Spring and Summer Trips, and Life in Between: NYC and the Southwest

Four Months Since My Last Blog Post

It didn't seem like an eventful spring and summer while it was happening, because there was this long chunk of time when it was always hot and I was always in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, trying to stay cool in my Class A motorhome.  But looking back since I last blogged in April, there have been some great trips and a lot accomplished. 

TRIP #1:  New York City!

 As seen from the (free!) Staten Island Ferry

I went to New York City in April.  This was kind of on a whim.  I am always monitoring air fares to favorite destinations, so when a $225 round-trip ticket came up, I grabbed it.  When I first made my reservations, I intended to spend the entire two weeks in a modestly priced hotel.  But then friends thought up a plan for me to take care of their cat while they traveled, so that saved me six nights' lodging.  Wonderful!  

 I spent a lot of time sketching in museums...

 ...gardens...

 ...and parks.

This was my best ever trip to New York.  I have always gone with family or friends.  This time I was completely free to make a schedule that suited me, and I learned a lot.  For one thing, while it's wonderful that there are some nights you can get into museums free, my evening energy level didn't allow me to really enjoy the museums late into the evening when they were really crowded.  I did better ponying up the $18 or $25 admission and enjoying museums at a leisurely pace during the day.  Also, I really enjoyed just being...in parks, over coffee, that kind of thing. Not always on my way somewhere.  I sketched a lot.   

Being in the studio audience was a blast!

I got to see lots of great entertainment--plays, musicals, ballet and more--mostly due to my friend Marcy's great knowledge of how to get reasonably priced tickets.  We had fun!  One of the most exciting times was when we were in the audience for Stephen Colbert.  We also played Scrabble on the roof of her building, ate good food, and just enjoyed spending time together.  

 Rooftop view of the Empire State Building, as lit on the evening of the New York Primary

After I got back from NYC, it was a busy time at Sun Gallery in May.  I was open for two weekends in a row, first for the town's annual Fiesta and then for Second Saturday Art Hop weekend, and I had my best month so far financially at the gallery.  We had a very fun chicken art show during May, with lots of participation by friends old and new, near and far.

Trip Number 2:  White Sands, Alamogordo, Roswell, etc.

In early May, my son Sly and his dog Jimi came to visit me, driving from Seattle to Truth or Consequences.  It was a great time.  We spent some of Sly's visit in TorC and some on the road in Solveig, my little Toyota Dolphin motorhome.  We left my cat Sonja at home with Steve, and we dropped the dinette table down to make a bed for Sly and Jimi.  We traveled to parts of New Mexico I hadn't seen before, heading east out of Las Cruces, where we spent a night at the awesome Aguirre Springs BLM campground.  The next day, we visited White Sands National Monument and the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo, both wonderful places to stop.  

Sly and Jimi on the boardwalk nature trail at White Sands

We hit White Sands early, because by about noon, it was quite hot, even in early May.  By contrast, we spent the night a few miles up the road at a Forest Service campground just outside Cloudcroft, where it was very cold (and around 10,000 feet elevation).  

We drove to Roswell, where we saw all of the hokey-but-maybe-believable alien stuff and bought a few souvenirs.  Somewhere along this trip, we also stopped at Three Rivers Petroglyph National Recreation Site, and that was pretty cool.  Sly's visit went by really quickly.  He discovered the usefulness of freecampsites.net in his travels, paying nothing for his overnights all the way down from Seattle and back up again. 

 Evidently my Dolphin qualifies

Trip #3:  Deming, the Gila, Mogollon Rim, Safford

Dropping Steve at the train depot...um, train hut in Deming, New Mexico

Late in May, Steve was headed to Texas to visit his sister and family.  I loaded up Solveig (cat, canvases, paints, food, etc.) and drove Steve to Deming, New Mexico, to catch the train.  Then I headed north up past Silver City to Highway 180, along the western side of the Gila National Forest, camping at a few free campsites along the way.  I headed up towards the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona, traveling west on Highway 260.  I'd discovered on a trip last fall that Payson, Arizona, has a lot of great charity thrift stores, some kind of upscale ones and some more affordable.  So it's a nice destination for me to do some buying for my gallery.  

