Category Archives: Tours

Olive City

We headed out around 11:15am yesterday. Our first stop was at the Lucero olive oil mill and store about two miles from our current home at Rolling Hills Casino RV Park. I had called ahead and was told they would give us a tour when we arrived. Our tour guide was a young man named Eddie. He was very knowledgeable about the Lucero company, olives and olive oil in general.

The Lucero company was founded by H.R. Crane and has been growing olives in the Corning area since 1947. In 2009, two of H.R. Crane’s grandsons purchased an olive mill with the intention of producing high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Today, the two grandsons and two great-grandsons run the company along with 25 employees.

They have more than 500 acres of olive orchards. Some of the orchards are old-time table olive orchards while most of their holdings are high-density or medium-density plantings. They grow 16 varieties of olives. The term density in olive orchards refers to how close the trees are planted. Some modern varieties are more like bushes and high-density plantings are close enough to touch each other. These can be harvested by machine using an implement originally designed to harvest grapes. The older, low-density orchards must be harvested by hand.

Extra virgin olive oil is made from a single pressing of the olives and must meet a standard for acidity and taste. I’ve read that nearly 70% of the extra virgin olive oil sold in America doesn’t meet the standards – in fact some of it is cut with cheaper vegetable oils and isn’t even 100% olive oil! You can read about it here.

I took photos of a series of posters showing the olive oil milling process.

This poster shows the olive flowers and a young olive on top. High-density olive plants are being machine harvested in the bottom pictures.

The olives are rinsed and stems, leaves or any other debris is removed. Then they travel via conveyor to a crusher. The crusher turns the olives into a paste. Lucero makes some olive oils with citrus added. They add Meyer lemons or Mandarin oranges and crush them with the olives to make agrumato olive oil. They also have infused olive oils. We found the lemon agrumato was more flavorful when taste-tested alongside lemon infused olive oil. It should be great for cooking any lemon-flavored recipes and as a salad dressing.

The paste goes into a malaxer which stirs the paste for up 90 minutes. The malaxer is double-walled and the temperature is controlled with a water jacket between the inner and outer stainless steel walls.

After the malaxer, the paste is strained with a horizontal centrifuge. The one used at Lucero spins the paste at 3,500 rpm and strains the oil from the paste.

A second stage is used at Lucero where the oil is run through a vertical centrifuge that spins at 6,000 rpm separating more sediment from the oil.

The oil is poured into large plastic containers and stored in a temperature-controlled room. Any remaining sediment drops to the bottom of the container. The oil is then siphoned from the top down in the final bottling process.

Since Lucero owns their own orchards, all of their olives are transported less than 25 miles before processing. They place a big emphasis on freshness.

Donna examines young olives on a Sevillano olive tree in front of the Lucero mill

After our tour, we went into the Lucero retail store and had tastings of oil, tapenades and balsamic vinegar. We bought lemon agrumato olive oil, garlic-infused olive oil and white (blanco) balsamic vinegar along with a lemon artichoke tapenade. It was a fun tour and I learned a lot things about olives in general and olive oils.

After the tour, we rode the Spyder into town and stopped at The Olive Pit. We hit their tasting room where Donna had red wine samples and I had local beer. We had a plate of crackers with salami, white cheddar cheese and olives to go with the tasting. The server lived in Corning her entire life and was talkative. She convinced us to go to the New Clairvaux Vineyard and Abbey. It’s a Trappist monastery in nearby Vina – they make wine and have daily tastings. I asked about the signs referring to Corning as the Olive City. I remember signs here in the past that claimed Corning was the Olive Capital of the World. We were told they can no longer make that claim as a town in Italy now produces more olives than Corning.

I bought a bottle of wine for Donna and also picked up four cans of the Key Lime Gose beer that we liked so much. They have a limit of two cans per customer, so Donna bought two and I bought two.

Last night, I tried another beer I found at The Olive Pit that’s unusual. It was brewed by Six Rivers Brewery. It’s called Weatherman Kettle Sour Wheat Ale. Sour beer isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I like it for a change of pace every now and then.

Weatherman Kettle Sour Wheat Ale

Donna tried a new recipe for dinner – turmeric chicken with artichokes, green olives, chick peas and lemon. It turned out to be a complex process but the results were good. She probably won’t make it again as it was too labor intensive and used a lot of dishes to make. She keeps saying she has to start making simpler meals! She served the chicken with steamed green beans, fresh from the farmers’ market.

Boneless turmeric chicken thighs with artichoke and lemon

Today’s forecast calls for temperatures in the mid 80s and breezy winds out of the northwest. We plan to go to the Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese company for a tour then we’ll hit the Clairvaux wine tasting. Tonight we have a dinner reservation at Timbers Steakhouse to celebrate Donna’s birthday – it’s also my youngest daughter Shauna’s birthday. Happy birthday, girls!

Things to do Around Corning

If you’ve been following our travels, you might remember that we attended the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. I met a few vendors and received a few product samples, but I haven’t had the opportunity to try them out – until Tuesday. Donna’s dining table chair was coming apart. The horizontal wood back rest is attached to vertical uprights that extend from the rear legs with dowel pins. The glue had failed and the pins were loose.

I had a sample of a product called Wonderlok ‘Em Tite Chairs. It’s a cyanoacrylate adhesive. The liquid glue has very low viscosity and is as thin as water. To use it, you hold the parts you want to join together and apply a bead of adhesive. It runs into the joint and sets up in a few seconds. It’s that simple.

Tite Chairs adhesive

The small bottle of adhesive came with reusable applicator nozzles, making it very easy to use. It worked like a champ.

On Tuesday, Donna worked on an article she had to submit by the end of the week. I rode the Spyder to town and had a look around. I picked up a few items at Safeway, then rode over to the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center to see what’s happening in the area. This area is mostly agricultural – olives, walnuts and almonds are the main crops along with cattle ranches.

