridge Parkway, which was even more scenic and less untouched.  We stayed a night there, and then started meandering through the mountains westward.

We stumbled upon the Breaks Interstate Park, run by both Virginia and Kentucky.  We ended up staying two nights, as we scored a nice secluded spot with excellent cellular broadband signal!

St. Louis

We explored our options for our westward trek, and decided to go ahead and route through St. Louis again to spend some more time with Chris’ folks. Afterall, they are awesome.

We spent a week at their place, and got to catch up with new friends we made recently at Gateway Burn.

We explored the City Museum, Hobo University and Chris ordered a new MacbookPro and got situated with it.

After St. Louis, we continued our trek westward following the Missouri River.

When we first got off the SEPTA train at the Suburban station, we weren’t overly impressed – as the screen was disguised as wood paneling. And then it came to life.  This thing is HUGE!  Like, really huge!   And the content that is played has been specially developed by a team dedicated to just this screen.  It’s a very impressive display of art and technology.

We struck gold when we stumbled into Kentucky’s Columbus Belmont State Park just before sunset. The view looking west from high up on the bluffs overlooking Mississippi [...]]]> Working our way down the Mississippi from St. Louis towards Tennessee, we were hoping to find a scenic spot along the river to stop for two nights.

We struck gold when we stumbled into Kentucky’s Columbus Belmont State Park just before sunset. The view looking west from high up on the bluffs overlooking Mississippi River literally took our breath away.

We paid $2 extra per night to camp in one of the “premium” spots located right on the bluffs with a commanding view of the river. It was SO worth it to be able to watch the barges on the river right out our back window…

These bluffs have long been known for their domineering position on the river. During the Civil War the Confederate fort built on the bluffs was referred to as the “Gibraltar of the West”, and the Confederate army actually installed a massive chain across the entire Mississippi river to block Union supply lines and gunboats.

There remains a lot to do in the park for Civil War buffs. The remains of the fort are located a short walk from the campground, the giant chain is on display, there is an old cemetery to walk through, and there is even a small museum on site. Every October historic re-enactors swarm the park to recreate the 1861 Battle of Belmont, the start of the Union’s western campaign and General Ulysses S. Grant’s first active engagement in the Civil War.

But we weren’t here for the history – we just wanted a place to relax, enjoy the view, and get some work done.

The parklike lawn offered a beautiful environment for working outside. Until the lawn care crew showed up with their power tools, that is…

Unfortunately, our cell phone data signal was slow and intermittent, and our booster wasn’t much help.

Even worse (from the standpoint of relaxing and getting things done), a lawn care crew spent the entire day mowing and trimming and edging and buzzing about. The downside of a beautiful parklike setting is the work that goes into maintaining it, I guess…

We loved sitting and watching the giant barges plying the waters heading up and down the Mississippi.

But once the lawn crew dispersed, the view from the bluffs well worth the annoyance. Magical, tranquil, and serene.

I would definitely recommend staying here. But unless you are coming for the Civil War history, make sure that you get one of the bluff-side camp spots. The rest of the campground area is rather typical and generic, but the spots along the river will take your breath away.

Summary Details:

View: Barges on the Mississippi!

Sites: 38 sites. Only a few with views.

Facilities: Toilets, Showers.

Hookups: Sites have 30 amp electric. Water is available.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – Weak but usable.

Sprint - Marginal CDMA 1xRTT. (Dropped in and out…)

Cost: $20/night (no view) – $22/night (amazing view). $2/night surcharge on weekends.

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After a couple of weeks of our adventures being driven on visiting family in Texas and St. Louis, our attentions turned to social time with new and old friends. We had found some regional Burning Man events to attend, and even rendezvoused with another [...]]]> Time Period: June 12 – June 29
Miles Driven: 799

After a couple of weeks of our adventures being driven on visiting family in Texas and St. Louis, our attentions turned to social time with new and old friends. We had found some regional Burning Man events to attend, and even rendezvoused with another friend and took him road tripping with us.

Gateway Burn – Potosi, MO

We took a jaunt down to Potosi, MO to attend the St. Louis regional Burning Man style event called Gateway Burn. We figured it would be an excellent way to meet some awesome people in the St. Louis area, so that next time we’re visiting the area we have people other than family to visit.