 A roaring fire at my free campsite off FR300

About 7 miles west of Heber, Arizona, on Highway 260, there's a road heading south marked Black Canyon Lake.  It is Forest Road 300, and there are lots of other roads that shoot off from it into various directions throughout the Forest (Sitgreaves, I think).  Which translates to almost limitless boondocking opportunities. When I arrived, it was the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, yet I found an established campsite with fire ring, far from any neighbors. My site was almost on the very edge of the Mogollon Rim, and I could see for many miles.  Beautiful.  Also, there was plentiful free firewood, because there'd been some logging in the area.

One of several nice private soaking rooms at Essence of Tranquility

From FR300, I headed west to Payson and did my shopping, overnighting at Walmart.  Afterwards I realized it might have been more pleasant to stay at the local casino just out of town, but I'll save that option for another time.  I headed south to spend a few nights at Essence of Tranquility spa in Safford, Arizona.  You can camp there with a tent or a very small RV.  I managed to mangle a tree and my roof by not paying attention to how tight things are in their little camp area.  But once in place, it was all magic.  I stayed three nights for a grand total of $45 plus tax, and I soaked in private tubs whenever I wanted to.  I also used the communal kitchen area and the wifi.  It was a wonderful respite, one I hope to share with Steve sometime.  Midweek is best, and so are the shoulder seasons.  

 "Petroglyph Tarot Card The World XXI" painted while I was at the spa

I had an adventure on the way to Safford that involved needing oil out in the middle of an Indian reservation, a problem solved by buying a guy named Rocky a case of beer.  However, I have no pictures, so I guess it didn't really happen.

 Overnighting at a New Mexico rest stop, where it is okay to stay for up to 24 hours and they have covered picnic tables

After my spa stay, I headed back down to pick up Steve in Deming.  I overnighted at an I-10 rest stop near the Continental Divide, and that was a pretty good place to relax.  Traffic noise, of course, but I have earplugs.  Some of the New Mexico rest stops have nice little ramadas with picnic tables.  I got comfortable and painted while I was there.  The next day, Steve's train was very late, so we ended up getting a motel room for the night where I could relax until it was time to go get him around midnight.

Then it was back to TorC, where I had the gallery open for the June Second Saturday Art Hop weekend.  It was a bust!  For the first time, I didn't make the rent (or any of the other expenses).  I didn't panic, though.  I turned on the eBay machine.  It was the perfect way to spend the hottest part of the summer.  We had high 90s to low 100s for many weeks.  It seemed like an eternity.  

"Too Hot for the Sun" was inspired by this summer's weather

For several months, I would spend some of the morning, before it got very hot, down at the gallery picking out and photographing inventory that looked good for selling online.  And then I'd spend the afternoon at home in the Beluga (my Class A), with the A/C blasting, listing stuff for sale.  It worked really well, and it's helping me pay off some of my past travels before I make the next big trip.

Steve is rockin' that alien shirt at the Mineral Museum in Socorro

During this summer, we've made some attempts to alleviate the boredom (not much happens in TorC in the summer!) by taking a few trips closer to home.  We went to Las Cruces to shop and stay overnight for my birthday in June, and to Socorro to have lunch and visit the Mineral Museum at New Mexico Tech for Steve's birthday in July.  

 Up early in the morning to bake a pear-chocolate clafoutis for a French country summer dinner party

We have also been enjoying dinner parties with an international flair with friends throughout the summer.  We bought amenities to enjoy the summer--an additional A/C unit, patio furniture, a nice grill. When it would finally get cool in the evening, I worked on dish gardens which sold like hot cakes at my gallery.

One of my little gardens, featuring found items and prayer flags I made

 These mosaic teardrop trailer bird houses have been very popular this spring and summer, too

I also did some painting and became a member of the Sierra County Arts Council.  We're working on some exciting events for the fall and winter.  And, of course, I was open at the gallery for the July and August Art Hop weekends, which fortunately went better than June.

 Trip #4: Pie Town, and the Mogollon Rim again

Sonja's enthusiasm for travel--you can see it in her eyes

When the hot spell was finally starting to break, Steve, the cat, and I got outta town.  We headed north on I-25 and west on Highway 60 past the Very Large Array, spending the night at the free campground in Pie Town, New Mexico.  There are no services there, but it's fine boondocking.  