Our location, outside of Corning, is in the northern end of California’s central valley. The central valley extends north-northwest to south-southeast around 450 miles. It’s 40 to 60 miles wide for the most part. The coastal mountain ranges border the west while the Sierra Nevada range is on the east. It’s one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world.

North of Sacramento is the Sacramento River watershed. This area is sometimes referred to as the Sacramento Valley – a subset of the central valley. South of Sacramento the valley is the San Joaquin River watershed. The southern central valley is likewise called the San Joaquin Valley.

The Sacramento River flows from north to south down to Sacramento while the San Joaquin River flows from south to north. They meet in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta and empty into the San Francisco Bay. These watersheds are the reason for such fertile land.

It turned out there wasn’t much in the way of special events happening in the area for the Memorial Day weekend. But I did find information for some things to see and do. We’ve found that no matter where we are, there’s always something interesting. I also stopped at The Olive Pit – a local point of interest that sells olives of every type imaginable and also has a good selection of wine and craft beer. I bought a jar of anchovy stuffed olives for Donna – she loves them as a snack. I found a few interesting beers as well.

After I came home, I poured a couple of glasses of Key Lime Gose from New Glory Brewing for Donna and me. We sat outside and enjoyed the refreshing beer. It’s a sour wheat ale flavored with coriander, sea salt and fresh squeezed key limes. It’s almost like lemonade but not as sweet and it has a slightly salty aftertaste. We both loved it. I’ll buy more – The Olive Pit limits each customer to only two 16-ounce cans. Apparently it’s in short supply.

Key Lime Gose

We took a stroll and watched the sunset. There were clouds to the west making a colorful sky at sunset.

Colorful clouds at sunset

Clouds moved in overhead and we had rain falling by the time we went to bed.

On Wednesday morning, the clouds were gone and the ground was dry. After breakfast, we hopped on the Spyder and rode east to US99 and followed it south to Chico (map). I had mapped out a couple of routes to a shopping center in Chico where they have an open air farmers’ market on Wednesday. We love shopping for local foods at farmers’ markets.

Chico Wednesday farmers’ market

The produce at this market was so fresh and Donna said the prices were the best she’s ever seen anywhere.

Colorful table of produce

Another table of fresh produce

We bought a few items and checked out just about every display. They have another farmers’ market in downtown Chico on Saturday. We plan to go to that one as well.

While we were at the shopping center, we went into Sportsman’s Warehouse. I like this store! It’s kind of a poor man’s Cabela’s. I found a bag of fruitwood wood pellets for the Traeger and Donna bought a pair of shorts. I also bought a couple of shirts.

We had lunch nearby at Mekkala Thai restaurant. I’ve had a hankering for Thai food lately. It was good but very spicy! Great service, I’d eat there again for sure.

We also made plans to do some touristy things. Donna made a reservation for a tour at a farm that makes cheese – we’ll go there on Friday. We also have a reservation for a tour next Tuesday at the Sierra Nevada brewery. Speaking of beer, I opened another interesting bottle last night. It’s from Mad River Brewing in Humboldt County. It was a double brown ale called Humboldt Brownie. It’s flavored with chocolate nibs and has a very balanced blend that belies the high alcohol content at 9% ABV.

Humboldt Brownie

Last evening we took another walk around the park. We met a couple that have been on the road for 25 years! Their rig was even longer than ours – their coach and trailer were about 70 feet long. We also saw what I believe is the shortest class A motorhome I’ve ever seen. It was an Itasca Reyo built on a Mercedes Benz Sprinter F50 chassis. It’s about 25 feet long and powered by a 3.0 liter diesel engine.

Short class A motorhome

The weather forecast for the coming week calls for warmer temperatures – upwards of 90 degrees – with zero percent chance of rain. Today we plan to go to the Lucero olive oil mill for a tour. It’s located less than two miles away from us.

Red Rock Canyon

Donna spent most of Friday morning finishing another article that was due. I took some time to clean the Spyder after being caught out in the rain on Thursday. The forecast for Friday looked good. Once again there was supposed to be a 0% chance of rain.

Just before noon, we rode the Spyder across town to west side of Las Vegas. As we approached I-215, rain drops started hitting my face shield. By the time we stopped in a plaza at the intersection of Charleston and Desert Foothills the front of my shirt was soaked. Sitting behind me, Donna was shielded from most of the rain. Another 0% chance of rain day in Vegas.

We waited the shower out in a Subway sandwich shop where we ate lunch. Then we walked to the Albertson’s grocery store and picked up a few things. By then the shower had passed. We continued our ride west to our destination – the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Red Rock Canyon is about 17 miles due west from the Las Vegas strip. It was designated a National Conservation Area in 1990 – Nevada’s first. It’s a place of natural beauty and a popular destination for hikers, rock climbers, bicyclists – both road and mountain bikers – and tourists. We rode the 13-mile scenic loop. This loop is a one-way road with several parking areas and turnouts.

We made a couple of stops as we slowly made our way through the loop. The sandstone rock formations are etched by the wind and have interesting textures. I tried to capture some shots, but the midday light didn’t produce the best images. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Iron minerals give the sandstone a red hue

A steep, craggy wall

Etched by rain and wind

Turtlehead Peak in the background

Deep gulch with shale on nearside and sandstone on the far side

Deep gulch with shale on the nearside and sandstone on the far side

More red rock

We decided to take the freeway home instead of cutting across town. I rode I-215 to Summerlin Parkway and then down I-515. The freeways around Las Vegas are a little scary. People drive too fast and follow too closely. Sudden lane changes and wild maneuvers are the norm.

After spending the last week in Verde Valley and the quiet Kingman Elks Lodge, the fast pace and noise of Las Vegas is a sharp contrast. While we were out, we saw two car accidents on the road. Emergency vehicles with sirens blasting can be heard throughout the day. The Thousand Trails Las Vegas RV Resort is located due east of McCarran Airport. Business and private jets typically depart from runway 1L/19R putting their flight path just north of the RV park. It seems like business travel begins early in the morning and small business jets are actually louder than large commercial aircraft. We hear them taking off before 6am.