It had been raining lots, and the land the event was held on was very primitive. A lot of vehicles where having difficulty getting in. When we arrived, they stationed a huge 4×4 truck with a tow rope at the top of the hill, in case we got stuck. But Chris mastered pulling our Oliver up a muddy slippery hill with ease with our 4×4 Jeep – and everyone watching was suitably impressed. We spent most of the event giving tours of our Oliver – which was a great way to meet folks.

And did we ever meet some great folks!  We’re looking forward to future visits to St. Louis to not only spend quality time with family, but further develop a community there.

Midwest Couchsurfing Roadtrip

Our good friend Matt Bell was just finishing up his 4.5 month sabbatical world trip, and decided to join us in the midwest before heading home to San Francisco. We promised him a midwest roadtrip so that he could also get a taste of what full time technomadic life is like for us.  It was also our first time taking on a passenger in our travels.  We picked Matt up at a local hostel upon our return from Gateway Burn, and then swept him away to Chris’ father’s Flag Day celebration at the local Elks. A fitting reintroduction to America, we think.

We also took Matt to explore to totally uber awesome City Museum in St. Louis. And then we packed up the Oliver and converted the space around for sleeping a third.

Is it still Couchsurfing if the couch is moving?

Matt booked his flight out of Chicago, so we took a 3 day meandering tour up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers – exploring riverside towns along the way.

Northern Indiana & Chicago

We dropped Matt off for his flight in Chicago, and then headed to our friends place in northern Indiana. She had ample trailer parking for us.  I knew Kele back when I lived in Florida, and it’s been a true pleasure to be able to stay close to her by rendezvousing in our travels.

We took a day and trained into Chicago to meet up with some other friends from Florida, Sterling and Melissa.  Melissa is now living in the Chicago area, and Sterling just happened to be up visiting. We also rendezvoused with them last year while they were vacationing in Las Vegas.   While in Chicago, Chris also upgraded his iPhone to the new 3G S.

Lakes of Fire – Lacota, Michigan

One of our purposes for our visit to this region was to attend the Lakes of Fire regional Burning Man event in western Michigan – and introduce Kele to the community. It would be her first Burning Man experience.

We had also met quite a number of folks at Gateway Burn who were heading up to Lakes of Fire, so we formed an impromptu theme camp with them. It was awesome to spend more time getting to know these folks!  Lakes of Fire was a much larger event – about 500 people, and extremely well run. We had a blast, and Kele really seemed to click with it all.

We headed back to Kele’s place for a couple of days to decompress and catch up.

Next up..  we headed to Philadelphia and Washington DC… but those stories will come later.

Once the sun set though, the road wasn’t nearly so scenic. We saw a road sign indicating a campground in the woods off to our left, so we headed down a dark dirt road [...]]]> After our stay at Hot Spring National Park, we headed north following the beautifully scenic highway 7 through the Ozarks.

Once the sun set though, the road wasn’t nearly so scenic. We saw a road sign indicating a campground in the woods off to our left, so we headed down a dark dirt road in search of a place to stop for the night.

The sign hadn’t made any mention of how FAR it was to the campground, and at night in the dark the five miles seemed like thirty – particularly since there were many steep sections and there was no easy places to turn the trailer around should we decide to retreat.

But in the end, we found Erbie – a beautiful remote campground located right along the Buffalo National River.

Not surprisingly considering how remote it is, Erbie has no hookups. The campground is clean and well maintained though, and the spots are fairly widely separated along a large gravel loop. Even though there were two other sites occupied, we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

Kiki here – I loved camping at Erbie. The river was swollen and scary, but there were trails to explore, trees to climb, and even bunnies to chase. I did get wet paws though from all the morning dew – be warned!

Erbie is often used as a base camp for people venturing out via canoe or kayak to explore the pristine Buffalo National River. Recent flooding had closed the river, but there were extensive trails to explore nearby.

One of the trails leads from Erbie Campground to the nearby Parker Hickman Farmstead – a glimpse back in time at turn-of-the-century rural life. I thoroughly enjoyed an early morning hike upstream to explore this place.

Down the road from the Parker Hickman Farmstead I came across this sign. And as you can see, it wasn’t lying! I am sure glad that the campground was on the near side of the river, or our late-night arrival might have turned into a slow five mile backwards retreat!

