Meandering the USA

[CWtheMan]

As the summer travels of the American people are severely curtailed because of a vast worldwide pandemic, we that traveled this great country can reminisce.

Our travels over the past years were haphazard at best. We never had an agenda other than staying in comfortable climates like north in the summer and south in the winter.

In these posts, I’m just going to write stories as I remember them - with help from my picture files – and provide a brief glimpse of what we saw. This will not be chronological.

This may be different for many travelers that have not set meandering as a sort of agenda.

On this first post I’m picking out a spot in our travels that demonstrates just how rewarding RVing can be.

We had just spent 10 days near Rapid City, SD at the Ellsworth, AFB CG. It was early august and upon leaving SD we were heading south for the winter.

We didn’t travel Inter State highways to save time. We mostly traveled them in the vast wide open areas of the country. So out of Rapid City we took I-80 east to US-81. We had decided to go south through the Kansas & Nebraska heart land. On an afternoon just after crossing into Kansas, we saw a billboard advertising a free city RV park in Concordia, with FHUs. When we got to a road leading into the CG we were undecided about entering because we could not see the CG. However, the road was well paved and right next to a National Guard facility. When we drove around a corner with the CG in view we were flabbergasted. All of the parking sites were paved and some were very long. We stopped and read the CG instructions that just said to pull into any vacant site. There was no attendant and all they requested is to keep the place clean and suggested that donations at a drop box would be greatly appreciated. The city police regularly patrolled the CG and more often at night. There was a full service Wal-Mart within a mile and they had diesel fuel. We ended-up spending two nights there and left 20 bucks in the drop box.

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[tech740]

I love these threads. I am younger than some in the group and I get new idea of places to go based on your threads lately.
Thanks

[CWtheMan]

Well, thank you tech740. I’ll do a Michigan for you.

One time after roaming around the eastern Michigan UP for about three weeks we headed west on US-2. We figured we had one more stop to make in MI and we were right.

Around 3 PM we started wondering if we were going to find a CG pretty soon. We like to stop earlier than most travelers. That’s because we like to stay-up late and check-out last. Anyhow, our next town on the map was Iron Mountain and sure enough there was a nice grassy CG with FHUs. Summer Breeze was the CG name and we got a nice long & level drive-in. We like to stay two nights, which gives us a day to explore the area we have stopped at. We were there on week days and it was very quiet and peaceful

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[CWtheMan]

Over the years we have wintered twice at Yuma, AZ; both times at the Arizona Sands, a 55+ seniors RV park on highway BR-8 just east of USMC Air Station.

This is just a short story about a bus tour to Laughlin, NV. The tour was arraigned by the RV Park so it started and ended there.

Our long time friends from our Navy days were wintering with us. Neither one of us wanted to take a trip that far with our trucks so the bus tour was a great answer to our dilemma of wanting to visit Laughlin.

The trip up would take us through CA then back into AZ and finally cross over the Colorado again at Bull City. On the return trip we would stay in AZ all the way with a beautiful drive along the Colorado. We would just spend one night at the Riverside Hotel & Casino.

Here is a brief glimpse of the Laughlin landscape

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The bus route stating at Yuma and followed US-95/AZ-95 to Parker, AZ where we crossed over the river to CA and US-95 all the way back into AZ to Bullhead City where we could cross the river again to Laughlin, NV. On the return we followed US-95/AZ-95 all the way back to Yuma with a nice lunch/trinket stop at Quartzsite, AZ.

[roadglide]

I rode cal 95 in January on the Harley it’s a fun road To Laughlin and spent 4 days riding the area. In the earlier years going to quartzsite Arizona the bus would pick up a lot of folks at the McDonald’s for an overnight stay in Laughlin. The cost was $15 included round-trip, five dollars in nickels and free buffet the buses were loaded. To be honest with you I don’t think the road has improved any over the last 20 years it’s still narrow and a lot of dips .

[CWtheMan]

Because of my long association with aviation, I normally seek and take pictures of aircraft. Just about all military installations that have something to do with aviation will have some sort of aircraft on display. Because we stayed at a lot of military RV Parks/CGs, I have pictures of what’s at their entrances.

Upon entering ND traveling west on US-2 you will find the Grand Forks AFB. Because their primary aircraft provide in-flight refueling services the aircraft at the main gate is a tanker.

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[CWtheMan]

Theodore Roosevelt NP

During a 10 day stop at Dickinson, ND we made numerous side trips. One of them was a ride through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

[CWtheMan]

Out in the great Salt Lake you'll find Antelope Island SP. The causeway over is a nice ride now that it's paved.

