A busy start to the new year

Posted on February 16, 2020 by liv2rv

Happy belated New Year and New Decade!!

You would think with working just two days a week, we would be living the life of leisure, and having a lot of free time on our hands, but we have just been busy, busy, busy. This is turning out to a year of change for us, and it has been both exciting and stressful. So let’s get caught up…

On Christmas Eve, we picked Dan’s parents up at the Mesa Airport, about a three hour drive from Yuma. Dan’s brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Julia, rented a house in Tempe, Arizona, for the week of Christmas. Their three daughters were also able to fly in for Christmas. It was nice to spend the holidays with family! Thank you Gary and Julia for inviting us over for Christmas, as well as the matching “Minnesota Go Jump in the Lake” t-shirts that we all received!

On New Year’s Eve, we drove Dan’s parents, Joan and Stu, back with us to Westwind RV and Golf Resort in Yuma, as they were able to rent a park model for the month of January. We didn’t have to worry too much about them, as they had a busy month of activities, with golf, dances, block parties, and cards. We enjoyed spending time with them, during their “free” time!

Fridays and Saturdays have been busy with work, as well as volunteering at the Friday night dances, and attending the Saturday night concerts in the ballroom with Tom, Ellen and Bob. Dan and I are both involved in several golf leagues on our off days. I have played more golf in the last three months, then I have in ten years. We sell tickets for the 50/50 raffle at the dances, to raise money for Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. Last year they raised close to $5000 from the raffle, and this year we should exceed $5,000.00. Here we are with Henry and Terry, the Golf Shop Managers (and former co-workers of ours at Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota).

We have seen several excellent concerts, including a tribute to John Denver (which my sister LuAnn would have loved)…

as well as an excellent tribute to Linda Ronstadt.

We did manage a few trips up to Quartzsite, one for the annual RV show, and another to meet up with friends Wendy and Terry (met them work camping at Luton’s Teton Cabins). And Wendy and I managed to find another “big chair” to sit in.

Today we had a ‘Mardi Gras’ parade in the park. We decorated one golf cart, to represent the golf course. Since we were in the parade, I only have a few pictures from the staging area of some of the other decorated carts. In addition to candy, we threw (gently) golf balls to crowd gathered in the park to watch all the decorated golf carts. Here we are, ready to go!

Some of the other floats…

CHANGE IS COMING!

As I have previously mentioned, we will not be working this summer (our first time in 6 years). We will spend the entire summer in Alaska traveling with friends Karen and Al, as well as two other couples (one of which we just met this week in Yuma).

We have spent the past month or two seriously looking at various RV’s, as we don’t plan on taking our 5th wheel to Alaska. We have looked, and talked with dealers in Oregon, Michigan, Las Vegas and several in Arizona, regarding Class A’s, Class C/B’s and truck campers. Ultimately, we decided to go with our original plan of getting a truck camper. It will make it easier for us to get into many of the smaller campgrounds, allow us to boondock (camping without hookups) more often, and make us much more mobile.

This year, Westwind RV enforced the rule of no truck campers allowed in the park. So we spoke with management regarding our plans of picking up our camper in March. They advised that we would not be allowed to stay in the park. Our friends Dave and Marilyn, who have a house in Yuma with a 30 amp hook-up, were kind enough to allow us to park at their place, for the month of March, and then we would leave. We told our managers in the golf shop that we would only work through the end of March, and skip the two weekends in April that we were scheduled to work. We had also advised them that we would not return next year, as we would not be allowed to stay in this park with a truck camper. And, we did not want to rush to purchase something else after our Alaska trip. They were fine with all of this.

Well, three days after we got all the details squared away with everyone, the corporate owner of Westwind (he owns several RV and mobile home parks), fired the managers here. And the next day, among many rule changes, they changed the rule regarding truck campers. Any type of RV is now welcome at Westwind RV.

So now we can stay at the park and finish out our commitment for this season. Our last day will be April 11. We are still leaning towards not coming back next year, as we need to see what happens with all these management and rule changes.