The most significant thing lacking at Erbie was wireless network access of any sort. They did have this museum quality ancient communication device on display however…

Overall, Erbie was a wonderfully tranquil place to spend the night and get away from it all. If only there were at least some network access, I would love to return and explore the area further.

Summary Details:

View: Woods & hills!

Sites: 30+ sites, several large group areas.

Facilities: Pit toilets, boat launch.

Hookups: None.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – Nope.

Sprint - Did I mention how far down a dirt road this place is?!?

Cost: $10/night

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Direct link for the video

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After weeks of no firm plans and trusting in nomadic serendipity to guide our journey through Arizona and New Mexico, after Carlsbad Caverns we were back on route to our next planned destination – Austin, Texas.

Austin is where Cherie grew up, and [...]]]>

Travelogue: Texas to St. Louis

Time period: April 24 – May 17, 2009
Miles Driven: 1593

After weeks of no firm plans and trusting in nomadic serendipity to guide our journey through Arizona and New Mexico, after Carlsbad Caverns we were back on route to our next planned destination – Austin, Texas.

Austin is where Cherie grew up, and her brother now lives – so it’s a frequent stop over point for us as we criss cross the country visiting friends and family.

Our specific timing for being in the area was to rendezvous with Cherie’s parents in nearby San Antonio for her father’s USS Robert E Lee SSBN-601 Submarine Reunion, which he organizes – and was finally stepping down as president.

Austin, Texas

Anxious to be stopped for a bit, we opted to violate our own intentions of only driving a few hours a day and made the drive from New Mexico into Austin in one day. It seemed the right thing to do after weeks of overwhelming beautiful and amazing views. The scenary in west Texas just can’t compare. So we got on I-10 and made good time getting into Austin in time for Tex-Mex food for dinner with Cherie’s brother, Ken and his wife, Kristina.

We stayed at McKinney Falls State Park in South Austin, which proved to be the perfect place to stay to be close by but on our own. It was beautiful, affordable and close to everywhere we needed to be. We spent the week catching up, meeting with other nearby Oliver Travel Trailer owners, socializing with Ken & Kristina in the evenings and Ken even took Chris rock climbing at the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Cherie’s parents arrived and came up to Austin for a family dinner, and they also got to meet Orion (our Oliver Travel Trailer) and Kiki for the first time.

New Braunsfels & San Antonio

And then we relocated down to New Braunsfels to Landa RV & Campground, where some of the NuRVer crowd was supposed to still be lingering, but they had all departed by the time we arrived. Oh well, we’ll catch up with them some time down the road. The advantage of staying here was that it was closer to San Antonio for attending and helping out at the reunion.

Cherie helped her father with organizing the troops for an Eternal Patrol Table Ceremony, as well as handing out awards. She even got to pin a ‘Submarine Angel’ on her mother – making mother and daughter the only submarine angels for the USS Robert E. Lee. Afterwards, Elvis hit on her mother during a performance.

East Texas Driving

From New Braunsfel, we started our northeastward trek towards spending time with Chris’ family up in St. Louis. We stopped in Round Rock for lunch with Digital Nomads moderator, Bill Bivins, and then overnighted near Lexington, TX at the property of another fellow Oliver Travel Trailer owner, Doug & Geneva. Awesome folks, and we have so appreciated the little community that the Oliver Forums have provided for us in our travels.

Eastward on, we decided to use our Texas State Park pass one more time, and overnighted at Martin Creek Lake State Park.

Louisiana and Arkansas

And then dipped into the northern corner of Louisana (just so we can mark it as a state visited this year, in case we don’t get back), and then decided to aim for making it into Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.

We found ourselves at the beautiful Gulpha Gorge campground, and in the morning indulged ourselves in traditional baths the Buckstaff Bathhouse. It’s quite surreal to have a bath, scrub down by your attendant and a massage at a national park, and definitely an experience to remember. It was a strange combination of being in a hospital setting and being processed through the various steps, and being at a spa. We both came out relaxed and refreshed.

