Smithsonian Air Museum

Doug, Derek, Dustin, and Robert went to the Smithsonian Air Museum near Dulles Airport while Lucy, Twila, Chelsea, and Sharon shopped at Dulles Crown Center shopping mall.  Chelsea said, "This is like Mall of America".

Washington DC at Christmas 2010

We visited the Capitol Mall with all its beauty.  It was enhanced by the addition of the National Christmas tree with trees for the states all around it.  There was a Nativity Scene and a Yule log with large logs put in a fire pit with the use of a trator and front loader.

Sept. 26 and 27 Home to Fulton, MO

 We left Pagosa Springs early (about 6:30 A.M.) and drove through beautiful mountains as the sun came up.  We listened to Booth Brothers CDs and remembered the sabath day as we marveled at God's beautiful countryside.  We slept on Wal Mart's parking lot in Mcpherson, KS.  It was quiet and we did fine in spite of not having hook ups.  Three other rigs parked there with us.  We arrived home after making a stop in Columbia, MO to have our refrigerator checked.  It was on a recall so we had Dave, at US Rents It, order the new valve and burner to be installed later.

Sept. 25 Pagosa Springs, CO

We traveled to Pagosa Springs and stayed in Pagoso Springs Riverside Campground.  It was a pretty campground but it looked more like a lake setting rather than a river.

Sept 23 and 24 Mancos, CO near Mesa Verde National Park

The campground was Mesa Verde RV Resort.  It was a beatiful campground and you could see Mesa Verde National Park from our camp site.  We drove 200 miles on a trip up to Telluride, CO then across to Ouray, Silverton, and back to Durango, CO.  The aspen trees were at their peak.  Each turn seemed to bring us to a more beautiful moutain site with the golden aspens highlighting the mountains. 

The second day, we toured Mesa Verde National Park and were able to walk through the stone dwellings in the rock cliffs.

Sept.22 Zion National Park to Mesa Verde

We walked from Watchman campground in Zion National Park to the visitor center where we caught a free shuttle bus and rode through the park.  The next morning, we got up early and were ready to  proceed through the tunnel and road construction by 8:00 A.M. Mountain time when they opened the road east of Zion National Park.  We stopped at Four Corners where we stood in four states at the same time (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah) and bought some American Indian made souveniers for Dustin and Chelsea.  Sharon bought a little turquois ring for herself.

Sept.22 Cedar Breaks Naional Monument

On the way to Zion National Park, we went up north and went through Cedar Breaks National Monument.  We went on to Zion National Park and camped at Watchman Campground in
Zion.

Sept.21 Second day at Bryce Canyon

We stayed a second day at Bryce Canyon Pines RV Park and left the next day for Zion National Park and points in between.

Sept.20 Bryce Canyon National Park

We rode through some beautiful canyon country and got to Ruby's Inn Campground.  They did not have reservations for us but called Bryce Canyon Pines RV Park and found that we had made reservations there.  It was a beautiful campground, good wifi, and only three miles from the free shuttle stop to go into Bryce Canyon National Park.  We took a shorter trip into  the park in the A.M. and registered to go on a longer trip in the P.M.  This ended up being a great day.  We bought Drano at the campe store and cleaned the shower drain as we ate lunch.

Sept.19 Capitol Reef National Park

We went to Capitol Reef National Park and camped at Thousand Lakes campground, Torrey, Utah.

Sept. 18 Southern Part of Canyonlands

We toured the southern part of Canyonlands National Park and stopped for the night at Blue Mountain RV Park near Blanding, UT.  The couple who ran the park invited us to sit down in the big wooden chairs on their porch and visit.  Great hospitality and beautiful setting.

Sept. 17 Canyonlands National Park

We began this day with a tour of the Island in the Sky.  We went to Dead Horse Point State Park campground.  It has been hot in the sun but cool in the shade.  Our skin and lips are dry.  It has been an unbelievable day as far as the scenery is concerned.  We have driven and walked among the canyons.

Sept.13 Fulton, MO to Paxico, KS

We left Fulton, MO about 8:30 A.M.  We ate lunch at Lawrence, KS on Wal Mart parking lot.  We arrived at Paxico, KS and spent the night at Mill Creek Campground.  We walked to the little town and looked at the old stores and antiques shops.  We talked to Beverly and Nellie on the MagicJack phone since we had good wifi connection.

Sept. 16 Arches National Park

We left Mesa RV Park at Gunnison, CO by abour 8:30 A.M.  We drove through the beautiful Black Canyon of the Gunnison area.  We had lunch at a pull off east of Moab, UT.  We checked in at our Archview Campground and then drove to Arches National Park.  I used my Golden Age Pass and we drove through the park, stopping to hike a 1.6 mile hiking trail back to Landscape Arch.  Leaving the park, we came back to our campground and had pizza and ice tea.  It was 94 degrees so the ice tea was a special treat.

Sept. 15 Gunnison, CO

We left Goodland, Ks about 8:45 A.M. Had lunch at a park near Royal Gorge, and arrived in Gunnison, CO fairly early. 

sept.14 KOA Goodland, Kansas

On Sept. 14, we stayed at the KOA in Goodland, Kansas.  We had a late night Tornado warning and had to take cover in the men's shower house.  One other couple had a police scanner and kept us all informed of what was happening around the area.  Another couple had an American Airlines employee's phone with access to radar and we were able to track the storm.  The tornado passed 5 miles to the north of us.