There isn't much on the island. A nice trinket shop with a snack bar atop a knoll near the middle of the park. Great location for the photographers.

You have to be real careful driving the park roads. The island is nearly overrun with Bison that seem to like walking on the hot roads. (Maybe it helps their athletes feet...LOL!).

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[roadglide]

Because of my long association with aviation, I normally seek and take pictures of aircraft. Just about all military installations that have something to do with aviation will have some sort of aircraft on display. Because we stayed at a lot of military RV Parks/CGs, I have pictures of what’s at their entrances.

Upon entering ND traveling west on US-2 you will find the Grand Forks AFB. Because their primary aircraft provide in-flight refueling services the aircraft at the main gate is a tanker.

25903 25904 Have you visit the air museum in Tucson ?

[CWtheMan]

Have you visit the air museum in Tucson ?


Yes and I have hundreds of pictures from the graveyard and those
displayed around the Davis-Monthan, AFB

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[CWtheMan]

On a bright, sunny October day we drove through the Uinta, NF starting at Provo and exiting near Pleasant grove. These first four pictures were taken during the first half of the ride.


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These pictures were taken from a ski lift in operation to observe the great fall color changes taking place throughout the forest.

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[CWtheMan]

Heading south for the winter months with our friends in the Montana. Of course we are heading west on I-20 in these phots but would soon connect with I-59 south because we were heading to the USN Seabee base RV Park at Gulfport, MS for a month before going farther south into Texas.

It was October and all the trees were changing colors.

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A little side bar: Because our tow vehicles had completely different engines and gearing we could not both use cruise control. Don's Chevy was a V8 diesel 4WD with 3.73 gearing and my Dodge was of course a 6 Cyl. diesel 2WD with 4.10 gearing; so we would take turns leading from one rest area to the next. Our trailers were almost identical in weight. However, when using cruise control his rig would travel faster down hill than mine and I would travel faster up hill.

[LERD]

Thank you so much for sharing. My retirement is coming due in just about 3 years, and the wife and I can't wait to travel. I was really leaning towards fulltiming, the DW was still not quite sure. But after all of this "stay at home" orders, that pretty much eliminated the idea of full time RVing for us. This may never happen again in our lifetime, but that's not the norm for us. I guess we need someplace off the road to hi-tail it to just in case. God has always been very good to us, but not everything we have done has been our original plan! I know, we plan, God laughs! But, we are still planning on many years of 6-7 month trips. And no more winters in Ohio if it can be helped. Talked with my friend and former co-worker earlier today about his traveling so far. He and his wife started their fulltime journey just last summer. They still have a place to stay in Yuma for now, which I was relieved to know. He's planning on staying as long as need be. I guess he's doing lots of hiking, but not much else. So keep the stories and pictures coming. It keeps us all focused on the normalcy that will someday return!

[CWtheMan]

During the 4+ years we actually full time traveled around the country we had traveling companions about 75% of the time. So we highly recommend traveling companions.

Don and I met at the Naval Air Station Cecil Field, FL in 1966 and have been close friends ever since then. His wife Betty came aboard in the 70s and became close friends with my wife Linda. The plusses in our relationships far outweigh the minuses, making it comfortable to travel together.

When full timing we found that state run welcome centers found on or near interstate highways to be a wealth of information and never passed one up. Some provide free refreshments and almost all provide state maps and brochures free. Here are pictures of a few of our stops in southern states.

LA - MS - GA

Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.

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[jimborokz]

Thanks CW for sharing your memories and photos. We had hoped to get out west this coming fall. We will see how that shakes out. This thread has been a refreshing break from the all consuming Corona news.

[CWtheMan]

When traveling I-80 in central Nebraska you’re surely going to see the Archway across the highway.

As we approached we decided to stop and see. Maybe get some lunch and a trinket from the Archway store.

We ended up taking the full tour. It’s quite interesting.

Here are some pictures as we approach the Archway. Click on them to enlarge.

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[gearhead]

Is there an actual purpose for the arch, or just a tourist thing?

[CWtheMan]

Is there an actual purpose for the arch, or just a tourist thing?

I didn't post a link because so many of them have "pop-ups" nowadays.

https://archway.org/about-us/

[Roscommon48]

you might want to start your own blog like a number of rvers do as they travel.


https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=RV+travlers+websites

[CWtheMan]

you might want to start your own blog like a number of rvers do as they travel.


https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=RV+travlers+websites


I have a number of blogs on Blogger.com. I share them with other RVing bloggers. I have one that has reports on more than 90 civilian RV parks we used over the years.