From Hot Springs, we took scenic highway 7 through the Ouachita National Forest. As dark approached for the evening, we saw a sign for a national forest campground along the Buffalo River and made a spontaneous decision to search it out. Down a dirt path we went, and in the darkness of both light and knowledge of what was ahead, it seemed to go on forever until we reached Erbie Campground. It was a full moon night and misty out, and we were all alone – quite enchanting! Kiki and Chris went out for an early morning hike down to the river.

St. Louis

And then it was onward into St. Louis the next day, arriving at Chris’ parents house where Kiki got to meet her Aunt-Dog-Molly for the first time. We caught up on more projects, had a second rendezvous with fellow technomad Ben Willmore as he was passing through, had concretes at Ted Drewes, explored Forest Park and Grants Farm.

All before the next leg of our adventure – starting with a trip down to the Oliver Travel Trailer factory in Hohenwald, TN.

There is also camping available at the site – including two pull through [...]]]> Heading south through New Mexico on our way to White Sands National Monument, we made a slight detour to check out the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site. It made for a much appreciated hiking break, viewing of cool petroglyphs and great scenery.

There is also camping available at the site – including two pull through RV spots with full hook-ups for only $10/night, or dry camping included with the $2 use fee. Since this is BLM land, if you have a National Interagency Park Pass, all standard discounts apply.

Direct link to the video”

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First off, it is the smallest National Park, by far. And secondly – rather than the usual focus on preserving natural features – most of the hot springs here have been thoroughly developed, and the primary [...]]]> Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, AR is one of the most unusual National Parks in the nation.

First off, it is the smallest National Park, by far. And secondly – rather than the usual focus on preserving natural features – most of the hot springs here have been thoroughly developed, and the primary attraction is actually the row of preserved historic bath houses lining the main street through downtown.

There is however one campground to be found in the park, and Gulpha Gorge is a beauty indeed!

Gulpha Gorge is located in a lush and shaded valley, with a creek and rapids running right alongside many of the campsites.

The Gulpha Gorge campground is located on the other side of Hot Springs Mountain from the bustle of bath house row and the rest of the city, but it is only a short drive or a few miles of hiking to get to the main attractions.

We absolutely loved camping right along the creek. The sound of the rapids was wonderful to fall asleep to.

The Gulpha Gorge campground is currently being renovated and “upgraded”, and most of the 44 sites are being converted to offer full hookups. The price for these sites is going up from $10 to $24, a very steep increase. The hookups will also mean that the beautiful creek noises will likely soon be complimented by the hum of RV air conditioners. Fortunately, the remaining non-hookup sites are the best of the bunch – right along the creek and the rapids.

All of the campsites at Gulpha Gorge are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Another of the renovations is that instead of using a typical ‘iron ranger’ honor system to pay for your spot, they have a computerized self check-in kiosk that accepts cash and credit cards. We really like this trend, and have dubbed this system the ‘Digital Ranger.’.  It gets the technomad seal of approval!

If you visit Hot Springs National Park, be sure to treat yourself to a bath. Look for our video report on our bathing experience to be posted soon!

Overall, Gulpha Gorge is a beautiful oasis – and I would love to return again for a longer visit. I only hope that the campground is not diminished too much by the new focus on larger RV’s.

Summary Details:

View: Creek and rapids!

Sites: 44 sites. Only 12 remain without hookups.

Facilities: Toilets, NO showers. Dump station.

Hookups: Most sites have water, electric, and sewer.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – Strong EDGE – no 3G.

Sprint - Two bars EVDO rev A. (D: 722Kb/s, U: 286Kb/s, 118ms)

Cost: $10/night ($24/night with hookups)  - Paid by a self check-in computerized kiosk (aka ‘Digital Ranger’) with credit card and cash only, no checks.

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The campground at Martin [...]]]> Making our way from Austin towards St. Louis, we decided to put our Texas State Parks pass to use one more time with a stop for the night at the Martin Creek Lake State Recreation Area.

The campground at Martin Creek Lake reminded us of the fabulous McKinney Falls State Park we had stayed at near Austin. The Texas State Park systems knows how to do campgrounds right, and like McKinney Falls, Martin Creek Lake has beautifully wooded widely dispersed sites with water and electric hookups.

We paid $15/night for a lakefront (sort of) site. We could have saved $2 by camping across the street, but it was a worthwhile upgrade.

