The Final Stats

Well, our trip is over and Carole and I have debated whether to tell all that has happened since we started on our way home .... at least our troubles waited until after all our planned activities were over to hit us with the downside of RVing. 

We went through hurricane force winds and torrential rains in Texas, causing us to (1) discover a leak in the windshield and (2) run over something in the flooded street that took a divet out of the sidewall of a back tire.  (Carole temporarily fixed the leak and bought a new tire.) We had electrical problems that began in Texas and followed us through to Florida where Carole has replaced the Inverter.  We got a chip in the windshield in Louisiana and that was fixed.  Carole discovered that the one-year-old back tires on her car had worn dangerously low on the edges and is having them replaced along with a full evaluation to try to determine why. 

We are finally sitting in Arcadia, Fl trying to relax for a few days before we finish our trip north to go home to our families around the 7th of November! 

So, here are the stats from our Great CarMel Latte Adventure!!

We traveled 6042 miles in the RV and will finish the round trip with another 1000 miles in the car.  So, it has been a 7000 mile adventure!  That doesn't include the many thousand miles we put on the car to tour the different sights.

We will have traveled through 23 states plus the District of Columbia by the time we are home - almost half the states. 

Each of us spent $5,000 to share the cost of the planned Caravan & Rally and all the fuel and campgrounds in-between.  We also shared the cost of food through paying 1/2 of everything and of course, we bought gifts and treats, that we gave ourselves and others - most importantly the balloon ride we took at the Balloon Fiesta!

Each of us took over 2,000 pictures (and that's just the ones we saved!) and have memories that will last a lifetime.  Even though its fun to read the stats, the trip can't be calculated in statistics - it is in our hearts, memories and experience, what else is there to living life!?!?

Other Things around Albuquerque, NM

This is the end of our great adventure - we may blog a few more times as we make our way across the country, but hopefully, things slow down now! 

In Albuquerque, the balloons weren't the only fun things to do.  We rode on the Sandia Tramway.  It is 2.7 miles long and rises 4000 vertical feet.  I knew that "Sandia" was a spanish word and thought that it probably meant "sandy" (since everything around here is sandy).  Well I was wrong, it means, "watermelon"!!  That's right, supposedly the mountain looks pink at sunset!  Anyway, it is mainly used to transport skiers from Albuquerque to the top of the mountain so they can ski down the other side. 

From the bottom ...

From the top!

Off to Old Town Albuquerque, lots of history about being one of the mission stops along the Santa Fe Trail and also lots of shopping!

We had a lot of music entertainment provided for us.  A Mariachi Band

Spanish Dancers

Indian Pueblo Dancers

And a Western Music Band (which I forgot to take a picture of).  They played the old western music - "They call the wind Mariah", "Ghost riders in the Sky", etc.  It was great entertainment! 

The Indian dancers were at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, which offers historical accounts of the Pueblo Indians and Indian artists.  Also, young people are trained in their heritage.  Below are some young Hopis dancing.

Our last bus trip was to Santa Fe.  It is a beautiful town, has a monument for the end of the Santa Fe Trail, called The Journey's End.

The archtecture of the town is, of course pueblo ...

and there is a famous chapel - The Loretto Chapel

With a famous - unsupported by a central pillar - staircase.

And, of course, there was a lot of shopping that HAD to be done in Santa Fe!! 

There is no way to summarize the experience of this trip - except to say that it was a trip of a Lifetime!

Albuquerque - The Balloon Fiesta

We have just completed our 9 days at the Balloon Fiesta and what an exciting time!  Fortunately , for us, the weather was perfect and all of the events we wanted to participate in took place. Saturday morning early ( like we got up at 4:30am) we were a part of a "chase crew". We helped the pilot of the balloon, Snobird, unroll, attach it to the basket and inflate. She (yes I said SHE) then took off while the team got into chase vehicles and followed her to the landing area. We had a great experience but it was alot of heavy, back-breaking work.  Notice that "our" balloon is at least twice as big as the other balloons.

On Sunday, Melodie again got up early and went to the fiesta grounds to see a mass ascension. 

 I on the other hand slept in and watched the balloons fly right by the motorhome.

On Monday we took the big step and took a balloon ride!  Again we had to get up early, even tho they don't take off until 7:00am we had to sign several release forms (in case they drop us somewhere unplanned, I guess) and help them get the balloon ready for flight. The flight lasted just over an hour and it was AWESOME!!

We made it to almost 9,000 ft and circled the fiesta grounds twice.  From that high you could see most of the balloons in flight and landing. We landed safely and in the upright position and celebrated with Champagne (all of this before 9:00am). It was an experience of a lifetime but next time I want to start

 later in the day.

Latte Speaks!