We have been super busy going through our 5th wheel and making piles of “stuff going to Alaska” and “stuff to keep, but not going to Alaska.” Downsizing from 400 square feet to 80 square feet has been challenging, and a bit overwhelming. Sometimes I just have to sit down and stare at all of our crap…I mean stuff! Fortunately, Dave and Marilyn will let us store some stuff at their house. They are such wonderful friends! (we promise that someday we will return and pick it up!). Of course we still have stuff at my sister Margie’s, brother Brian’s, and Dan’s parents to sort through as well…someday!

Here’s a quick peak at what we have put an offer on, and will pick up next month. A 2008 Host Truck Camper. Once we pick it up, I will have a blog with more pictures, as well as an update on the downsizing!

We hope all is well with everyone! Until next time!

Quote of the Day: “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” – Abraham Maslow

An Electric Parade for Christmas!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by liv2rv

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our readers! And safe travels for those who will be traveling during the holiday season.

We really enjoy working two days a week in the golf pro shop here at Westwind Golf and RV Resort. It’s a very low stress job! The weather has cooled down (lows in the 40’s, and high’s in the mid 60’s) making it much easier to tell the difference between a Canadian snowbird (still in shorts) and a year-round Yuma resident (pants, gloves, earmuffs, and a winter coat!)

Last Saturday was the Foothills Off-Road Vehicle Club’s annual Electric Light Parade. Members decorate their jeeps and other off-road vehicles and go from RV park to RV park at night to show off their vehicles, and to collect donations for the Yuma food pantry. This year there were a few hot rods added to the parade, which were a big hit with the crowd. Enjoy!

Quote for the day: “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” – Bob Hope

Back to work for the Winter

Posted on November 24, 2019 by liv2rv

Life is pretty good in Yuma, Arizona, the sunniest place in the United States! The park we are working at, Westwind RV and Golf Resort, is slowly filling up, as the Canadian and American snowbirds make their way south. We are about half full, and should be close to capacity in January. It has been a lot of fun catching up with the many friends and co-workers we met last year, that have returned again for another season. In addition, our friends Tom, Ellen and Bob have joined us this year at Westwind to work. They all seem to be enjoying their jobs, and the warm, but not humid, weather.

This year, we have new jobs, which we are both enjoying. Last season I had a paid (minimum wage) job in the office, three days a week, and Dan worked three days on the golf course, which covered our site rent, and all utilities. This year, we are working in the Golf Pro Shop, two 10-hour days a week. We really enjoy working just two days, Friday and Saturday. Here’s a few pictures the inside of the Pro Shop.

It’s small, but we have a great view of the first hole out the window that you see above on the right.

Our view

We have seen many “interesting” shots off the first tee!! Here are some views of the course, which is a nine-hole Par 3.

This is the first hole straight ahead, with #3 on the left, and #9 fairway on the right. One of Dan’s duties is to fish out all the balls in the pond (and there are many!).

In exchange for our two 10-hour days, we receive our site for free, all utilities, and a $640 voucher each month which can be used at the onsite restaurant, golf shop, and concert tickets. Our duties are taking tee times, selling merchandise (clothing, hats, gloves, golf balls), and keeping the patio area outside the Pro Shop clean. It’s as easy as it sounds! I don’t miss working in the office, but I do miss working with Lori and Roy. We were able to get together for dinner, and talk about future work camping opportunities and places to explore. We both have a lot more travel adventures in our future!

Another bonus of coming back to Yuma is getting together with friends Dave and Marilyn, that own a house here. We have had several get togethers, and met up for the Howling at the Moon on November 12. It was Tom, Ellen and Bob’s first experience, and they all seemed to enjoy the strange little gathering in the desert.

Howling at the Moon

Bob, Jim, Carol, Marilyn (Dave behind in blue shirt)

Ellen, Tom and Dan as sun was setting behind

The sunsets in Arizona are always full of color

And then it was time to start “howling!” If you are ever in the Yuma area, and it’s a full-moon, you need to partake in this free festival!

