back in the saddle again...

you guessed it, we made it to the gene autry and western heritage museum yesterday. we found an rv park in van nuys that was close to my son's house, but wouldn't you know it—no internet. this was the first rv park we have stayed in during our trip that did not have a wireless network. so today is catch-up day, i guess. anyway, the gene autry museum was spectacular and many items that were originally placed in the museum were western memorabilia that gene autry has collected. one of his great aspirations was to open a western heritage museum to display the culture of the american west. the museum is located in griffith park in los angeles next door to the los angeles zoo. it is very similar to the oklahoma city western heritage center we visited last week. one really neat thing about the western museum here in los angeles is that there is a 100-foot long mural downstairs that fills all three walls of the gallery (the fourth wall is the door openings and stairways). it took us about 5 hours to see the entire museum, and that was almost at a trot. i think that to see the entire museum and read all the placards and exhibits that it would take a minimum of 8 hours, and about 12 hours to really study the exhibits. the realy nice part of the day was that nancy and i were both able to enjoy the museum with our sons, rodney and chris. after leaving the gene autry museum we ventured out into the los angeles traffic on surface streets to head back to rodney's house and met his fiancee, inga. we spent several hours at their house in north hollywood, arriving back home (at the trailer) dog-tired and weary from having such a good time. this morning we slept in awhile before returning to rodney and inga's house for another day with family. tomorrow we take the show on the road again as we head for the san joaquin valley and fresno county. click on the "play" button (below) to see the mini-movie of the panorama mural. well, we're on the road again, i just can't wait to get on the road again...

sunny beaches...

whoa, but this retirement traveling is so strenuous! nancy and i met her son, chris, this afternoon and we all went down to the wharf area here in long beach. it was a great day—no wind—and the temperature was about 75º—the sun was shining—what more could you desire? and nancy found a new boyfriend at the wharf, as you can see by tonight's photos. the lighthouse in long beach is still in use to guide ships into the harbor. long beach is one of two harbors that are still in use in the los angeles area—the other port is the port of los angeles, which is actually at san pedro, ca. of course, tonight we are so tired from walking around the wharf that i think we will hit-the-hay early. this rv'ing is tough work—er, play—er, work? tomorrow we are driving to van nuys, about an hour north of long beach. the day tomorrow includes a visit to the gene autry museum and western heritage center in los angeles with my son, rodney. the traffic is so bad here that we won't be venturing out onto the los angeles freeway system until about 10:00 am (after everyone has had time to get to work). having a great time—wish y'all were here...

california...or bust...

well, another day in paradise. this morning was the earliest time out of the rv park; 7:00 am found us gassing up and getting a quick breakfast. By 8:00 we were on the road and heading for long beach, ca. last night's stay in kingman, az was the friendliest place we have stayed since leaving el reno, ok. our fellow campers were especially friendly and nancy started conversations with several of our neighbors. the morning started out calm, but the ever-present wind caught up to us again as we crossed the border into california. the wind gusts as we approached san bernardino, ca were especially scary. the truck and trailer were pushed sideways several times as we snaked our way on interstate-15 toward san bernardino. the scary thing was that there was a thousand-foot drop-off on nancy's side of the rig. the wind is still with us as we sit inside the rv tonight in long beach. i have to say that my iphone and the maps app on it are awesome. as we left arizona, i typed in the address of the golden shore rv park in long beach and it spit out a turn-by-turn list of how to get us to our new campsite. we wouldn't have missed our turnoff, except for an inconsiderate southern california driver, who cut us off from trying to make our exit near the long beach terminal area at the port authority. it was easy enough to go across the bridge and circle back around across the bridge and we ended up at the rv park. we'll spend a couple of days in the long beach/hollywood areas to visit with my son and nancy's son before heading up the san joaquin valley to fresno county. now, for that walk on the beach...

driving arizona...

not much to report today, just driving through arizona beginning at gallup, nm and ending at kingman, az. much of the landscape from the oklahoma/texas border and throughout the southwest into california looks pretty much the same. the higher mountain peaks in arizona near flagstaff are unique in that there are large pine trees and the elevation goes up to about 7,300 feet. throughout arizona there are also a great deal of tourist souvenir shops all along i-40 and historic route-66. we drove another portion of old route-66 this morning as we drove out of the koa in gallup to the mcdonald's to catch a very quick breakfast so we could hit the road early; about a mile each way, up and back. we have learned that starting out early means we can be in a campsite early and enjoy the evening in our newfangled prairie schooner. a note from nancy for the quilting groups; at the koa in kingman, az, they only allow one username and password per campsite, so nancy will not be posting until we reach california. this has been the only campsite we have stayed that only allows one computer to connect. she'll be catching up tomorrow. so, tomorrow we'll be in sunny southern california in long beach. surf's up, dude...