I've started a number of posts in various forums here because hardly anyone is traveling and bored with sitting in one spot. I have probably in excess of 5000 pictures taken of our RV travels that have been cataloged over the years in my computers.

[CWtheMan]

We were parked at Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi and this was our first trip out to Padre Island.

As you can see, driving - even 1 tons – on the beach is allowed. The guys parked close to us were having good luck with the Reds. That prompted us to come back a few times to do some surf fishing.

Click on pictures to enlarge them.


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[notanlines]

From the Archway website:
"Since it opened in the year 2000, the Archway has stood as an enduring tribute to the adventurers who traveled the Great Platte River Road though Nebraska and helped to build America. Over the years, we have welcomed and inspired over 1.5 million visitors with our story."
It is truly a 'feel good' spot to visit. And it will do a good job of making you feel good about America...

[CWtheMan]

All of Maine is green and bountiful during the summer months. The costal visitors will congregate in the Bar Harbor area and visit Acadia NP, do some whale watching and go to the top of Cadillac Mountain to view the sun rise.

There are free, sponsored van rides available for the park tour. Myself, I’d rather pack a lunch and take a chance at finding a secluded spot to enjoy it. Best done when there are no black flies.

These pictures are just a brief glimpse of our road trip through the park. Click on them to enlarge.

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[CWtheMan]

All of Maine is green and bountiful during the summer months. The costal visitors will congregate in the Bar Harbor area and visit Acadia NP, do some whale watching and go to the top of Cadillac Mountain to view the sun rise.

There are free, sponsored van rides available for the park tour. Myself, I’d rather pack a lunch and take a chance at finding a secluded spot to enjoy it. Best done when there are no black flies.

These pictures are just a brief glimpse of our road trip through the park. Click on them to enlarge.

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These are from atop Cadillac Mountain.

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[LERD]

Went to Maine with 2 other couples back in 2013. Stayed at a farm house for a week and checked out all around Bah Habbah. Vowed then to come back some day. We were on top of Cadillac Mountain on Sept 30, 2013 to see the sunset. Glad we did, the next day the government shutdown and closed down the park. Since we have returned back to being campers, Maine is high on our priority list of places to RV. I can tell you the fall colors were really a sight to see. Hits earlier in Maine than Ohio by about 2 weeks

[gearhead]

I didn't post a link because so many of them have "pop-ups" nowadays.

https://archway.org/about-us/

Interesting. Our ancestors sacrificed a lot. Told my brother in law recently that I don't deserve to stand on the same ground they did.

[CWtheMan]

Crossing the Colorado River at Parker, AZ.



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[CWtheMan]

These pictures were taken of Lake Champlain while driving east on US-2 on North Hero Island, VT.

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[CWtheMan]

Linda’s sister and her husband were on this 30 day trip with us. They had hardly ever traveled beyond North & SC. Their kids had chipped in and provided them with spending money for the trip. We had already been up into two CDN provinces before heading south, back into the USA.

We had seen huge canola fields in Canada but being Canada I didn’t venture out into their fields. However, this was the USA and there were no signs posted about trespassing. So I ventured out into the field and got a sprig to put into a book for safe keeping.

Look what we found on the other end. The Spirit Lake Indian Casino.

Tommy had been a Baptist Preacher in his youth and was surely not going to gamble. But we talked him into going in to take a look see.

We did not know it was there and it also has a nice well designed RV Park & Marina areas. The whole place is out in the middle of nowhere. We drove thru the RV Park and Marina areas. If you won’t mind being out in the middle of nowhere ND, it’s clean, well managed and secure with a well stocked store.

https://spiritlakecasino.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/RV-Map.jpg

The link above is active and the pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

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[CWtheMan]

During our travels we try really hard to avoid traveling through large cities and metropolitan areas. When we have to transit through one we schedule the trip for a Sunday, preferably before noon.

This is what I-85 looks like traveling south through Atlanta on a Sunday.

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[CWtheMan]

They are found just about everywhere in AZ. They may live for 200 years and won't get their first arm until they are 75.

This picture was taken while traveling east on I-8 in the Gila Bend area.


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[CWtheMan]

These pictures were taken from the Gatlinburg Sky Lift. We rode it to the top, had lunch and rode it back down.


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[CWtheMan]

A classic Denny's Diner.

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[CWtheMan]

Checking-out a rickety old fishing pier at San Clemente, CA. The guy in the picture was leaving empty handed.