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like most of the country is going to be hit with some storms, so stay safe!

Quote for the Day: “Of all possessions a friend is the most precious.” – Herodotus

On the road again!

Posted on October 9, 2019 by liv2rv

Hello everyone, it’s your favorite dog blogger, Makena!

Keeping my peeps informed!

We are on the road again!!! While my parents are busy driving from Wyoming to Yuma, Arizona, I’ll get you all caught up. We have finished up with our fourth and final summer at Luton’s Teton Cabins, just five miles east of Grand Teton National Park. Once again, we were the last work camper couple to leave. My dad steam cleans all the carpets, so it takes a while to get thru all 14 cabins and the lodge. I have enjoyed my time here, because I can run around off-leash on the property.

The one problem, for me, with being the last to leave is the weather. It always snows before we leave, and it gets cold. It was 17 degrees when we pulled out this year. But it sure is pretty! This was our view from Luton’s on Saturday, October 5, when we left. It had snowed the day before.

I think I caught a cold or something, because I’ve gotten sick the last two mornings before we left. My parents had to wash my favorite blankets two days in a row, and I’ve been sneezing a lot. But now that we are on the road again, I am doing better. I spend all day in my crate in the truck, so I have been getting a lot of rest. It’s my “safe place.” My parents say I’m an excellent traveler.

We are going back to Westwind RV and Golf Resort in Yuma, Arizona. I’m looking forward to the warm weather and sunshine! My parents told me they will have new jobs this year, and will only be working two days a week. Yay! That means more time for me! They will have an orientation day on October 15th, so I’m sure my mom will get back to blogging and have more information on their new jobs after that time. And their friends Tom and Ellen will be working at Westwind this year. They stopped over at our house a month ago, and brought their new puppy, Duffy, with them. He promptly sniffed my butt and ate all of my food. I don’t like him….

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Before I go, I’m going to post some more photos of the Tetons that my mom took in May, and September. The Tetons are a beautiful place, and I hope all of my readers can someday visit the park. Good-bye Tetons, looking forward to new adventures next summer in Alaska! Here’s a view from Oxbow Bend at the beginning and end of our season.

May 2019

September 2019

Jenny Lake is a popular area in the park for hiking. This is a view from an overlook. In May, the lake was still frozen.

May 2019

September 2019

Quote for the day: “Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life.” – Michael Palin

Winding down for the season…not yet!

Posted on September 5, 2019 by liv2rv

We have started our last month here at Luton’s Teton Cabins, but instead of winding down, we are full speed ahead. September is the third busiest month in the park, and we are at full occupancy until the third week of September, and then half full for the remainder of the month. Many of our guests this month are repeat visitors, and it’s always fun catching up with them. By the middle of the month, Dan will switch over from housekeeping to steam cleaning the carpets in all the cabins and the lodge. He enjoys the change of pace. Karen and I continue to be busy in the office, booking many reservations for next year.

I haven’t been faithfully posting this summer, but with this being our fourth year here, I just haven’t been that motivated. We are very excited about going to Alaska next summer. Our friends and co-workers Karen and Al have done a fabulous job planning out an itinerary and looking into fishing and sightseeing opportunities. We have already made a few campground reservations, but have a loose enough schedule to make changes, if need be.

Dan and Al have have gone fishing multiple times this summer, including one successful outing on Jackson Lake in the park. I think it’s the “here fishy, fishy” hat that draws them in!

All those fish led to a wonderful employee pot-luck for everyone. Dan and Al grilled the fish.

This has been a good summer for visitors! A former co-worker of mine, Laura, came out here with her family, and we were able to spend a little bit of time with them! Makena especially loved meeting her kids, and suckered them into some belly rubs! Ironically, it was six years to the day that I left work when Laura and her family came to visit. We had a great time catching up on the past six years, and I’m so happy she stopped by!