We had new neighbors pull in to the sites on either side of us. I was asked by a few people how we got our trailer into the site. I wrote about it in my last post. This picture shows how crowded the lane we’re located in is. The narrow road filled with parked cars made backing the trailer in with our 40-foot motorhome quite the chore.

Packed in tight with a narrow road

After we returned home, I watched the Formula one practice session from Sochi, Russia. While I was watching TV, I saw our neighbor cleaning his truck. He spent hours doing a detail cleaning job. I told Donna I wondered if he looked at the weather forecast – not that it’s been anywhere near right since we arrived. But rain was coming.

The rain came overnight and continues to fall as I type this. Heavy rain is expected within the next couple of hours. I’m hoping it lets up this afternoon as I have an appointment for a mobile glass company to come out and fix a stone ding in our windshield. Other than that, I have no plans today and I’ll probably read a book until the rain stops.

Jerome Day Trip

Donna went down to the pool area and did her workout on Friday morning while I posted to the blog. She sent me a text saying there were a few guys playing pickleball – there are two courts here at Thousand Trails Verde Valley RV Resort and Campground. We considered playing, but opted instead to take a day trip.

Around 11am, we rode south on I-17 climbing out of the Verde Valley and hit AZ169. We went to Prescott Valley and checked out the RV sites at the Elks Lodge there. The sites would be tight for us – the camp host told us we would have to drop the trailer in the parking lot. However, he’s booked up for the rest of the month. Alternatively he told us he has dry camping areas that we could use. We don’t know where we are going when we leave Verde Valley on Monday, but I don’t think it will be there.

From there we rode north on AZ89A. This took us past the Mingus Mountain Recreation Area – part of the Kaibab National Forest – a 6,000-plus-foot pass. Highway 89A climbs quickly with many tight turns and switchbacks through a forest of pine trees. Once over the pass, the road drops down toward Verde Valley. I got a workout piloting the Spyder through turns with speed advisories of 20mph.

We stopped in Jerome. Jerome is a funky place that bills itself as “America’s Most Vertical City” and “The Largest Ghost Town in America.” The traffic through the steep switchback streets of Jerome was heavy and moving very slowly. Everyone was looking for a place to park, including us. When we had the scooter, parking was rarely an issue. With the Spyder, we need about as much space as a small car. We found a triangular space that looked to be custom made for the three-wheeled Spyder.

We walked the streets and stopped for lunch at the Mile High Grill and Inn. Jerome was founded in 1876 and takes it name from Eugene Jerome – the original secretary of the United Verde Mining Company. Jerome sits above what was the largest copper mine in Arizona. It was operated by the United Verde Mining Company until 1935 when it was sold to Phelps Dodge. The fortunes of the town and its population grew and fell with the demand for copper. The mine shut down in 1953. The people who remained in Jerome started promoting it as a historic ghost town. In 1967, Jerome was designated as a National Historic District by the federal government.

Remains of an old theater

Theater entry doors

Today there are about 450 residents in Jerome, mostly working in the galleries, restaurants and saloons in this tourist attraction. There are many artists here as well. We walked around and poked through a few shops and galleries.

Jerome street scene near the old bordello

Eclectic mix of buildings in Jerome

Jerome literally sits on the side of a mountain – Cleopatra Hill – 5,200 feet above sea level. There are stunning views of the Verde Valley below and mountain peaks to the north and east.

Verde Valley overlook from the streets of Jerome – look closely and you’ll find a snowy peak in the distance

We were back home around 4pm after making an 85-mile loop. We relaxed and read for a while, then Donna fixed a tray of hors d’oeuvres for a light dinner. We ate at the picnic table outside our coach.

I’ll close today’s post with a few pictures from our last week in Mesa, Arizona. I like to post pictures and descriptions of the meals Donna prepares in our motorhome. I do this to illustrate the fact that full-timing isn’t camping out and it doesn’t mean eating out all the time. We know other full-timers like us who cook nutritious, delicious meals regularly – Lisa McGuire (Metamorphosis Road) comes to mind.

Donna’s been making some single skillet meals lately. This one is lemon-butter chicken. She browned bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet on the induction cooktop, then finished it in the microwave-convection oven.

Lemon butter chicken

Lemon butter chicken plated with Israeli couscous

Another night she made Marseilles-style shrimp stew with rouille toast.

Marseille-style shrimp with rouille toast

On our final night in Mesa, she made tortilla-crusted tilapia with fresh tilapia from Mexico that we found at Sprouts.

Tortilla-crusted tilapia with pico de gallo, avocado and green beans on the side

The sunsets in Mesa can be spectacular. Here in the Verde Valley, the sun sinks behind the mountains before we know it and I haven’t captured a sunset image yet.

Our last sunset in Mesa

Today we plan to play some pickleball, then head up to Sedona. I want to check out the Elks lodge there and we’ll kick around town with all of the other tourists.

London Bridge

After spending days indoors writing various articles and reviewing one of her books for an upcoming reprint, Donna decided it was time for a break. The weather was much nicer Friday with an afternoon high of about 70 degrees.

We rode the scooter to town. Donna got a tip for a good place to stop for lunch at the Barley Brothers Brewery and Restaurant by the London Bridge. There’s quite a story behind the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City. In 1958, Robert McCulloch bought 3,353 acres of land along the east side of Lake Havasu at Pittsburgh Point. This is the same Robert McCulloch that was the CEO of McCulloch chainsaws and also the creator of the community of Fountain Hills, Arizona – I wrote about that in this post.

This area of arid desert land wasn’t very useful at the time. It was a long way from any major cities and didn’t attract visitors. About the only thing here was an old Army Air Corps field and runway. The federal government deeded the 13,000 acres of land around the airfield to the state of Arizona. The state in turn deeded the land – reportedly free – to Robert McCulloch for his promise to develop the area.