 Free dry camping at the town park in Pie Town--there is also BLM land immediately behind the park if you need longer-term parking

Then we continued west to Arizona, picking up Highway 260 and heading for Payson so I could shop again.  We stopped for three days, though, at Christopher Creek Campground in the Tonto National Forest, about 20 miles east of Payson.  It's a  nice little campground, with two loops of campsites, one on either side of the creek.  It got rather full of loud campers on the weekend, so we headed into Payson to shop.  

 Christopher Creek was low during our visit, but sometimes you can wade, swim and fish

What I thought was a bugling elk turned out to be only this attitudinal cow

We had intended to spend the night at the casino, but it was the annual Payson Rodeo two weekends ago when we were there.  So it was crowded and loud, and we headed back east on Highway 260, stopping overnight at my new favorite boondocking place, Forest Road 300 near Heber.  Even though we didn't get such a unique campsite this time, Steve loved this place as much as I did.  I think there will be a lot more boondocking in our future.  

 Steve enjoying a quiet evening boondocking in the National Forest, while I peek in windows and take people's pictures

 Horses that were grazing just outside the rig while I did my morning meditation

On the way home, we stopped one more night at a rest stop along Highway 60, just a few miles east of the Arizona-New Mexico border.  I didn't need ear plugs at this one, since it's a much quieter highway. We'd landed at this rest stop because a much-loved Forest Service campground in Lakeside, Arizona, has unfortunately been permanently closed since we last stayed there.  No explanation, but we're guessing that property just became too valuable for campground use, once the town grew up around it.   

Highway 60 rest stop about 8 miles east of AZ-NM border

 Art completed at that rest stop

We got back home last week, and I got a lot of things done around home and the gallery so I could get back out camping again one more time before I open the gallery in September.  I'm currently enjoying a solo trip (well, I had to bring the cat) out at Elephant Butte State Park, dry camping on an overlook above the Rio Grande.

Perched above the Rio Grande, north of the lake

Just after sunrise this morning

What's Next?

I'd thought of spending the summer other ways--heading north to the Midwest, possibly changing out RV's to have more power for long trips--and I'm glad that I stayed closer to home.  Steve and I will be making that trip to the Midwest together next year, getting an earlier start than we might have if we'd gone this year, so hopefully having less hot weather to deal with.  Also, we've got a trip to Thailand coming up this fall.  If I'd traveled all summer, I wouldn't have been able to say "yes" when the right air fare to Bangkok finally showed up, after looking for a long time.

I have furniture for the new apartment stacked up in back of my gallery.  It is helpful to be able to go shopping in my own store!

The biggest thing coming up in the near future is a move into senior housing in Truth or Consequences.  Steve has indicated a desire to have less work to do than is involved with living in RVs.  In our new apartment, we'll be able to call Maintenance when something goes wrong.  We're on a waiting list, and don't know when we'll move, but hope it will be before our trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in October.

I also have some themed art shows coming up at Sun Gallery, but I'll keep that for the next blog post.  Ciao for now!               

Make that Cow for Now...

     

Boondocking and Apple Pie Along I-10 in Eastern Arizona

 Yum! 

Since I wrote my last blog post in February, I've traveled between my homes in Why, Arizona, and Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and I've made some better stops than I used to along I-10.  

I don't attempt the eight-hour drive in one day unless Steve and I are traveling together.  That much driving makes my body hurt, so I always split up the trip into two days.  Plus, breaking up the trip gives me lots of time to run errands or go junking in Tucson or wherever I want to along the way. 

In the past, I'd usually stop at a truckstop overnight.  I rarely want to spend the money on a paid campsite or RV park site if I'm just going to rest up for another day of driving.  But on my last trip, I tried two free spots that are really worth knowing about.

On my way west, I'd intended to stop at the TA truckstop in Willcox, which is not a bad place to overnight.  Since I have a small rig (22-ft Toyota Dolphin), I can park just about anywhere and stay a little ways away from the noisy trucks.  But I always have to use earplugs to get to sleep there.

 Level parking lots on several sides of this fun store, plus there is a Cochise County visitors center next-door with additional overnight RV parking

This time, just before exiting at Willcox, I noticed some RVs parked by a store of some kind that was several blocks further away from the freeway than the TA truckstop.  As I exited, I saw signs for Apple Annie's Country Store and followed them.  This upscale pie/jam/gift shop has a nice level parking lot and it's next-door to a local tourism information building which also has good overnight RV parking in its lot.  No charge.  I don't know how long it would be okay to stay there, but it was much quieter than the truckstop and very pleasant.  I got up the next morning and went into the store when they opened at 8 am and bought a fabulous $14 apple-rhubarb pie and managed to get 5/6ths of it home to Steve in Why later that day.

