Our plan was to take around three weeks to get back home, in Toledo. Traveling first south in Arizona, then north through New Mexico before heading east through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois & Indiana before reaching Ohio.
Taking our time, playing some golf and staying at a few out of the way campgrounds in some interesting places was the plan, but with unsettling weather in the plain states we stepped it up a little. An advantage of traveling in an RV... to avoid bad weather we can change our direction our speed of travel.
We only spent six days in New Mexico, but to date that is a record...we usually just drive through. This time our first stop was in Silver City between the Burro and Mimbres mountains, a quaint little town with a lot of Cowboy history and a restored Old Town.
We then took the advise of some locals and went south, around the 10,000 ft. mountains, before heading north through towns like Truth Or Consequences on our way to Santa Fe.
At first you wonder where the town is, because there are no tall buildings. Also all the buildings, even the parking garage's were in the unified building style, the "Spanish Pueblo Revival" (Adobe Style Construction) All very well planed back in 1912, the year of statehood, by the city government to build & promote tourism. What a vision they had 100 years ago... Now the commercial and cultural heart of New Mexico ... the fourth largest city in the state with 67,947... with 9 museums relating to art & cultural history... the nations second largest arts market with a wide variety of creative studios, galleries & small speciality shops supporting a 1.6 billion arts economy... all at 7,260 ft.
We went to the Cathedral Basilica for Easter Service, with more than a few others, on a beautiful spring day... tallest structure in town.
For us this was a near perfect town...a small city like no other that we will definitely go back to... for the atmosphere, the art, the food ... & we now there has to be a couple golf courses in the area.
From Santa Fe we continued north into Colorado and as we crossed over the state line, through Raton Pass at 7,834 ft. about 9:30 in the morning we caught a breath taking view of the sun drenched, snow covered Rocky Mountains in the distance on a bed of low flying clouds.
Unfortunately the picture is not the best... but as I dodged cars & trucks to get..."the shot"... I noticed the looks on the faces in the morning sun of the people in those vehicles... The look of amazement with bright eyes & open mouths... like they were singing... maybe America The Beautiful... "well you get the picture"
As we drove down the north side of the mountain we kept looking for another photo op of the Rockies with no luck, we were soon below the clouds.
We then cut across the S.E. corner of Colorado, on our way to Garden City Kansas were we spent the night. In the morning with unsettling weather rolling in behind us we decided to drive 345 miles (about 100 more than we normally do) across Kansas to Overland, just west of Kansas City.
In years past we have tryed to stop and see friends, Pete & Michele Obert (mom & sister of neice Paula Obert Payne) but until this trip they were always off on one of there own adventures.
We had a "too short of a visit" & trip to the Scott Payne Family's favorite restaurant, the world famous Joe's Bar-B-Que....really....it said so, right on the sign. It was very good and we hope to return for a longer visit and of course more bar-b-q when there busy schedules gel with ours.
After a night at Elks Lodge #26 in Kansas City we decided to put in an even longer driving day of 575 miles, in mostly rainy weather, to get us a little past Indianapolis Indiana. The long day was "two fold" to get out in front of some very nasty weather and to stop in Columbus Ohio over the weekend to watch our grand daughter Alexa compete in a volleyball tournament.
We then cut across the S.E. corner of Colorado, on our way to Garden City Kansas were we spent the night. In the morning with unsettling weather rolling in behind us we decided to drive 345 miles (about 100 more than we normally do) across Kansas to Overland, just west of Kansas City.
In years past we have tryed to stop and see friends, Pete & Michele Obert (mom & sister of neice Paula Obert Payne) but until this trip they were always off on one of there own adventures.
We had a "too short of a visit" & trip to the Scott Payne Family's favorite restaurant, the world famous Joe's Bar-B-Que....really....it said so, right on the sign. It was very good and we hope to return for a longer visit and of course more bar-b-q when there busy schedules gel with ours.
After a night at Elks Lodge #26 in Kansas City we decided to put in an even longer driving day of 575 miles, in mostly rainy weather, to get us a little past Indianapolis Indiana. The long day was "two fold" to get out in front of some very nasty weather and to stop in Columbus Ohio over the weekend to watch our grand daughter Alexa compete in a volleyball tournament.
A fitting end to a great seven month trip across this wonderfully country we live in !
LIVE
LAUGH
LOVE
SanTony
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