We had our own private trail down to Martin Lake, right behind our campsite.

At some campgrounds the drone of RV generators can spoil the tranquility. At Martin Creek Lake, the drone you hear isn’t from other RV’s, but from the giant power plant located right across the lake.

It is not too loud, but it IS omnipresent. The power plant lit up at night is an impressive site for fans of civil engineering, but the light pollution does drown out the night sky too.

Even though we were only parked overnight, when we were packing up in the morning we discovered a large intricate BIRD NEST in our bumper storage compartment! A wannabe hitchhiker, perhaps?

Overall we found Martin Creek to be a worthwhile stop for the night. I was concerned that the power plant would be a bother, but the constant hum was faint enough that it quickly blended into the background.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to return, but if we were ever passing by again I would certainly spend another night on the shores of Martin Lake.

Summary Details:

View: Woods, lake, and a giant power plant!

Sites: 80+ sites, several dozen rental cabins.

Facilities: Toilets, Showers. Fishing pier.

Hookups: Water & Electric. Dump station provided.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – Moderate.

Sprint - Strong EVDO. (D: 390Kb/s, U: 101Kb/s, 179ms) (Sprint indicates roaming – probably on Verizon)

Cost: Lakefront: $15/night, Regular: $13 (plus $2/pp without Texas State Park pass)

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On our continued adventure eastward through Arizona following Route 66, we made a lunch stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument, where we hiked down a lot of steps to view the cliffside ruin dwellings of the Sinaqua people. It was a beautiful hike, the only catch being – what goes down, must come up!

Our video post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6FgvBOSyeM

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Camping near a major urban area is always a challenge, but in McKinney Falls State Park we have discovered a great place to [...]]]> Cherie grew up in Austin, and her brother and his wife live there today. It is a cool town, and a place we will want to return to often in our travels.

Camping near a major urban area is always a challenge, but in McKinney Falls State Park we have discovered a great place to stay that is at once both secluded and accessible.

The campsites at McKinney Falls all are equipped with power and water hookups, essential for running air conditioning to battle the South Texas humidity. But the spots are also huge, beautifully wooded, and well separated.

During the mid-week, the campground was also mostly empty. We felt like we had the entire forest to ourselves on some nights!

The falls that the park is named for are nearby, though when we were there they consisted of little more than a trickle of water spilling over a limestone ledge. But the swimming hole at the base of the falls is a wonderful place to cool down.

There are several miles of beautiful trails nearby, and some well-regarded cliffs for bouldering.

Overall, we found McKinney Falls State Park to be a fabulous place to stay – and fabulously close to the bustle of Austin too! I am certain that we will return – it is harder to imagine a better place to park our home when we visit Austin.

Summary Details:

View: Woods!

Sites: 80+ sites. Tents welcome.

Facilities: Toilets, Showers, Hiking Trails.

Hookups: Water & Electric – some 50A too. Dump station available.

Cell & Data Coverage:

AT&T – Strong 3G signal.

Sprint - Strong fast EVDO rev A. (D: 1254Kb/s, U: 178Kb/s, 123ms)

Cost: $16/night (plus $5/pp without Texas State Park pass)

Note: In addition to the $16/night camping fee, McKinney Falls charges $5 per person per night for admission to the park. Since we were staying for nearly a week, it made sense for us to buy a Texas State Parks annual pass for $60 to be able to waive this fee.

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With very few planned stops and knowing that Arizona and New Mexico were both full of amazing things to see, we opted to primarily follow Route 66 across these states, using the old highway as our guide.  We had both traveled across Arizona [...]]]>

Travelogue: Arizona & New Mexico

Time Period: April 9 – April 23, 2009
Miles Driven: 1255

With very few planned stops and knowing that Arizona and New Mexico were both full of amazing things to see, we opted to primarily follow Route 66 across these states, using the old highway as our guide.  We had both traveled across Arizona and New Mexico independently before, but aside from a brief crossing through the northeastern tip of New Mexico in our travels in 2007, it was the first time for us to explore these states together.  Our route, as it turned out, ended up looking a lot like the roadtrip that Cherie’s family took back in 1983.