McCulloch needed a way to attract attention and bring people out to this desert on the Colorado River bordering Arizona and California. His real estate agent, Robert Plumer, heard about an old bridge in London that was for sale. The bridge originally spanned the River Thames and was built in the 1830s. It could no longer support modern traffic and had to be replaced. Plumer convinced McCulloch to buy the bridge and transport it to Lake Havasu.

What he actually bought was the exterior facing stonework of the original bridge. A new reinforced concrete bridge was built in the same shape as the original. The original stonework was carefully removed and numbered from the old bridge. It was transported via ship to Houston and ground transport to the desert. Reconstruction began in 1968. The granite facing was clad to the exterior of the new bridge in the desert. At the time, the bridge didn’t span a body of water. It was erected over a wash leading out to the Pittsburgh Point peninsula. Once the bridge was competed in 1971, the wash was dredged and filled with water creating an island on one end of the bridge. The bridge was a successful lure and brought people to Lake Havasu where real estate agents started selling property. Today the population is estimated to be over 53,000.

London Bridge under construction in 1971 – file photo

Aerial view of the bridge from 2011 – file photo

Instead of blasting down AZ95 on the scooter, we took a more scenic route down London Bridge Road (map). The thing is, London Bridge Road doesn’t take you directly over the bridge. You have to cross back over AZ95 in town to get to McCulloch Boulevard North which is the road that crosses the bridge.

Once across the bridge, the first building on the right is the Island Mall. It houses a few boutique stores, Shugrue’s Restaurant and Barley Brothers Brewery. We parked and walked down to the waterside at the bridge. It’s beautifully landscaped with nice walking paths. There are boat docks and boat tour tickets can be purchased for a tour of the lake.

London Bridge view from waterside path

Tour boat unloading passengers

The tour boat we saw had an interesting hull. If you click on the picture above to enlarge it, you’ll see what appears to be a flat bottom under the familiar shape of the bow.

After taking a short walk along the waterside, we went up to the Barley Brothers Brewery and Restaurant. Donna and I ordered glasses of oatmeal stout – Donna had a pint and I had the large 23 ounce pour.

Donna at the Barley Brothers Brewery with stout

Donna at the Barley Brothers Brewery with oatmeal stout

The beer was good but I thought it had a lingering bitterness that I don’t expect from oatmeal stout. Donna ordered a plate of mussels in a broth and I went for the pastrami sandwich – it was really tender, thinly sliced pastrami with apple slaw, swiss cheese and thousand island dressing on rye. It was yummy! The portion was big and the sandwich was rich – more than I’m used to eating, but I managed.

The view from the brewery was great.

View from Barley Brothers Brewery

After the big lunch, we went down to the rodeo grounds to scope out the area – we’ll be moving there on Monday. Then we went grocery shopping. Donna had quite a list of things she needed to prepare hors d’oeuvres for tomorrow’s Super Bowl game.

Today the temperature should be well into the 70s. We’ll get out and enjoy the nice weather.

Cabrillo National Monument

Wednesday was Veterans Day and in honor of the occasion, the National Park Service waived their normal access fees. Donna and I took advantage of this by visiting the Cabrillo National Monument (CNM) in Point Loma (map), which is operated by the National Parks Service and usually charges five dollars per person for day use.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was a 16th-century explorer. Historians debate whether he was Portuguese or Spanish. On June 27, 1542 he set sail from Navidad, Mexico with a flotilla of three ships – the flagship was a 200-ton galleon called San Salvador, there was a smaller, 100-ton ship called La Victoria and an even smaller 26-oared bergantin called San Miguel. They had provisions for a three-year journey. As they sailed north along the coast of Baja California, they were in uncharted waters. On September 28th, they found what is now San Diego Bay.

The Cabrillo National Monument pays homage to this explorer and also has several points of interest including the old lighthouse which was in operation from 1855 to 1891. It also provides access to hiking trails and tidepools.

I shot a photo of a relief map of the area at the cluster of buildings in the CNM. The lighting was poor and the focus in the photo isn’t great, but it gives an overview of the area that will help put the rest of the photos into context.

Relief map of San Diego Bay and surrounding area

Donna and I walked to the southern tip of CNM. The weather was breezy and the air was very clear. Looking south, we could see the coastline all the way down along Mexico and the Mexican Coronado Islands – not to be confused with San Diego’s Coronado Island. The Mexican Coronados are three islands – South Coronado, Central Coronado and North Coronado.

The coast of Mexico to the south

Coronado Islands to the southwest

If you look closely at the picture of the islands, you can see two World War II warplanes that were flying around the area. I think they were Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers.

We walked to the lighthouse and lighthouse keeper’s quarters.

Info about the lighthouse – click to enlarge

Old lighthouse and keeper’s quarters

As we walked back down from the lighthouse to the main buildings and statue, I kept stopping to take in the spectacular view and shot a few more pictures.

View toward North Island Naval Air Station

The North Island Naval Air Station is part of Naval Base Coronado which is also the home of the odd numbered Navy SEAL teams (1, 3, 5, and 7).

Another view of North Island

North Island is on the northernmost end of San Diego’s Coronado Island which isn’t really an island – it’s an isthmus with a narrow strip of land called “The Strand” connecting it to the mainland at Imperial Beach.

Pacific Ocean at the mouth of San Diego Bay – downtown San Diego on the east side of the bay is seen on the left, the strand is on the right of the photo

We walked down to the statue of Juan Rodiguez Cabrillo, then took a stroll through the gift shop. On the way, I shot a photo of an interesting sign telling about old Point Loma.

Interesting facts about early days on Point Loma

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo

We climbed aboard the scooter and rode down to the tidepool area. I was surprised at the number of people wandering around the tidepools. We were on a rising tide and the pools weren’t too interesting at that point. Low tide is ideal. We saw a large sea lion sunning himself and snoozing on the beach. A park service ranger had put out cones surrounding the area to keep people away from the sea lion. Some people think they’re at a petting zoo or something, but sea lions are wild animals and you need to give them space.