 A tabletop for my friends at Passion Pie Cafe in Truth or Consequences, NM

 A sign I will hang once the permit is approved

I spent several weeks in Why, working on a new tabletop for Passion Pie Cafe and on a sign for my Sun Gallery in TorC and enjoying time with Steve.  On my way back east to New Mexico, I tried another overnight spot that was new to me, Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area, a BLM picnic area south of Bowie, Arizona.  You can't boondock in the picnic area itself, but you can pull off a nearby road and camp close enough to use the vault toilet at the picnic site, and you can camp for free there for up to 14 days.  

The view from my campsite at Indian Bread Rocks Recreation Area

This area is beautiful--I heard and saw lots of birds, and there were cattle walking right by my rig and horses down the road a bit.  It took about 15 to 20 minutes to get from a gas station in Bowie to the BLM land, with the last two miles or so being dirt road.  It was well worth the detour off I-10, even for just an overnight stay.  This BLM area was so pleasant, I could see making it a destination and staying there several days to paint.

Some of my neigh-bors at Indian Bread Rocks

I got home from my trip to Why in time to attend an annual Open House at Spaceport America.  It was a beautiful drive out past Engel and one of Ted Turner's ranches to Spaceport.  I didn't understand much of what they were saying in the presentation because the acoustics in the hangar were awful, but I enjoyed seeing the facility and spending the afternoon with my friend Kat.  I'm guessing the $49 Spaceport Tour would be a lot more informative and interactive than the Open House was, but I haven't tried that yet.   

 

Visiting my Arizona winter camp, creating artwork and running my gallery has kept me pretty busy these past few months, but I also found some time to explore some primitive camping opportunities closer to Truth or Consequences...places I can easily get away to for just a few nights when I want to have some uninterrupted time to paint.   Both Elephant Butte State Park and Caballo State Park have primitive areas where there are no services and very few neighbors, for $8 per night.  I've been enjoying exploring the various roads into the isolated outer edges of these parks.

The Gallery goes well.  Both my artwork and my antique finds are selling, and I enjoy the interactions there with friends and the public.  

 Mosaic tile projects including an early 20th Century occasional table on wheels, a mirror, and a teardrop trailer shaped birdhouse

 

 Hi there!

Now that I've been in my storefront for a while, I've been able to resume doing mosaic artwork for the first time in a few years.  As an RVer, I really didn't have the space or weight allowance for tiles, grout, etc.  I'm also helped by a new compound tile nipper, which allows me to make plates into tile without hurting my arthritic hands.  I'm making birdhouses that are flying off the shelves, and it's fun.

I've also been experimenting with Day of the Dead type motifs, with mandala style backgrounds.  

 Reviewer James Durham writes about my gallery in The Ink, a Southern New Mexico arts magazine

Second Saturday Art Hop has been really fun each month at Sun Gallery.  In February, my friend Claudia made poison pen Valentine cookies which made everybody laugh.  

In March, we had a Peep Show--a marshmallow Peeps diorama contest that got enough entries to make it really a fun exhibit.  

Peeples Choice Winner:  Martye Allen

 Gallery Choice Winner:  Linda DeMarino

I'm looking forward to more fun events that include artists of every age and experience level.  In May, I'm going to keep the gallery open for two weeks in a row for our local Fiesta celebration and then for Second Saturday Art Hop.  During that time, we'll have a community art show at Sun Gallery on the theme "So Many Chickens, So Little Time."  

The next several weeks, I'll be in the East Village, trying to beat my friend Marcy at Scrabble and soaking up all that New York City has to offer.  Flying there, not RVing.  See if you can find me in the audience on the Tonight Show with Stephen Colbert on April 18th.  I'll be there.           

Six Months in the Southwest

  In front of Sun Gallery, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

My last blog post was in August, when I had just returned from a four-month West Coast solo RV trip.  I commented at the end that I was going to return to my routine, but couldn't remember what that was anymore .

Sometimes it's good not to remember an old story and to start a new one.  That's basically what I've been up to lately.