Dan’s brother Gary and his wife Julia also came out to the Teton’s. Julia’s father John was celebrating his 90th birthday, and their entire family flew out to the Teton’s, and took a bus trip for the next week visiting many national parks and historic sites. They were only here two days in this location, but we enjoyed our brief visit, and took Gary and Julia out for a hike along String Lake, one of our many favorite places here.

Jean, Julia, birthday boy John and Gary

We met up with friends Jack and Ruth Ann, and Ruth Ann’s sister Jean. We first met them working at Amazon in 2013. Jack and Ruth Ann, as well as our friends Tom and Ellen, took us “under their wings” when we first started. We all ate lunch together at Amazon, and learned so much from them about RV’ing. Jack and Ruth Ann have been full-time since 2005. They have volunteered several times at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, and we talked about doing that in the next year or two with them.

Jean, Jack, Ruth Ann, Jonell and Dan

And speaking of Tom and Ellen, we did make it up one night to West Yellowstone, Montana, to surprise Tom for his birthday! We will be seeing them again next week when they stop through for their last visit to the Teton’s. They will be joining us this winter in Yuma, and next summer they will be working in Skagway, Alaska.

Happy Birthday Tom!

Friends Dan and Nancy from Wisconsin also stopped in for a visit. Dan just retired from teaching in June, and they were visiting their son in Idaho, and stopped on the way back. We had a long discussion on full-time RV’ing, and on their way back home, they stopped in South Dakota and changed their residency. They will be working on transitioning to this wonderful lifestyle! We wish them all the best!

Dan, Nancy, Jonell and Dan

We always enjoy playing ‘tour guide’ and giving out suggestions to our guests on things to see and do in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We have enjoyed our four summers in this area, but we are also ready to move on to new adventures!

Quote for the day: “Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Back to work (2 months ago…)

Posted on July 17, 2019 by liv2rv

I admire the people that blog consistently. I am not one of them! We are back to work for our fourth, and final, summer here at Luton’s Teton Cabins. I think part of my delay in writing is due to the fact we have been in this area of Wyoming for 5 years now (4 here, and 1 summer in West Yellowstone.) There are days that I feel I’m in a rut. As beautiful as this area is, I’m overdue for a change in scenery.

We arrived here on May 4, and took a quick drive through Grand Teton National Park. Many areas were still covered in snow, and the ice on the lakes was just starting to melt.

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After getting acclimated to the altitude, we started spring cleaning the cabins a few days later. All nine of us work campers came back this year. Brad and Joanne are wonderful people to work for. Spring cleaning consists of a deep clean of each cabin, including wiping down all the woodwork with a damp rag, and then oiling each log with wood oil. It’s a tedious process, but it keeps the cabins looking “new.” Many guests are surprised that the cabins are 25 years old. Dan works on the ceilings, as he’s the tallest!

The bedroom is ready for the season!

After working 3 days per week in our winter jobs, it’s back to 5 days a week, and a split shift on my office days. Karen and I split the office – 3 days office/2 days housekeeping one week, and 4 days office/1 housekeeping day the next week. Office hours are 8 – 12 pm and 3 – 7 pm. Between 12 and 3, we are still available to answer phones and help guests with any issues/early check-ins. Because of the long office schedule, we are paid a daily rate. Dan refers to me as “the bread winner.” Housekeeping generally starts at 9 am, and we can be done between noon and 3 pm, depending on how busy the cabins are. Usually there are 4-5 housekeepers, and we can get through a cabin fairly quickly. Dan does 4 days of housekeeping, and 1 day in laundry, washing all the linens, towels, rugs and rags. He enjoys the variety.

As long as office duties are done (checking in guests, answering the phone, cleaning the lodge, watering plants, cleaning grills and helping the housekeepers on busy days) we can sit and read in the office. I’ve caught up on a lot of magazines that I can get for free through Flipster on my local library’s website. It’s a great app to use to read magazines offline. Here’s a screen shot of my “bookshelf” on the Flipster app.

We took a day trip up to Yellowstone with Karen and Al. The overlook to the upper and lower falls at Canyon Village are now open. It’s always pretty to see, especially with snow. I’d like to visit Yellowstone in the winter someday.