I've been quiet for awhile, but I have to tell you .... I don't like going up and down the mountains!!  I used to sleep the whole time in my crate (except to tell them -LOUDLY- not to forget me when they stop), but now I start barking even before they start driving and I don't stop!!  They are not happy and put me in a timeout in the back of the RV. 

So finally we are out of the mountain driving and we have stopped for a whole week!  We are sitting in Albuquerque and that is a good thing!  The problem is that from the time we got here - every morning - these monster things fly over my head!  They make a whoosing sound and they seem to be aimed right at me!  Let me show you pictures of them ...

Carole and Melodie think they are pretty, but I'm scared to death!  They try to console me and get me used to them, but I don't think it is going to happen.  And then if that isn't enough fireworks have gone off 2 nights in a row!?!?  I think they are trying to get back at me for barking so much!

Now, last night it rained so much this place is a total mudhole!  (I actually think it is kind of fun, but the 2 of them are "barking" about it)!  I guess we all have a turn at that!

Durango CO

Today was our last day of the Grand Circle Caravan and it was a wonderful day.  The weather was perfect for our 3 1/2 hour train ride to Silverton, CO via coal-fired engine.  It took 3 1/2 tons of coal and 10,000 gallons of water to make a one way trip.

  We were 9,300 feet in elevation and the mountains were at their peak fall colors. The pictures don't begin to show the splendor of the Colorado mountains.

The train twisted and turned and climbed at about 25 to 30 miles an hour and we were constantly oohing and ahhing at each new vista.

Our entire group was in one train car and eventually someone thought we needed additional entertainment ( we really are an enthusiastic and creative group)  Sooooo Melodie led us in a few "railroad songs".

We saw so many neat things (OK, we together took over 300 pictures) it is hard to pick a few to share with you.

The rainbow was a bonus produced by the release of steam from the engine , but it was still magical.

Yes! That is snow on the mountaintop. We were told they have had snow in the higher regions for the past two weeks.  Now that we are finished with this caravan we will be going  to Albuquerque for the balloon fiesta so you won't hear from us for a few days.  Stay tuned for more exciting adventures!!

The

Four Corners & Mesa Verde

This picture symbolizes the journey that Carole & I have taken ... we traveled around 3 of these 4 states - Utah, Arizona, Colorado & New Mexico - although it feels like we've been a lot further!!

After stopping there, we went to Mesa Verde.  It was a very special day for both of us.  It was special because of all the fun we had and also the challenges that we both faced and achieved!!!

We began at Balcony House, which was the most challenging.  We climbed a 32 ft. ladder straight up.

Inched our way through crevices.

Crawled through a 12 ft tunnel that was 23 inches high by 18 inches wide.

and then had to climb more ladders and steps barely carved into the rock wall.  Carole is pretty tired by now!

Through it all, what impressed us most was the beauty of the place and the knowledge of their advanced civilization.

The biggest cliff-dwelling was Cliff Palace, which had about 200 rooms.  You can see the overall living quarters in this picture taken from the observation point just before our tour began.

It is believed to have been a center of commerce - a city.  It was wonderful to tour, although there is some discussion that it might be closed soon due to deterioration.  It was built around 1280AD.

Once again there were ladders, steps and crevices to manuever through - but we were ready for anything after having gone through Balcony House.

Oops!  I swore I wouldn't include any butt shots of Carole!  Oh, well - we both survived!

( I'll get you for this one, Melodie!!!!!)

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

Today was a pretty exciting day.  We got to take a ride in an open "jeep" throughout Monument Valley Tribal Park.  This is actually Navajo land and not run by the National Park Service. The roads were red dirt and extremely rough, with big rocks and deep ruts.

It was really alot of fun and I'm afraid we all were acting like children on a school bus.  As usual the sights were astounding and I'm running out of adjectives to describe what we have seen.

Many of the formations have "cute" names ( I think they do that to stimulate our "Senior" brains).

We called this one "Puff the magic dragon"

This was a real Navajo cowboy who assumed the classic pose for the tourists.

A  female Hogan (yes, they have male and female houses)  where a native demonstrated weaving and corn grinding.  These Hogans are made with Juniper wood and a mixture of mud and red sand. They are cool in the summer and warm in the winter and they can stand for years.                       

One of us (That's Melodie way up there) climbed to the top of a sand dune, with about half the group, while several of us (me included) waited at the bottom, in the shade.

The entire trip lasted 3 1/2 hours and the weather was perfect but let me tell you about red dust!!!  It was everywhere, and I mean every crack and crevice available on the human body and then some.  In our hair, on our cameras and in our mouths.  The back of our legs looked like a bad spray-tan job.  We all couldn't wait to get in the shower but we couldn't figure out how to get into the motor homes without dragging in the dust!