We couldn’t have picked a better day to visit the Cabrillo National Monument. The air was very clear with little haze – it shows more haze in the photos than what we could actually see. The vistas were beautiful and we could clearly see the mountains in east county at least 40 miles away.

On the way home, we saw a Fresh and Easy Market and decided to stop as we haven’t been to one in years. Many of them have closed. Unfortunately, this one is also closing. They had a sign outside that said everything was 60% off the marked price. We found most of the aisles were bare, but Donna found a few bargains.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. Donna went to a meetup of a minimalists group she belongs to. I just hung out at the coach. Today we’re off to the Pacific Beach Recreation Center for an afternoon of pickleball.

Final Days – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

I’ll try to recap the final three days of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta without being too repetitive. Rather than a blow-by-blow account, I’ll hit the highlights of days seven, eight and nine.

Day seven, Friday, was full of highlights for me. As we prepared the Hearts A’Fire hot air balloon for flight, our pilot, Brad Rice, called out to me. He was standing by the inflator and I thought I was about to have a new job running the inflator fan. As I approached, his wife Jessica came over and handed me a waiver and a pen to sign it. I was going up in the balloon! Brad had decided to pass on the day’s competitive event and take me up in the balloon.

I went about my usual tasks making the balloon ready. The difference this time was once the balloon was fully inflated, I climbed into the basket. I was joined by another passenger, Tia – a childhood friend of Jessica. It was surreal as Brad heated the envelope which added tension to the lines and raised the basket a few inches off the ground. The crew (which included Donna) walked the basket to our designated launch spot and Brad gave the command “hands off” to the crew. With a blast from the burners we were airborne!

In the basket

Hands off!

Burner blazing to gain altitude

As we began to climb over the park, I had a new view of the happenings. The crowds around the balloons were larger than I thought. The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is not only the largest hot air balloon event in the world, it’s also one of the few events that allow spectators on the field to mingle with the balloonists and crews. It’s like having a pit pass when you buy your ticket.

I saw many people around the launch areas

As we climbed higher, I could see there were tens of thousands people

We started out with a breeze from the north pushing us south over the park. From up high, I saw how many pilots and crews had RVs parked on the south end. I had no idea before.

RVs parked in the south lot behind the hospitality tents

We continued to climb as we passed over the RV lot on the south side of Alameda Boulevard. This is where the various Escapees groups were staying.

RV park – nice landing fields

The ideal situation is when the air flow over the field creates what they call “the box.” This happens when the lower level air moves from north to south with a wind shear at higher altitude moving from south to north. When this sets up, the pilots fly low and head south, then they gain altitude to come back north over the Balloon Park field. I was taking in the unbelievable panoramic views as we flew southwest.

View to the east

View southwest toward downtown

At higher altitude we came back north

We gained altitude and came back north, but the wind was fickle. We were moving northeast, then directly east. This took us over I-25 and over Sandia Indian Reservation land. I posted before about the trouble that comes when you land on reservation land.

Crossing I-25

Abandoned runway – old airport was deeded to the Indians

Brad was watching other balloons around us, but it was impossible to suss out the winds – we saw three balloons lined up and heading west just south of us. At the same time there were three more balloons a hundred yards south of them at the same altitude heading directly east!

Brad found an air current that carried us south. We were over our chase crew at the reservation border.

Our chase crew in the center of the photo – Indian land on the left

We hoped to put down on the dirt road bordering the Indian land. This plan was dashed when another balloon landed in front of us, blocking our path. Brad had no choice but to climb clear of them and head toward a residential area.

Coming down ahead of the chase crew

As we descended, we were moving in a northeasterly direction at about 7 knots. Brad was aiming for the last road in the development on the edge of reservation land. I saw a barbed-wire fence on the north side of the road and pointed it out to Brad. I’m sure he was already aware of it and calculating our best option. There was a small mound on the south side of the road. Brad opted to stop the basket on the south face of the mound.

With the ground rising before us, the basket stopped abruptly on contact. The seven knot wind blew the balloon over the mound, tipping us on the side of the basket. The crew quickly caught up with us and stabilized the basket. What a ride! My words and pictures can’t adequately describe it.

It’s important for passengers to remain in the basket until the pilot gives the okay to get out. The pilot monitors the air temperature in the envelope. It may be at a point of equilibrium with the payload. If passengers jump out of the basket too soon, the balloon will immediately rise again.

Once we were clear to get out of the basket, I was back to work as a crew member. Over the radio, we heard the day’s competition had been cancelled due to the increasingly variable winds. Brad made a good call to skip it and go out just for fun.

Out of the basket and guiding the deflating envelope

Starting to squeeze and strap the envelope

Envelope ready to pack

Back at the park, it was tailgate time.

Tailgate time!

Of course, I had to go through the first-timers initiation to the world of ballooning ceremony. I won’t reveal the details of the ceremony other than to say it involves champagne and fun! You’ll have to take a flight if you want to know more.

Brad performs the ceremony for Tia and me

After the ceremony, Brad and Jessica had one more surprise for me. They gifted me with an official embroidered Hearts A’Fire Crew polo shirt! Nice!

Saturday was a mass ascension day – there were no competitions on the schedule. The box set up perfectly with low level wind blowing balloons south and an upper wind taking them back north. After launching, we watched and waited near the RV park.

Mass ascension heading south out of the park

Brad made a full pass through the box, then landed the balloon on the west road of the RV park near Paul and Nina’s RV (Wheeling It). I expected him to land in the field in the center of the RV park, but a low level wind shift had him over the road. I made a mad dash to the road, then slowed to a jog to stay in front of the basket. A couple of other crew members were running behind it. As soon as it touched down we were hands on and adding our weight to the basket to stabilize it. The kids Brad had taken up were offloaded and a couple more kids climbed aboard and Brad went back up. This is known as a “hop.”

Balloons landing in the RV park

We made one more chase and Brad landed uneventfully in an open field.