Upper Falls

Lower Falls

We also stopped to watch Old Faithful. I’ve seen it dozens of times, and was a bit amused when this couple in front of me immediately stood up to take selfies! They spent the entire time taking pictures of themselves, and not even bothering watching the eruption! P1060272

Dan and Al have had several successful fishing outings. Soon we will be having an employee fish fry pot luck.

And speaking of pot lucks, we just had an excellent lobster dinner, courtesy of Brad and Joanne. They had lobsters, clams and mussels flown in from Maine. Al did an excellent job cooking everything, and even gave the ‘newbies’ tips on how to crack open and eat lobster. It was an excellent feast!

And speaking of food, my goal for the summer is to clean out our pantry. I look like a food hoarder, and I need to work on that! Since we arrived on May 4, I have not bought anything new for the pantry. This is what our pantry looks like today (and this is after 2 months of eating…still a long way to go!)

Over the winter we accomplished the goal of eating everything in our freezer before buying new food. So nothing in the freezer is older than 3 months. We replenished the freezer again when we arrived in Wyoming, and will work on emptying that out again over the summer. It’s a great way to try out new recipes. But it’s also made me wonder “what was I thinking in the first place when I bought this?”

We are going to Alaska next summer, and have considered getting a truck camper. It would be an exciting challenge to downsize even more. We may even consider selling our beloved 5th wheel. But we are not coming off the road, just changing things up. And downsizing more will give us more flexibility. Variety is the spice of life? We’ll keep you posted on what we decide. Just starting to look at what’s available right now.

We had some visitors already (we like visitors!!). Dean and Jeannie stopped by on their way to Oregon, and we played tour guides for a day. Our door is always open!

Jonell, Jeannie and Dean

And we finally saw our first moose of the season (no porcupine yet!)

Until next time, please stay safe!

Quote for the day: “You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Roy T Bennett

Back at my summer home!

Posted on June 27, 2019 by liv2rv

Hello everyone! It’s your favorite dog blogger, back after a long absence!

Keeping my peeps informed!

Now that my parents have finished blathering on about all kinds of things that I didn’t get to see in Arizona and Utah, I thought it would be time to catch everyone up with the important stuff….me! Although I enjoyed my time in warm and sunny Arizona, I’m happy to be back in Wyoming. They have grass, and lot’s of it. Arizona has a little too much sand for my liking. And they have these tiny, nasty little plants with prickers that kept getting stuck in my paws.

We arrived back at Luton’s Teton Cabins in Moran, Wyoming on May 4. The weather was cold and rainy for most of that month, but has steadily improved. My parents are here to work, and I’m here to run around, off leash, on 100 acres of grass! Here I am in action….the cabins that my parents work at are way off in the background (I’m not allowed in them).

WooHoo! Back on grass!

And once we round the corner of the property, we get to look at this view every day!

Wait for me!

Since we didn’t go back to Wisconsin this year, my parents had to find a new doctor for my annual wellness exam. They found a nice place in Jackson Hole, Spring Creek Animal Hospital. The doctor was very impressed with my overall health, and said my heart and lungs are very strong! It’s all that playing and running around that I do. I haven’t had any problems lately from my back injury. The doctor wants to have my teeth cleaned, however. After 12 years, I guess I could use a little cleaning, but my parents are worried about the anesthesia, given my age and petite size. They haven’t decided what to do.

I did make a new friend here in Wyoming, a tiny bald kitten named Butters. I’m not sure why he’s bald, and I’m not sure why they call him Butters. My mom thinks he looks like Yoda from Star Wars.

Butters

Butters parents (my parents co-workers) were going home for a family event for a few days, so Butters stayed with us for five of the longest days of my life! When they first brought him over, I was not too happy about sharing my home with him. Then my mom walked in with his food…yummy! I tried my best to get at it, but I was shut out. And, Butters gets canned food twice a day…I only get canned food once a day. Darn cat.

yummy cat food!