  Intuition Is My Compass, Mixed-Media on Canvas, 12 x 12 in.

I spent a few weeks just getting reacquainted with Truth or Consequences...hanging out in coffee shops, seeing friends, spending lots of time with Steve.  I also started making some new friends, since I'm now old enough to eat lunch and participate in other activities at the Senior Center.

 Jeff, John, Beverly and Joel enjoying lunch at the Senior Center

 
Something that has come up in my thinking many times over the years since I started spending time in TorC is the possibility of having my own art studio, art gallery, book store, antique store, or any combination thereof.  I began exploring this possibility in my talks with friends.

Desert Eden Mandala, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 12 in.

About mid-September, I decided not to partner up with anyone and to start my own folk art and antiques gallery.  The vision I've had for this type of business for many years has been to be open only part-time.  I've seen this model work in small towns where business isn't heavy enough to justify being open full-time.  TorC has a Second Saturday Art Hop, and I decided to have my new Sun Gallery open each month during the Art Hop weekend.

 Front window of Sun Gallery

 
I found a workable commercial space in the very busiest part of downtown TorC.  I'm in a block that is a beehive of small businesses, one of the hoppingest places in town.  After renting the space, I worked very hard to get it filled up.  I picked up my paintings, sculpture, mixed-media work, etc.,  from other galleries in town except RioBravoFineArt where I will continue to show my work.   

One of dozens of carloads of antiques that I have found for the gallery

 
I also bought many, many antiques in travels to Las Cruces, where I have a great working relationship with a woman who rebuilds, refinishes and even repurposes old furniture.  I also got to buy some great primitives from a local pecan farm where an old house was cleared out. Besides Las Cruces, I've had some fun shopping excursions throughout the Southwest this fall and winter.  

 Me on flute, Gina on djembe, Rich on keyboards, Bob on drums and Mario on guitar at one of our Second Saturday Art Hop openings at Sun Gallery

I opened the gallery in October and have worked pretty hard at it throughout the fall.  I was open for the Art Hop weekend in October, then headed to Arizona to do some antique buying and camping.  Most of November and December, I was open each weekend so I could garner the holiday sales.  Then it was back to just one weekend per month in January.

 A series of four large acrylic paintings about the Elements (Fire, Water, Air and Earth) that I painted after returning from my 2015 travels

 
This schedule is great.  It allows me to travel and make art in between gallery openings.  After my January opening, I had a full four weeks off before the upcoming February opening!  So I've been able to spend a nice long time relaxing at our place in Why, Arizona. 

 Local arts critic James Durham's first review of my new gallery

Just yesterday, I returned to Why from a quick buying trip to Palm Springs!  There is no better place for thrift store shopping than the Coachella Valley.  Driving along Highway 111, the loop through all of those connected desert resort towns, I was able to hit about 20 thrift shops in two days.  There were probably another 10 that I could have shopped if I'd had the stamina.  

 Desert Hot Springs wind farm

 
I had hoped to include some sightseeing in my Palm Springs trip--maybe a couple of nights up at Joshua Tree National Park or a side trip along the Salton Sea to Yuma on my way home--but we got the big winds this past weekend that hit the entire Southwest.  With 25 to 35 mph winds with gusts up to hurricane speeds, it wasn't a good time to drive my little Dolphin on I-10.  So I holed up for a few nights at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, which has a nice big lot for free RV parking.  

 The heavy winds that kept me sitting in one place for several days

 
Yesterday on my way back to Why, I stopped in Quartzsite to lunch with some of my Solo Wild-Women RVer sisters.  And today it's great to be back here in the quiet Senoran Desert!  I have a few days to relax, then it's back to TorC for the February Art Hop weekend opening.  I have a few new paintings to exhibit in February that I painted here in Arizona this past month, and I've also been able to start doing some mosaic again now that I have space to work in and a nifty new compound tile nipper that doesn't make my arthritic hands hurt. 

 Back to doing mosaic after a few years' abstinence

 
I'll be going back and forth between our New Mexico and Arizona camps for the next few months.  Then I have some big travel plans for the spring (New York City!) and summer (RVing up the Mississippi to the Midwest).  Stay tuned!  I'll try not to get too busy to blog.

For those interested in visiting my gallery, please visit my Sun Gallery Facebook page.
     