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[CWtheMan]

I’ll bet most full times have been here. A great place to visit and you always seem to want to return. We’ve been there 4 times, once when our boys were 8 & 10.

Now days one can visit more places in a day because of the great – free - bus services.


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[CWtheMan]

My wife calls this a sun dog.

Filmed by Linda, Jacksonville, FL.

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[CWtheMan]

This is a picture of the president Bush (2) compound.


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[CWtheMan]

We spent a few weeks in this KOA while we explored the surrounding area attractions. We drove over and took the Hershey factory tour. Parking was easy and the tour was interesting.

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[CWtheMan]

These pictures were taken from the Nevada side.

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[CWtheMan]

Civilian aircraft grave yard/bone yard near Mojave, CA.

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[CWtheMan]

Going out looking for Humpback whales from Bar Harbor, ME.

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[CWtheMan]

When you’re up in northern NY and exploring the scenic route along the St. Lawrence River; you may want to take a boat tour. It’s one of the best ways to see a lot of the 1000 islands in that that section of the river.

There are about a half dozen boat tour companies. Still, there is ample parking. The little town is loaded with places to eat and there are trinket shops everywhere.

The boat tours are very reasonably priced as are the hot dogs, chips and a drink while on the tour.

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[CWtheMan]

This PIX was taken at the Barnyard RV Park just off US-1 in Lexington, SC.

Identical twin brothers were traveling in these identical twin MHs.

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[CWtheMan]

One of our pastime adventures while full timing was to visit country/rural yard sales. It’s a great place to meet the locals and find interesting things to buy. While riding up and down back streets in Rawlings, WY we spotted this dwelling with a sign above the front entrance. We thought for sure it was a local museum and stopped to visit. Well, it turned-out to be a private dwelling and the sign above the front entrance introduced the people that lived there.

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[CWtheMan]

We wintered twice at Yuma, AZ and took all sorts of side trips. On this one we had gone out to Lake Martinez for a stern wheel boat ride on the Colorado River. On the way back we decided to stop at the US Army’s Desert Breeze CG at the Yuma proving grounds. The CG is always full in the winter, partially because of all the amities offered at the Proving Grounds. We wanted to check-out the CG – very nice – and get an early dinner at the CG Cactus Café.

While driving through the proving grounds we spotted some parachutists free falling and I took these fuzzy pictures.

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[CWtheMan]

The L.L. Bean outlet.

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[CWtheMan]

Driving around on the campus of the University of Maine on a cloudy summer day.

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[Camping family]

Just returned from there. Visited the zoo which was very nice and the free market on the weekend. Park has nice sites and are decent size with full hook up.

[CWtheMan]

A must see; the San Diego Zoo.

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[CWtheMan]

There are lots of things to do at Branson. We took a dinner/show ride on the Branson Belle - The Oak Ridge Boys.

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[CWtheMan]

An 1880s train ride from Keystone, SD to Hill City and return. We had lunch at the Hill City turnaround.

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[CWtheMan]

At Bryson City you'll find the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad. Booking a trip on it will get you free passes to their model train museum. Here are a couple of pictures I took while at the museum.

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[CWtheMan]

We found this quaint little - best name – shopping mall - with multi levels just off the water in this village. It’s just a short drive from St. Petersburg.

We visited with our traveling companions, the Doole’s. There are all kinds of sea food restaurants, including Bubba Gumps, plus trinket shops galore.

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[CWtheMan]

This picture was taken on our way to the Buffalo, NY downtown River Walk Park.

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[CWtheMan]

We spent a couple of weeks at Verde Canyon RV Park at Camp Verde, AZ. While there we took several side trips. On this one we visited the Montezuma Castle NM.

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[CWtheMan]

The scenic railway station and ticket sales are right downtown North Conway.

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[CWtheMan]

The Cherokee Indians have numerous lands up in the NC hills. Most are somewhere close to the Great Smokey Mountains. In a partnership with Harrah’s Casinos they have been building a huge casino complex at Cherokee, NC. Its success has led them into another venture with Harrah’s; it’s the Valley Casino at Murphy, NC.

There are 5 RV Parks close to the Valley River Casino Resort and the resort is on enough property to expand into another huge casino complex in the NC Mountains.

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[roadglide]

The Cherokee Indians have numerous lands up in the NC hills. Most are somewhere close to the Great Smokey Mountains. In a partnership with Harrah’s Casinos they have been building a huge casino complex at Cherokee, NC. Its success has led them into another venture with Harrah’s; it’s the Valley Casino at Murphy, NC.