On Saturday afternoon, Donna and I scootered over to the RV park and joined the Xscapers, a sub-group of Escapees, for their happy hour. We had a good time catching up with friends and discussing possibilities of hooking up again down the road.

Sunday was the final day. I have to say it was a fun-filled nine days, but I had all the fun I could stand at this point. Everyone was tired. We were lucky to come to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in a year where the balloons were able to fly every day. That doesn’t always happen. High winds or thunderstorms are two things that can cancel the day’s flight.

Sunday’s flight took the Hearts A’Fire hot air balloon northwest to the village of Corrales. Everyone seemed to come into the same area at the same time. The pilot next to us on the field ended up with his basket about ten feet to the left of us on landing. Balloons were raining out of the sky all around us. It was a crazy scene as I assisted three balloons touching down without crews in the area and another on our crew assisted five others. What a way to end the adventure!

We’ll pack up today and head out. I need to dump our tanks and take on fresh water after dry camping for 11 days. I’m not sure where we’ll end up tonight.

We’re already thinking about coming back again next year.

Free Parking and Good Food

I mentioned the Sandia Crest tram in my last post. The Sandia Resort & Casino (map) is approximately 5,300 feet above sea level. The tram is up the road from here at 6,559 feet above sea level. It’s the longest aerial tramway in North America – the third longest in the world. It tops out at Sandia Peak at an elevation of 10,378 feet above sea level. It was built by a Swiss company in 1966. The normal speed of the ascent is 12 mph – it takes about 15 minutes to reach the top.

The weather gods scuttled our trip up the tramway. The peaks of the Sandia mountain range were socked in by low cloud cover all day. There’s no sense in riding the tram up the mountain if all you can do is stare into a fog bank.

Sandia Mountains to the east of us socked in

Our free parking at the Sandia Resort & Casino was terrific. It’s quiet and the employees are very friendly. The views are nice. Ozark loved watching the rabbits on the trails by our coach. She would sit in a window and stare at them – then she would jump down and run into the bedroom, hop on the bed and watch them from the bedroom window as they moved down the trail.

Although it’s just a parking lot, the scenery is nice. Most of the land around us is undeveloped except for the golf course. Donna went for a walk in-between rain showers on Tuesday and enjoyed her hike. At one point, she cut through an employee parking lot. Security caught up with her and told her that only employees were allowed to access the lot – she got kicked out!

View to the west of us looking down at Albuquerque

We will definitely take advantage of this place the next time we pass through Albuquerque.

Late Tuesday afternoon, we saw an Alpine Coach with Texas tags pull into the parking lot. The driver drove quickly around the perimeter of the lot, then parked in front of us. He appeared to be on a mission. He unhooked the black Jeep he was towing behind his rig, then leveled the coach and put the slides out. Then he and his wife (I presume) got into the Jeep and left.

On Wednesday morning, they left early in their Jeep again, so we never had a chance to meet them. I think their Alpine is a 2006 model year judging by the paint scheme.

Alpine parking area

We walked to the casino for their breakfast buffet. It cost $8.95 per person and has everything you could imagine for breakfast – even eggs and omelettes cooked to order. I stuffed myself trying out too many items and getting my money’s worth.

Three days a week, they have a lunch buffet special for people 55 and older – all you can eat for five dollars! We saw a long line of people waiting for the lunch special to open at 10:00am. On Friday and Saturday nights, they have a seafood buffet that includes crab legs, shellfish, salmon and more. It costs $25, but if you have their players card, you get five dollars off. We were told the line gets so long, the wait can be over an hour for the seafood buffet.

We packed up and pulled out of Sandia Resort & Casino a little before noon. We drove down I-25 to I-40 west. Our destination was 19 miles away – the High Desert RV Park. We drove past the Pilot/Flying J travel center where I filled our tank on Monday. We checked in and set up. This park is clean and the setting is nice with open, undeveloped land around us. The sites aren’t level though. I had to place 12″x12″x2″ wood pads under my rear tires. I used four pads to support all four tires. I posted about the importance of this here. I used the pads so the rear tires would still be in contact after I used the leveling jacks to raise the rear of the coach. I don’t like sites that slope down in the rear.

It’s windy this morning. Donna is hoping to go for a bike ride. With the wind and hills around here, it’s going to be challenging. We’ll spend a week here, then move to Larry and Ruth’s place in Albuquerque to begin our next adventure crewing for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

RV Museum

I ran a few errands on the scooter yesterday. Getting from the east side of Amarillo to the west side on a scooter requires planning. I don’t like to ride the scooter on the interstate. Here in Amarillo, I-40 has one-way service roads on either side of the interstate. On the north side of I-40 it runs west and on the south side it travels east. There’s a snag though. I-40 passes over a large rail yard just before you reach downtown. The service roads don’t go through the rail yard.

Going westbound, you have go north to SE 10th Avenue before you can get past the railroad tracks. On the south side of I-40, you have to loop south to SE 27th Avenue to get across the tracks. I learned the way quickly and it’s a minor hassle (map).

In the afternoon, I scootered Donna to her hair appointment at The Plant Studio. The stylist there, Johnny, was recommended by a stylist in Tempe, Arizona, who attended one of his classes. She told Donna, “If you’re ever in Amarillo, stop and see this guy.” While she was having her hair done, I rode over to Jack Sisemore’s Traveland to check out the RV museum.

Traveland is an RV dealership with a very friendly atmosphere. Jack Sisemore has a great story leading to his successful business. He started by borrowing $2,400 from his grandmother to open a gas station – I think it was in 1962. He added a second station soon after. He bought a motorhome for family camping trips and rented it out at his gas station to offset the cost. Within a year, he had six rental units.

In 1974, he opened his RV dealership on a small lot. He expanded that to over six acres of land. Later, Jack and his son, Trent Sisemore, were founding partners in Keystone Travel Trailers. They sold 1,000 Keystone Travel Trailers the first year. Production ramped up to as much as 1,000 units built per month!