venture into the red rocks...

up early this morning and on the road by 8:00?! whoa! yes, we wanted to get an early start and figured we could make it to gallup, nm by 3:00 pm. the wind calmed down to only about 10 mph and today it was a tail wind, so we made great time across new mexico. we saw some great rock escarpments along interstate-40 and found plentiful gas stations and souvenir stops all along the route. in many places along i-40, historic route-66 crisscrosses the path and parallels the old road, as well. we talked about getting off the road and driving a portion of route-66 like we did in oklahoma, but wanted to make time and relax for the afternoon and evening in gallup, nm; that is where we ended up for tonight. the rock formations around the koa here in gallup are pretty extraordinary, even though they are not huge, like shiprock in arizona, which we hope to see tomorrow. the koa here in gallup is actually on route-66, so i guess we did drive a portion of the "mother road" when we went to dinner late this afternoon at la barraca, a mexican restaurant that was as authentic as they get. all the patrons except for nancy and i were either hispanic or native american, so when we walked in, we knew the food would be outstanding, and it was. so, as the sun goes down in gallup, new mexico, me and my shadow say "adios"...for now...

another day, another 300+ miles...

well, we thought that we had some wind during our stay in oklahoma, but today we traveled through windier texas and into windy new mexico. from early morning until late afternoon, we bucked a 40 to 50 mile-per-hour headwind. it was real work keeping the truck between the white line on the interstate; i feel like i've been wrestling a steer. oklahoma's rolling hills gave way to texas' panhandle and its fairly flat farms and ranchlands and a much drier climate. the wind blew ferociously all day and seemed to get stronger as we got further west. tonight we are at the koa in tucumcari, nm. we believe we will be rocked to sleep by the wind tonight. today was fairly uninteresting, just driving from "point a" to "point b". two things we learned about texas (along i-40, anyway) is that there are no rest stops with restrooms along the interstate all the way through the panhandle, and there are only two places to get gas after you leave any civilized town. we know because once today we were "suckin' fumes" and just made it to the second gas stop (we missed the first one because there were no signs). i think nancy was getting more than a little bit nervous. we are hoping that the wind dies down tonight and that we don't have a replay of today tomorrow. as the sun sets over the mountains of new mexico...

saddest day in el reno...

well, we received the very dreadful news this afternoon that our loki was gone. he was a trooper and fought hard to the end. after removing his spleen, his liver was still not functioning correctly and when we visited him this morning, he was about the same as yesterday, his chemistry was improving, but he had some trouble breathing. the vet was watching over him very well and all was going strong until just after lunchtime. when the vet returned from lunch, loki has passed on to that great doggie heaven. we will miss him more that you all can imagine. the vet said that his liver could have been infected for quite awhile; we just didn't know. the little guy never was a complainer and always a very cheerful dog. there is not much of anything else i can say here, but we are deeply saddened and it will take awhile for the hurt to go away. so, in memory of my best little friend, loki, please enjoy this poem in his memory:

Loki (in memoriam)
By Rodney C. Kindlund, ©05/05/2010

Well, pardner, you were the very best;
Your winning way was always there;
Your not complaining was the sure test;
So we have some great memories to share.

Loki, my ever-present friend were you;
Always waiting as I came home out of sorts,
Playing after supper was what you liked to do.
Every day you brought joy to our hearts.

You came into our lives at 8 weeks old
And began to play and then flip somersaults;
Playing with your toys as you were so bold…
You were perfect without too many faults.

Loki was always ready and at the guard,
Keeping an eye out around the homestead,
Barking at strangers who came ‘round the yard,
Loki always thought he was a big dog instead.

He’d roll on his back on top of a toy;
We thought he was scratching his back.
Whatever it was it brought him great joy,
But when he got tired it was time for the sack.

My little buddy, you see, loved to go for a ride
In the van or the truck it didn’t matter which,
When he heard the keys rattle, he’d be by our side
And was ready for his leash, that was a cinch.

A smart little dog was Loki, you see,
He could talk to you by waving his paws
When he wanted outside so he could go pee;
We can’t think of a dog that has no flaws.

But Loki was as close as any dog I have known
At being the perfect friend to woman or man;
Every day this little terrier mix would have shown
That he could be understood, yes he can!

Patient to the end was our little friend,
Even as mysterious sickness took its toll.
He was a trooper even up to the end.
And now he’s in heaven for his final stroll.

(we love you, loki and will miss you so...)