Go West Young Man

This is a report to family and friends on our trip to Mexico. As most of you know, we've been quite anxious to visit Mexico and the opportunity arose. Steve was asked to go to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, Nevada, to help with a proposal that his company was working on. We thought we were pressed for time since release of the "request for proposal" by the government was supposed to hit on 1 Nov. As of this writing (18 Nov), it still has not arrived. Adding to the complexity of doing this was that Steve had just returned from another proposal effort in Norfolk and San Diego and we only had about 4 days on Cedar Island to get the Motor Home (we call it "Destino", Spanish for Destiny) and us ready.

Our original plan: Be in Vegas by 1 Nov; leave Vegas o/a 20 Nov and spend 2 nights at the Grand Canyon; leave the Grand Canyon and go to Tuscon, Arizona for or border crossing; roam down the west coast of Mexico to about Guadalajara and then go north east and enter the US at Brownsville, Texas; proceed to Dade City (Tampa), Florida and join Steve's brother and Anne and Claire and her family for Christmas; return to Cedar Island in early January.

Wed, 25 Oct 2006: We departed Cedar Island and drove on US 70 to the Raleigh area where we got on I-40. This is significant because navigation for this trip is very easy: stay on I-40 West until near Vegas and then turn right! We drove for about 6 hours, 221 miles, and stayed near Hickory, North Carolina at the Lake Myers Campground in Mocksville, NC. A nice CG with a family next to us that had a little granddaughter that was a talker...reminded us of Claire when she was that age.

Thur, 26 Oct 2006: we got back on 40 and went through Ashville, NC and across the Blue Ridge. The leaves were in full color so it was a beautiful trip. (Editorial note: We did not get to see much on this trip since we needed to be in Vegas by the 31st...our commentary is really based on what you can see from the Interstate.) We drove for about 7.5 hours (400 miles) and stayed in the Nashville KOA. Didn't see much because it poured rain all night!. An interesting thing was about a dozen European RV'ers in neat Class C type RV's. They were all shipped over and the owners from Germany, Austria, Netherlands, and Italy were touring the US and Mexico until Spring!

Fri, 27 Oct 2006: We got back on 40 and crossed into Arkansas. Surprised us to see a lot of rice paddies! We drove for about 7 hours (432 miles) and stayed near Little Rock at the Lake Dardenelle State Park in Russellville, Arkansas. The lake is huge! There was a bass tournament that attracted hundreds. An amazing number of very expensive boats and SUV's. When they launched in the morning, it sounded like an airport.

Sat, 28 Oct 2006: We crossed through Oklahoma and were amazed to see a lot of windmills generating electricity near Oklahoma City. Saw a lot of oil wells. Did see a vineyard: had a sign that said (about their wine) "Like California But Less Fruity"! We then went into Texas. We drove for about 7 hours (431 miles) and stayed near Amarillo. This is the real West....miles and miles of prairie with no sign of human life. Our RV park was on the famous Route 66! What a change from back East: wide open spaces. Daniele and the pets relaxed outside for awhile.














Sun, 29 Oct 2006: Out of Texas and into New Mexico. Beautiful desert scenary that changes with the elevation. Lots of mountain climbing getting into Albuquerque but Destino handled it fine. Lots of windmills again. We drove for about 6.5 hours (387 miles) and ended up in the Kirtland Air Force Base Family Camp. Ate in old Albuquerque, but not very special. By the way, when I say "we" drove, it is true! Daniele had her maiden turn at the wheel and did fantastic.













Mon, 30 Oct 2006: Neat side trip today as we crossed New Mexico: Petrified Forest! It is right on I-40 so we were able to drive through without losing too much time.

We drove for about 7 hours (355 miles) and ended up in the Flagstaff, Arizona KOA. Lots of headwinds and climbing since Flagstaff is a little over 7,000 feet elevation.


Tue, 31 Oct 2006: Off to Vegas Baby!!! We finally leave I-40 and head North across the Hoover Dam and into Vegas. Since 9/11 traffic across the Dam must go through a check point. Pays to have an 82nd Airborne plate on the front and a Cherry Point MCAS sticker since the inspectors consisted of a former 82nd Master Sgt and a Marine Master Gunny...we got through REAL quick!!!


Only 5 hours today (262 Miles). We reached our destination of the Desert Eagle Family Camp on Nellis AFB. The Strip is easily visable and beautiful at night.

So, here we are at our way point before our Mexican venture. Some facts re our trip West:
2595 Miles
346 gallons of gas (about 7.5 MPG for a 35', 10 ton house!)
Gas cost: $759 (most places it was about $2.25/gal)
Campground fees $155.81
Almost zero cost for food since we ate in Destino almost every night