Apparently Butters was not happy that I was trying to eat his food, as he got revenge on me by sitting in front of my own dog food.

payback from the cat

No matter what I tried to do over the five days, Butters wanted to join in, whether I liked it or not (mostly not). If I sat at the door watching outside, Butters joined in.

I like to relax on my mom’s lap with a blanket in the morning when she is enjoying her coffee. Yep, Butters joined in.

I was okay with this at first, but when the bald cat decided he wanted to crawl under the blanket with me, well, you can tell by the look on my face I was not happy!

Go away Butters!

Even when it was time for my canned food, exactly at 5 pm, Butters wanted to help me out. I finally had enough of him, and growled, so my parents had to pick him up and keep him away while I was eating. Nobody messes with my canned food!

When I tried to play with my toys, Butters kept butting in (maybe that’s why he’s called Butters?). You can tell by the look on my face that I’m not happy.

don’t mess with my toys!

I don’t understand cats. What’s wrong with just sitting on the couch to look out the window. Why do they feel the need to hang on to the window instead?

And what’s wrong with this picture? Sheesh! It’s my house, my bed!

It was a long five days, but I survived! Stay tuned, I hope everyone is doing well!

Quote for the Day: “In ancient times, cats were worshiped as gods; they have not forgotten this.” – Terry Pratchett

Trains, Automobiles and Guns

Posted on June 17, 2019 by liv2rv

In continuing on with the Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Guns themes (Planes were the last post), we visited Union Station, in downtown Ogden, Utah. It’s definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. The station contains four small museums that you can visit, for $7.00 per adult. The current station was built in 1924, after the previous station burned down.

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The Grand Lobby in Union Station

In Wisconsin, we call this a bubbler. The rest of the country, for whatever reason, seems to think this is a water fountain.

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At it’s heyday, 120 trains went through Ogden every day. Union Station is now used to house several small museums, including an outdoor display of diesel and steam engines.

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The Utah Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum has a small space honoring the Utah Cowboy Hall of Fame as well as historic western memorabilia.

The Browning-Kimball Classic Car Museum has about a dozen old cars on display. What is unique about the cars is they are all driven out of the museum every year during the annual Heritage Festival in Ogden every May.

The blue car on the right is a 1931 Lincoln Model 202A.

P1050978 (2) Below is the 1929 Pierce-Arrow.

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Below, on the far right, a 1929 Durant model 6-60. The red vehicle is a 1911 Knox Model S Roadster. The beige vehicle on the far left is a 1930 Cadillac Model 452.

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The Utah State Railroad Museum is now the proud owner of the The Golden Spike safe, which was originally held at Stanford University, and contained the original Golden Spike of 1869, a 17.6 karat gold spike used to connect the final rail of the Transcontinental Railroad, connecting the Union Pacific with the Central Pacific in Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, May 10, 1869.

After the 1989 earthquake in California, the museum displaying the safe and spike was damaged, and a new museum was built, with a new display case for the spike. The safe was then donated to this museum in 2010. The “golden spike” on display in the safe is the Utah Centennial Golden Spike.

Before trains, people were not really aware of “time.” There was morning, afternoon, evening and night. People used sundials to keep track of time. After trains, “time” became important, and people soon realized that the time in Chicago was not the same as the time in Ogden. In 1884, the National Railway Time Convention proposed standard time zones, and in 1918 Congress finally passed the Standard Time Act, making the time zones official.

The John M. Browning Firearms Museum has a large display of firearms. The museum started with the history of the Browning family, talking about John M Browning’s father, Jonathan. The family history was a bit confusing, because Jonathan was a polygamist with several wives and lots of children. (too many branches in the family tree!). Jonathan was a gunsmith in Ogden, and John followed in his footsteps, working in his shop at young age. He is considered to be one of the most successful gun designers in history, with many of his 128 patented designs still in use today. He sold many of his designs to Winchester, Colt, Remington and Fabrique National de Herstel (FN) of Belgium. Original models of his guns are on display. They provide an excellent history on the development of rifles, shot guns and automatic weapons.