There are 5 RV Parks close to the Valley River Casino Resort and the resort is on enough property to expand into another huge casino complex in the NC Mountains.

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Going again August. I made reservations in the same spot I had two years ago Elmont near Gatlinburg. That is close to wheels Through time or Maggie’s Ville . Best antique motorcycle museum in the country.

[roadglide]

Over the years we have wintered twice at Yuma, AZ; both times at the Arizona Sands, a 55+ seniors RV park on highway BR-8 just east of USMC Air Station.

This is just a short story about a bus tour to Laughlin, NV. The tour was arraigned by the RV Park so it started and ended there.

Our long time friends from our Navy days were wintering with us. Neither one of us wanted to take a trip that far with our trucks so the bus tour was a great answer to our dilemma of wanting to visit Laughlin.

The trip up would take us through CA then back into AZ and finally cross over the Colorado again at Bull City. On the return trip we would stay in AZ all the way with a beautiful drive along the Colorado. We would just spend one night at the Riverside Hotel & Casino.

Here is a brief glimpse of the Laughlin landscape

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The bus route stating at Yuma and followed US-95/AZ-95 to Parker, AZ where we crossed over the river to CA and US-95 all the way back into AZ to Bullhead City where we could cross the river again to Laughlin, NV. On the return we followed US-95/AZ-95 all the way back to Yuma with a nice lunch/trinket stop at Quartzsite, AZ.
The good ol days the trip cost me $15 and the casinos would toss in two dollar roll of nickels. I would pick it up in Quartzsite at the McDonald’s parking lot with a bunch of snowbirds relatives for michigan.

[CWtheMan]

During an extended stay at Reno we took a day trip to Lake Tahoe. We used US-395. As we were traveling up the mountains we got a nice look-back at the Reno/Sparks metropolitan areas.

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[CWtheMan]

An ocean front park at San Simeon, CA.

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[CWtheMan]

3:10 to Yuma

During our major traveling years, we wintered twice at Yuma, AZ. It’s a very popular winter stop for full timers and snowbirds. The overall population will have an average expansion of about 90,000 RVers during the winter months. There is something there or close by for everyone. During our stays we did a lot of side trips and visited numerous historical areas.

The Yuma Prison was made popular when the first movie; 3:10 to Yuma was filmed in 1957, staring Glen Ford. The remake was done in 2007, staring Russell Crowe. The whole prison area is well maintained and has lots of interesting history of the times posted throughout the buildings. The surprising thing is how small the Colorado River is when passing the prison.

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[CWtheMan]

La Jolla, CA

These were taken while traveling CA highway 1, heading to the waterfront at La Jolla, CA.

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[CWtheMan]

Redvers, Canada

After roaming around in rural Canada, we decided to use CDN highway #8 to renter the USA in ND. We had booked a 2-week reservation at Minot, ND for our 4th of July vacation.

We were heading west on CDN highway #13 to connect with CDN #8 at Redvers, Canada. Once there we drove all around in the little town until we found a place to eat lunch. Here are some pictures of this clean little town and our exit highway.

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[CWtheMan]

Sedona, AZ

We have visited this beautiful AZ city a few times in the past. My pictures of the area are in a separate folder, and I sometimes forget that.

I’ve taken hundreds of pictures in the Sedona area. These are from a visit to a rural arts mall. It had clothing and trinket shops and a number of Cafes where lunch is served inside or outside. I’ll post more pictures of the area in future posts.

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[Outbackman57]

Several years of awesome pictures. Thank you all for posting them!

[CWtheMan]

Kennebunkport, ME

In my youth, just after WWII ended, my father built 35’ wooden - oak – lobster boats in our barn and launched them at Kennebunkport, 12 miles away. Back then it was strictly a fishing village. When the President Bush family built a sprawling retreat, jutting out into the Atlantic, Kennebunkport immediately became a very popular tourist attraction. Hotels were built overlooking the port and tour boats of all kinds would go out for views of the Presidential retreat. The size of the village was pushed nearly to overload.

A memory: My father and a friend were installing an engine in a boat they would later launch. I was fishing for eels on the rising tide on a dock across the port from where the boat would be launched. A car drove-up and a man hollered to my dad, “hey Tom, you got another boy”. It was the spring of 1948 and my youngest brother was born.

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[CWtheMan]

Clocks

The national watch and clock museum is in Columbia, PA. It’s not far from the beautiful Susquehanna River. Established in 1977; it has put together a major collection of homological artifacts, of clocks and watches. The area around and nearby is very picturesque.


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