An interior view of Sun Gallery

 

The Trip Home: Washington to New Mexico via the National Parks!

 Riding at Bryce Canyon National Park

When I last wrote, I had left Seattle where I visited with my son and other family and friends for over a month.  I was ready to start heading back to the Southwest, but not before I went to Olympic National Park.  All of the years I lived in Seattle, I had only driven past the park to get to various vacation destinations.  But now, on my "2015 No Regrets Tour," I took the time to enjoy the Olympic Peninsula.

Sol Duc River at Olympic National Park

I spent several days at Olympic National Park, trying different campgrounds and seeing the Park's many-faceted features.  My favorite place was Sol Duc, where there is a privately-owned hot springs resort and RV park within the Park's boundaries.  I opted to stay down the road about a half-mile at the National Park's own campground, for a lot less money.  I lucked out and got a spot that was right near the walking trail over to the hot springs resort.  The day fee for using the hot springs was something like $13, very reasonable.  You get a wrist band and can come back several times during the day or evening if you wish.  

My campsite at Sol Duc

I had an encounter with a neighbor at Sol Duc that reminded me that I have a life back home that I was kind of missing.  I had accomplished the main purpose of my trip (spending about a month hanging out in Seattle where I would be available to my son and friends on their schedule).  So, I stopped moseying so much and began to make tracks for New Mexico.  Besides, there was a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, so I figured I might as well head home a little more quickly than I'd planned.  I still went to most of the places I wanted to, but I didn't linger as long or meander as much as I had on my way north.

 Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park

After Sol Duc, I stayed one really lovely night at the Fairholme Campground on Lake Crescent.  After that, I had hoped to stay at one of the beach campgrounds somewhere along the West Coast portion of Olympic National Park, but it was a very busy time and I had no reservations.  I couldn't get in at Quinault, either, and temperatures nearing 100 degrees were predicted, so I made a quick shot down I-5 to stay with friends in Eugene, Oregon, who have a 30-amp post in their driveway.  I was able to use my new roof-top air conditioner that I'd had installed in Washington, and it was great!  It literally scared the piss out of the cat the first time I turned it on, but she got used to it quickly.  

Whistlers Bend County Park, outside Roseburg, Oregon

From Eugene, my next goal was to visit Crater Lake, another place I'd lived close to for many years but had never visited.  I took the North Umpqua Highway (Oregon Route 138) east from Roseburg and stayed at a lovely little Douglas County Park called Whistlers Bend.  There were also lots of Forest Service campgrounds all along that road--so many great choices and such a beautiful drive.

Wizard's Hat, an island in Crater Lake

I enjoyed a wonderful day at Crater Lake National Park, but I did not find a campsite there.  This was something I ran into a lot on my way home at the National Parks, even though they say on their websites that they have first-come, first-served camping.  But that turned out okay at Crater Lake.  I took the two-hour trolley tour ($24 for seniors) all the way around the lake.  A ranger gave us lots of great information on how this unique lake formed, what wildlife live in the area, etc.  It was a great way to see the Park, especially for a solo traveler.  After the tour, I headed south to Chiloquin, Oregon, where I stayed overnight (free!) at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino.  

 Beautiful Lake Helen, at Lassen Volcanic National Park

My next goal was to check out the Lava Beds National Monument and Lassen Volcanic National Park.  I hadn't realized it, but they are at the south end of what is called the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, which starts near Crater Lake.  All along this route, I enjoyed beautiful views of Mount Shasta, and I was also reminded of playing the old computer game Oregon Trail which had a California trail option that went through this area.  

 Mount Shasta was on my horizon for two days of driving

I visited Lava Beds one day, overnighted at Lower Rush Creek Campground in the Modoc National Forest, and went to Lassen the next day and afterwards stayed at Gurnsey Creek Campground in nearby Lassen National Forest.  I didn't linger at either of these parks because most of the visitor activity involves hiking.  I've learned on this trip that I do best at the bigger National Parks where they have bus rides, ranger talks, maybe a little nature trail, a nice lodge with rocking chairs on the deck, etc.