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His very first invention, in 1878, was the single shot rifle (top rifle in the photo below). In 1883, he sold the patent to Winchester, and in 1885, they started selling Model 1885 in 33 calibers (bottom rifle).

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John M Browning also developed a 9mm pistol. The top pistol was his first prototype, and the other three were patents he sold to Fabrique National (FN).

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He developed a number of weapons for the military.

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Including this automatic rifle, which was first used near the end of WWI, and continued to be used through the Vietnam War. It can fire 500 rounds per minute.

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In 1911, Browning designed the M1911, semi-automatic weapon used by the military as their standard sidearm. It was manufactured by Colt, and used until 1986. Below are several variations of the model.

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If you are a gun owner, John M Browning probably had something to do with the design and development of the guns that you own. We enjoyed our visit to Union Station, and highly recommend a visit if you are in Ogden, Utah.

Now it’s back to work…

Quote of the Day: “Jobs fill your pocket, but adventures fill your soul.” – Jamie Lyn Beatty

Hill Aerospace Museum

Posted on June 5, 2019 by liv2rv

After leaving Bryce Canyon National Park, we headed up to Ogden, Utah with our friends Tom and Ellen. They just stayed one night, and headed up to their summer work camping job in West Yellowstone, MT. After looking at the weather in Grand Teton National Park, we opted to spend two nights in Ogden.

We enjoy going to museums, and Ogden has several interesting museums available. It’s a planes, trains, cars, cowboys and guns paradise! I though about doing one blog to cover all the museums, but I know people like to look at photos, so I will break this up into two posts, and just cover the planes today. You can always double-click on the photos to enlarge them.

Hill Aerospace Museum, located on Hill Air Force Base (Utah’s largest employer) just south of Ogden, is an excellent place to spend a few hours looking at over 100 planes and exhibits from the Wright Brothers, World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and current day battles. They also have a STEM Education program, and the several dozen school children that we saw running around, seemed very excited to learn about aviation history. The large planes are outdoors.

Hill Aerospace Museum

Hill Air Force Base is tasked with maintenance and repair of planes. In the exhibit on the Wright Brothers, they focus on the man tasked with helping the brothers maintain the plane. Charles Edward Taylor is considered to be the world’s first aviation mechanic. He built the first successful engine for the Wright Brothers, and taught them how to build engines. He was the lead mechanic on the first transcontinental flight in 1911. Below is a replica of the 1911 Burgess-Wright Model F Flyer.

In World War I, this Curtis JN-4D “Jenny” was used by the Signal Corp for training.

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The plane below, a North American B-25J “Mitchell” was used to attack Japan after the Pearl Harbor attack. Although the planes inflicted minimal damage, troop moral increased, and Japan had to bring their fleet back home to protect their country from direct attack.

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The museum is packed full of planes. In the first main building, they do not have an area where you can look down on the planes.

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The Boeing B-17G “Flying Fortress” were used in WWII for their strategic bombing of targets in Germany. This plane is painted in the colors of the 493rd bomb group.

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The museum has a display on the role women played during WWII. The number of women employed during WWII increased by 57%, and many women were employed in areas traditionally employed by men.

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With their red and white shark paint scheme, these Curtis P-40N planes went into combat against Japan.

Curtis P-40N “Warhawk”

On the way to the second indoor building, we noticed this plane outside in the courtyard, the Lockheed (V) C-140B “Jetstar.” It was used by President Lyndon Johnson. We were unaware the Presidents had smaller jets at their disposal. There was no access to view this plane up close.

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The second building had some stairs where you could look over the planes from a higher vantage point.

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The F-16 “Fighting Falcon” has been the backbone of the Air Force since the mid 1970’s. At speeds over Mach 2, (about 1400 mph), they are quite impressive! The museum has several on display, and this plane is from the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing assigned to Hill Air Force Base.

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The newest addition to the museum, is the F-16A Thunderbird, received in 2017.

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The outdoor display is just as impressive as the two indoor buildings.