The receptionist at the dealership walked me out back to a warehouse where the museum is. Entry is free and it’s open to the public Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm. In addition to the RV collection, Jack collects motorcycles. He had old cars, boats and motorcycles along with memorabilia from earlier times. I was free to walk among the displays and enter the old RVs. Here are some photos I shot.

1941 Westcraft

1941 Westcraft interior

This 1941 Westcraft was owned by a defense worker. He lived in it in a special workers’ camp that provided restrooms and showers. After the war, he relocated to Arizona. This is a very rare trolley roof model.

Wally Byam’s Airstream

Wally Byam was the founder of Airstream travel trailers.

Max Factor’s 1976 FMC

This 1976 FMC was owned by cosmetics mogul, Max Factor. FMC coaches were 29 feet long and were built from 1973 to 1976. The were pricey, selling for $27,000 to $54,000. At that time, you could buy a house for the same cost. Only around 1,000 were built.

1948 Flxible Bus used in the movie RV

Interior of the Gornike’s Flxible

This 1948 Flxible was used in the movie RV starring the late Robin Williams. Jeff Daniels played the part of Travis Gornike who traveled with his family in this bus.

Teardrop trailer pulled by a 1948 Ford

1963 Chris Craft speed boat

In addition to the RVs, cars and boats, there were many interesting motorcycles – mostly hanging from the ceiling.

1967 Bultaco Matador in the bed of a 1967 Chevy El Camino

1973 Triumph Bonneville

He had many Harleys on display. The one that caught my eye was this 1977 XR750 flat track racer. The number plate was signed by nine-time National Champion, Scott Parker. Flat track bikes are raced on dirt oval tracks. They don’t have brakes and are pitched sideways to power through the turns.

1977 Harley-Davidson XR750

The other bikes that caught my eye were the Bultaco machines he displayed. Bultacos were built in Barcelona, Spain from 1958 to 1983. They sold first-rate racing machinery to the public and dominated Trials competition with Sammy Miller riding in the 1960s and 70s. Their motocross bikes were capable of competing with factory teams in that period as well. The Bultaco Astro was a formidable flat track machine. Their enduro bikes competed and won in the International Six-Day Trial competition. They also built road racing machines that won world championships. The name Bultaco comes from the founder – “Paco” Bulto. He took the first four letters of his surname and the last three of his nickname.

1968 Bultaco Pursang

There were many smaller displays of period artifacts such as these motor oil containers. Prior to World War II, oil was dispensed from glass containers with long metal spouts attached.

Old motor oil containers

Do you remember these?

I spent about 40 minutes in the museum before I went back to pick up Donna.

One of the errands I ran earlier in the day was to exchange my sewer hose at Walmart. I’m happy to report the replacement Rhinoflex hose doesn’t leak.

This morning, it’s uncharacteristically foggy out. I plan to load the trailer today – I hope I can find a self-serve car wash to clean the scooter first. This evening, Donna and I will take a free limo ride from the park to a local favorite – Big Texan Steak Ranch.

Tomorrow we’ll leave here and head to New Mexico. We’ll probably head to Santa Fe, but our plans are flexible.

Nashville Talent

On Monday morning, Donna went for a power walk from our site at Nashville Jellystone Park (map). While she was out walking toward the Two Rivers Campground and the Nashville KOA, she saw the downtown shuttle pass by and came up with a plan for the day.

She thought we should roast a whole chicken for a late lunch – kind of a dinner for lunch plate. Then we could take the shuttle to downtown Nashville and see the sights. Sounded like a good idea to me, so I unloaded the Traeger wood pellet fired grill and found a problem. We had traversed some rough roads, especially on I-40 through Knoxville. The Traeger had obviously been bounced around and one of the door hinges came off. The screws had vibrated out and the door was askew, the other hinge was loose. Luckily no real damage was done. I found the screw and nut and reassembled the door.

Donna prepared the chicken by rubbing it with olive oil, salt, pepper and granulated garlic that she bought at Brooks BBQ in Oneonta, New York. She went to the pool for a quick dip while I fired up the Traeger and roasted the chicken. It comes out so moist and tender on this grill – it makes the best chicken you’ll ever have.

Roasted whole chicken hot off the Traeger

Earlier I had scootered over to the Opryland Resort and Convention Center. I wanted to get a look at the bus/RV lot that Donna found mentioned in the Escapee’s Day’s End Directory. The directory said that free overnight parking could be found there. I rode all the way through the lots at the Opry Mills Mall and back through the resort. I saw dedicated bus/RV parking near the Mills, but it was clearly marked “no overnight parking.” In fact, every lot I looked at was posted. On the way back to the campground, I saw another lot at a strip mall that had two RVs and a couple of tractor trailer rigs in it. It looked like it would be fine for dry camping – a big lot and no signs prohibiting overnight parking. The downside was the slope of the pavement and the lot was empty during the day, but there were several bars, restaurants and the Willie Nelson museum in the area. I didn’t know what it would be like at night.

We had reserved two nights at the Jellystone Park for half price on our Passport America discount rate – two nights for $75. A third night would cost another $75. I’m trying to average my costs down by finding free or low-cost sites as we move west. Our trip through the northeast was expensive – we’ve been spending like we’re on vacation. But we wanted to stay one more night in Nashville if we could.

Anyway, the shuttle picked us up at 3pm. There were two other couples already on board from the other RV parks. We made one more stop at a nearby hotel where three women boarded. The drive to downtown took about twenty minutes and the driver talked non-stop, giving advice on what to see and where to eat. The shuttle costs $10 per person for a round trip. The return trip is actually free – they pick up on the bottom of the hour (4:30, 5:30, 6:30, etc.) at the Country Music Hall of Fame. They don’t issue tickets – they work on the assumption that you must have already paid the $10 if you are boarding to go back to the Music Valley area.

Donna and I wanted to check out the music scene on Broadway. There are a few street musicians and many clubs and bars with live entertainment. Most of the places on Broadway don’t have a cover charge. The musicians play for a small fee paid by the bar and tips. They are hoping to get “discovered” by a Nashville recording studio.