The next goal was to find a campground somewhere along the way to Lake Tahoe where I could stop and rest for a couple of days.  I wanted to cross all of Nevada via U.S. Highway 50, "America's Loneliest Highway," in just a couple of days, but needed to be ready for that push.  I made a wonderful unexpected find, Martis Creek Lake Corps of Engineers Campground near Truckee, California.  It was not as lush as the beautiful Pacific Northwest campgrounds I'd become accustomed to, but it was pleasant enough.  Being near the Truckee Airport, there were lots of fun experimental aircraft to watch, and I sat outside and did a little painting.

My nice little boondocking spot along the Loneliest Highway

I did manage to make it across most of Nevada in two days, boondocking one night about halfway across the state at an unmarked picnic spot in the Humboldt-Toiyaba National Forest, east of Austin, Nevada.  Just a pull-off with a picnic table under a tree.  It was a great place to rest, and I was on the road again early the next day.  

Before leaving Nevada, I spent a day at Great Basin National Park and camped there at Lower Lehman Creek Campground.  The main activities at Great Basin are taking hikes or driving up to about 10,000 feet to look at bristlecone pines.

The view from my lovely Red Canyon campsite

My next destination was Bryce Canyon National Park, but I was so floored by the sight of Red Canyon, outside Bryce in the Dixie National Forest, that I had to stop for two days.  I camped at Red Canyon Campground and had a large campsite and a fabulous view of my very own hoodoos.  It was at Red Canyon that I noticed that the hip bursitis that had begun to plague me in Oregon and Washington was gone!  I was able to do a bit more hiking than I had for a while.

The dining room at Bryce Canyon Lodge

After not getting campsites at several National Parks, I decided I would visualize a wonderful visit to Bryce Canyon, with a good campsite, a bus tour, and a trail ride.  It worked!  Everything went exactly as I'd hoped.  I happened to arrive at Bryce Canyon on a weekend when they were having a geology fest, so there was an excellent tour led by a university geology prof.  I stayed two nights at Sunset Campground and was pleased to find out that, after having two knee replacements, I could still go on a horseback ride.  It had been a bucket list item for me to find out.  Another bucket list item was to eat a meal at one of the National Park lodges, so I did that at Bryce, where I enjoyed elk chili.

Leaving Bryce Canyon, it was tempting to head further up Scenic Byway 12 (Utah State Route 12) to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capital Reef National Park, especially after several other Bryce visitors told me that Capital Reef was their favorite National Park.  But I can see that there is another trip up that way for me sometime.  The entire Colorado Plateau is beautiful, and I'll head up that way another summer.

Instead, I headed south to Zion National Park.  The scenery was gorgeous as I drove from the east entrance to the south exit, but again I did not linger.  There were no campsites available, and I was having a day when my inner introvert was unable to deal with the high energy of Zion's crowds.  So I drove on through and headed all the way to the Kaibab National Forest in Arizona, where I stayed at DeMotte Campground.  It was a friendly place--the camp host drove out to my site as soon as I arrived to get me registered and sell me some campfire wood, which was very handy!  However, a neighbor started his generator at 4:58 a.m. the next morning, so I got up and left early.  Thanks, Generator Guy!

My first glimpse of the Grand Canyon, from the North Rim

It was good to get an early start.  I covered a lot of miles.  I headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Again, I was unable to find a campsite, but I had a nice breakfast at the Grand Canyon Lodge, took several walks and looked at various viewpoints, and then headed on.  I ended up spending the night (free!) at McHood County Park on Clear Creek Reservoir, a few miles outside of Winslow, Arizona.  This nice little lake had lots of people fishing, swimming and boating during the day.  It was nearly 100 degrees during the afternoon, but the evening brought cool breezes off the lake and was very pleasant.  

The next morning (two days ago), I left Winslow, not knowing if I would make it all the way to Truth or Consequences in one day, thinking perhaps I'd stop at Datil.  But it was my boyfriend Steve's birthday, so I was motivated to drive the 325 miles or so home.  I got here in time for supper, and Steve and I went out for pizza.

So, my trip back to the Southwest took me only a month (July 8th through August 5th), while the trip north had taken me nearly three months.  I guess I was ready to get back to my routine (whatever that is!  I've been on the road so long, I can't really remember...).  

Today I had a meeting with the other local artists who show at Grapes Gallery and we discussed some upcoming themed art shows, so now I have some new work ahead of me.  I have several creative goals for the next few months, and then I'll head to Why, Arizona, where I'll stay for the winter and probably use as a base for some more travels.