Lake Havasu City, AZ

Our first destination in Arizona was to meet up with fellow Oliver Travel Trailer owners, Lisa, Wayne and Andrew.   They had extended an open invite to stop in whenever we got in town and stay as long as we like (our favorite kind of invitation!).

They turned out to be amazingly cool folks, and we ended up geeking out about our trailers, going off-road Jeeping, meeting lots of their fabulous friends, visiting the Desert Bar, and we tempting them to join us for Burning Man 2009.  We even introduced them to light painting after lessons from Ben Willmore the week prior. We  got out on our own a bit and visited THE London Bridge, which was purchased and rebuilt by the founder of Lake Havasu City.

On our way into town via Parker Arizona, we had our first encounter with someone stopping us in the street already knowing what an Oliver Travel Trailer was – and asked if we knew Jim & Evon Oliver, the owners of the company.  We had met Evon last year when we joined up with the Oliver Road Crew at the International Camel Races – but we had yet to meet Jim. We were excited to learn they had a home in Lake Havasu as well, and we might finally get to catch up with him.. and maybe even sneak a peak at the new 22′ Oliver Travel Trailer they had just built the first of!

And indeed we did.  The 22′ version is awesome, adds extra space and addresses a lot of the feature requests folks have had. It felt too big for our needs, but we were definitely impressed by it.  And we do lust after the 4 battery capacity it has.

Route 66

After leaving Lake Havasu, we back tracked a few miles westward to join up with the start of Route 66 in Arizona. There’s a section of about 60 miles between Golden Shores and Kingman that has been beautifully restored and maintained by the BLM, winding through the Black Mountains – and we figured that would be a fabulous way to start our Route 66 tour.

We overnighted on our new friend’s land outside of Hackberry Arizona, and it had an absolutely gorgeous view. We can’t wait to join them on a future group camping trip there.

The drive was beautiful, and we enjoyed checking out old forgotten towns along the way.

The Grand Canyon

We made a quick last minute decision to take a detour off of Route 66 and head on up to the Grand Canyon, since we were in the area anyway. We figured since it was mid-week, we stood decent odds of being able to find camping too. When we arrived, it started snowing – which was a very much unexpected treat for mid-April.

We ended up staying at Mather Campground in the Grand Canyon for two nights, as we had great data signals. It provided a good opportunity to catch up, relax, play in the snow and see some of the most amazing terrain on the planet.

Back to Route 66 in Arizona

After a brief respite in the Grand Canyon National Park, we rejoined Route 66 in Flagstaff but not first without discovering a beautiful traveler’s chapel called Chapel of the Holy Dove along the way.

Continuing eastward we stopped at Walnut Canyon National Monument to check out the cliffside housing ruins of the Sinaqua people, and then took a sunset drive through the Petrified Forest National Park before crossing into New Mexico.

New Mexico: Santa Fe & Albuquerque

We continued following Route 66 all the way to Santa Fe, even going across a section that has turned to gravel road. Wild horses even crossed our path. The emotions of actually driving on the crumbling old road were intense after seeing so many abandoned towns.

We first stopped in Santa Fe and stayed with our friend Bugs, who took us for a tour of the surrounding mountains. We also got to catch up with the couple who bought our T@B (the trailer we traveled in together in 2007) – it’s such a sweet story, he bought the trailer for his wife’s birthday as a surprise to be her mobile painting studio! After Santa Fe, we headed down to catch up with my dear friend Eve and her wife Kelli, and enjoyed a couple days camped on their new property. It was awesome to catch up.

White Sands & Carlsbad Caverns

Leaving Albuquerque, we made stops at Gran Quivira and Three Rivers Petroglyphs on our way to White Sands National Monument, which was overwhelmingly beautiful. Here you drive through a carved out path in the dunes, and then you can climb and play on them. We had great fun here, although Kiki didn’t know quite what to think of it.

And then we moved on to Carlsbad, NM, where we had a serendipitous rendezvous with other fellow Oliver Owners, Geri & Chuck who were on their way to workamp in the area. We had a great time meeting them, comparing trailers and dining together.

The next day, we toured Carlsbad Caverns – another spot that just can’t be missed. Cherie had toured it as a kid and remembered it being impressive – but not as impressive as it is now with life experience behind her.

After Carlsbad, we moved into Texas… where the adventures continued.