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The B-1B Lancer, put in service in 1986, can carry the largest payload of guided and unguided weapons.

Boeing B-1B Lancer

The C-130 Hercules, not as “svelte” as the B-1B, has been in use since 1956 as a cargo plane for troops and supplies.

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They had the back landing door open, to view the interior of the C-130.

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B-47 Stratojet

These photos are just a fraction of the planes on display at the museum. If you are in the Ogden, Utah area, we would highly recommend a visit to this museum (free, donations accepted). Thank you to all the men and women that have served our country, and keep us safe.

Quote for the Day: “Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it.” – President Franklin Roosevelt

Bryce Canyon National Park

Posted on May 23, 2019 by liv2rv

After our short trip to Page with Tom and Ellen, we headed up into Utah, to re-visit one of our favorite National Parks, Bryce Canyon. The park contains the largest concentration of hoodoos, which are irregular columns of rock. The hoodoos are formed through erosion of the cliffs from the wind, rain and snow. As some of the rock formations erode away, new ones are created. The park is always changing. As we arrived in the park on May 1, just in time for what seems to be our annual May snowfall!

Left Yuma too soon??

Given the snow, and our limited time in the park (2 days), we were not able to do any hiking in the park. We stayed at Ruby’s Inn campground, in their brand new pull-thru section. It’s pricey, but very nice. The family that owns Ruby’s Campground, owns the majority of the businesses in the area. And they hire a lot of work campers for the season.

We were able to meet up with our friend Bob, that we worked with at Amazon a few years ago. Bob decided to get his commercial drivers license, with a passenger endorsement. This has opened up a lot of high-paying work camping opportunities for him. In order to ease up on overcrowding, and the pollution that goes along with it, the National Park service is using shuttle buses in many of the parks. Bryce Canyon has a free shuttle service taking visitors to most of the viewpoints in the park. Bob was able to get a job as a shuttle bus driver. For those interested, it pays $24/hour, with a discounted RV site.

Bob, Dan, Ellen, Tom and Jonell

When we told Bob that we were coming, he booked us on a free shuttle tour of the park, as he wanted to check out the tour as well. If you plan on visiting Bryce, I would highly recommend the free tour. This is separate from the regular shuttle that just takes you to the overlooks. It is called the Rainbow Point tour, and lasts three hours.

This is the view from Rainbow Point, elevation 9115 feet. The park borders Dixie National Forest, and off into the distance is Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument.

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This is the view at Agua Canyon, elevation 8800 feet. Can you see the “face” in the rock formation on the left?

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The Natural Bridge is at elevation 8627 feet.

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The view at Bryce Point, elevation 8296 feet, is one of the prettiest in the park, containing many hoodoos. You can hike down into the canyon to get a better view of the rock formations.

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More views at Bryce Point…

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There are over 60 miles of hiking trails in the park, and someday we will return to hike down into the canyon for a closer look at these amazing hoodoo formations.

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One thing I want to point out for anyone traveling to Bryce Canyon in an RV, they have two arches that you have to drive through to get to the park. For whatever reason, they have signs stating 13 feet, 6 inches. This would give pause to anyone driving an RV, particularly a fifth wheel. The height of our 5th wheel is 13-3. I’m not sure who did the measuring, but as you can see from Tom and Ellen’s fifth wheel going through the arch, there is plenty of room.

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If you are interested in Astronomy, they have special programs at the park in June; and in July, they have programs for those interested in Geology. We plan on coming back to the park someday to hike down into the canyon.

Quote for the Day: “Stepping out onto any lookout, you are invited to connect with an amazing example of some of the most unusual terrain on this planet, making you feel as though you are stepping foot on the edge of another world.” – Stefanie Payne

Liv2RV

Living and working around the country in a RV

A busy start to the new year

An Electric Parade for Christmas!

Back to work for the Winter

On the road again!

Winding down for the season…not yet!

Back to work (2 months ago…)

Back at my summer home!

Trains, Automobiles and Guns

Hill Aerospace Museum

Bryce Canyon National Park