Our first glimpse of Broadway was at the corner of 4th and Broadway at the Honky Tonk Central (map).

Honky Tonk Central

We walked east on Broadway and made our first stop at the Broadway Brewhouse for a cold one. I had a Tennesee-brewed IPA that was pretty good and Donna sampled and then went ahead and ordered a Tennesee-brewed stout that was really good. After leaving there, we continued east on the south side of the street and crossed over to the north side at 2nd Avenue. We saw a man with a trumpet, microphone and small amplifier on the corner. He had backing tracks playing through the amp from his smartphone and was singing “What a Wonderful World.” This guy had Louis Armstrong down. It was uncanny – Donna thought he was lip syncing at first. We hung around for a few songs and dropped some money in his trumpet case. He chatted with us before we moved on. He was a super-nice guy and very talented.

This guy could impersonate Satchmo

We walked back west on Broadway, stopping in a few shops to look at western hats and cowboy boots. We stuck our heads in a few bars to see who was playing but we wanted to get a look at everything before we sat down somewhere.

A friend of Donna’s suggested we stop at an off-the-wall place in Printer’s Alley owned by her friend. It’s an English-style pub called Fleet Street Pub. We found it a few blocks north of Broadway. Printer’s Alley is a little off-beat for Nashville, but it has history and charm. We stopped at Fleet Street but the friend of Donna’s friend wasn’t there. Donna chatted briefly with her husband.

Printer’s Alley

We found a blues club in Printer’s Alley and went inside. A very talented guy was on stage playing Mississippi Delta blues – more specifically he was playing songs by the blues great Leadbelly. He took a short break and came over to where we were sitting. His name is Fritz and he was really friendly. While we chatted with him, a woman who was sitting next to us went up on stage and played the keyboards and sang. It was so cool – these talented musicians are all over the place. After a couple of songs, Fritz joined her and they did some songs together. Fritz was playing a cheap knock-off Chinese guitar, but in his hands it sounded great. Then he picked up a saxophone and wailed on a song accompanying the woman at the keyboard (we didn’t get her name).

Fritz making music

We wandered back to Broadway and started our pub crawl. We would stop in a place that had live entertainment. If the band caught our fancy, we would order a drink and hang around for a few songs. Other times we listened for a few minutes and moved on. In one place there was a duo that shined. One of the guys guitar playing style reminded me of Stephen Stills. Donna put in a request for Homegrown by Zac Brown. They didn’t really know the song, but they looked it up on an iPad and immediately played and sang a very good rendition. I was blown away.

We finally came back to the Honky Tonk Central for our last stop of the night. It’s a three-story building with a bar and stage on each floor. We stayed on the first floor where one of the hottest bands I’ve heard in a while was playing. The guitar player was amazing and the sound he was getting from his Dr. Z amp was unbelievable. I haven’t heard tone like that since the Joe Bonamassa concert we went to a few years ago.

Hot band at our last stop

By then I’d downed enough beer and it was time to find the shuttle home.

On Tuesday morning, I got busy re-organizing the trailer – again. I’ve had the Traeger grill in the very back of the trailer, behind the scooter. Donna thought it might be getting a rougher ride back there than it would in the front. I bought into her logic – I could see how the trailer might whip up and down behind the axle over bumpy sections. I took everything out of the right front, next to my tool chest by the side door. I rearranged that stuff and then lifted the Traeger into that area and strapped it in place. We’ll see if it rides better there.

I took my time – check out time was noon and we were only going a few miles. We had everything packed and I fired up the engine at 11:50am. We drove to the lot I had found the day before. There was a bus conversion RV and tractor- trailer rig as well as another semi-trailer parked in the empty lot. We claimed a space between the tractor-trailer and the semi-trailer.

Donna and I walked to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. On our way, we saw the lot that was mentioned in the Day’s End Directory. It was marked RV/Bus and Trailer Parking. I had missed this lot on my reconnaissance run earlier. I had passed by it on the west side where there’s a private lot being used by Bridgestone Tire and Rubber Company for high-performance driving classes. I thought the whole area was for Bridgestone.

We walked into the RV/Bus lot and didn’t find any signs prohibiting overnight parking. These signs are posted in all of the other lots on the huge Opryland complex. This lot was level and looked to be very quiet. After some debate and walking back and forth across the lot, we decided to go back to the coach and move it across the street to Opryland. While the lot we were in looked to be a sure thing, I was a little apprehensive about how things might go in the night. It wasn’t level and all the bars in the area could mean lots of noise and the possibility of people getting out of hand in the night.

The RV/Bus lot only had a handful of cars in it and one big truck in our section. The next section over has had a number of tour buses coming and going. It’s very quiet and level.

The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center houses the largest atrium I’ve ever been in. It has waterfalls and a stream running through it. It’s filled with tropical plants – so many were in bloom that I had an allergy attack. A big New York Life Executive Council meeting was happening there. We wandered around. Donna wanted to take the boat ride in the stream that’s inside the hotel complex, but when she saw it cost $9.50/person, it didn’t seem worth it. I couldn’t capture the grand scale of this place, but here are a few pictures.

Fountains in the atrium

Stream inside the hotel

Boat rides through the atrium

Donna in front of a waterfall in the atrium

We went to John A’s for dinner, it was only average food at best. Then we stopped at Nashville Palace to take in some live music. Once again many people that appeared to be regular customers got up on stage to join in for a number or two. Lots of talent here. Our overnight spot turned out to be quiet with no troubles.

Today we plan a short trip down the Natchez Trace Trail to the Merriwether Lewis National Monument. We found free dry camping is available there and we hope to take advantage of it before we head west to Memphis.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Tours

Olive City

Things to do Around Corning

Red Rock Canyon

Jerome Day Trip

London Bridge

Cabrillo National Monument

Final Days – Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

Free Parking and Good Food

RV Museum

Nashville Talent

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: