Tonopah Arizona Area

One of the first things linda and did was get information on some of the hiking trails in the area.  We decided to hike the Vulture Peak Trail.  Its located just outside of Wickenburg, about 5 miles.  The trail is just over 2 miles long but we had to hike another mile and a half miles just to get to it.  The road/trail is in pretty bad condition and we didn't want to harm the truck, so we walked a little extra.  The trail was pretty because the cactus were just starting to bloom.  It was a very steep trail with a lot of loose rock at the peak.  The view made it all worth while though.  We did not encouter any wildlife except a squirrel at the top that was used to being fed by humans, he was worth half a power bar. lol

HIKING SADDLE MOUNTAIN

Saddle Mountain is many things to many people, it is a special piece of Public Land that  holds vast and precious parts of Arizona's history.  Known as a landmark for travelers from the ancient days to present, it is to this day a place that offers solitude and provides a sense of remoteness that carries visitors away from the hustle and bustle of city life.  We hiked as much of it as we could squeeze into our month, and found it to be a great place to get away from it all.  If you ever get out this way I would recommend Saddle Mountain, if you enjoy peace and quiet.

The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse of the world's desert.  The area around Saddle Mountain contains both Colorado River and Arizona Uplands types of Sonoran Desert.  While low rainfall reduces the quality of plant and animal species there is still a wide range of interesting and unique wildlife.  Found in this habitat are cougars, mule deer, kit foxes, desert bighorn sheep, coyotes, desert tortoises, cotton tailed rabbits and kangaroo rats.

Petroglyphs can be carved, pecked, chipped or abraded into stone.  The outer patina covered surface of the parent stone is removed to exposed the usually lighter colored stone underneath.  Petroglyphs sites include the surrounding area and may include prehistoric campsites and a host of other archaeological interests.

Saddle Mountain is also home to the Gila Monster and several types of lizards and snakes.  We saw a lot of lizards and only one rattle snake.  I was beginning to think Arizona had run out of them. 

 We managed to hit the desert just right again.  The cactus were blooming as well as lots of desert flowers.  The cactus are so very pretty but very delicate, as the flowers only last a day or so.

 We did have an Owl couple that nested in the RV Park while we were here.  There was a couple of different stories going around about the owls.  We were told that the female had a chick that fell out of the nest and they had a funeral for the chick.  The second story is that one of the owls swopped down and got a campers cat and killed it.  This is a tough park.

We have enjoyed our stay here at Saddle Mountain RV Park.  The people here are very friendly and are quick to let you know if there is something to see or do in the area.  There is still a lot of area to discover for us.  We look forward to returning.

TUCSON ARIZONA

We spent a month at Diamond J's in Tucson, Arizona.  The campground is is located next a large stretch of BLM land and Tucson Mountain Park.  We hiked a large portion of their trails and two tracks.  A few members of the campground folks formed a hiking group, so Linda and I hiked with them a couple of times.  We did managed to see some petroglyphs, an owl, and a cactus with 60 some arms.  I would recomend Diamond J's just on location alone.  However, if you are looking for bathrooms, showers, swimiming pool. etc., you might want to look into the campground next door.



All of the trails we hiked were measured in miles.  The hike out to the Owls nest was about 4/5 miles, but well worth it.

There were several things we wanted to accomplish on this trip to Tucson.  The Biosphere 2 was on the top of my list.  Biosphere 2 was opened to the public in 1990.  The engineering marvel was created to better understand how natual enviroments create habitable conditions for human sustainability.  Biosphere 2 contains recreations of five of Earth's biomes, plus a human habitat and a large ecologial experiment facility.

Traveling Texas

We left Gulf Shores behind and headed for the Old West.  It was sure hard to leave old friends and some new friends behind.  It sure seemed like our six months at the Breeze went by in a hurry.

We headed out on a new adventure.  We decided to take Interstate 10 as far as San Antonio and get onto route US90 the remainder of the way across Texas.  Our first stop while crossing Texas was Beaumont.  It rained on us when we got to it and it never let up.  So all we can say about Beaumont is it rains there, a lot.

We left Beaumont behind and headed for D'hanis Texas.  Its a small town with an extreme amount of train traffic.  We stayed in a new campground that was just being built.  I would recommend this stop for anyone going this was.  D'hanis also offered a hardware,grocery,souvenir and cafe, rolled into one building.  It was run by some really nice ladies.  The food was terrific and meeting some of the locals was an extra bonus.

Our next stop on the Holland express was Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site.  Ancient pictographs, rugged limestone terrain and spectacular canyons lure visitors here every year.  Fate Bell shelter contains Pecos River rock art dating back 4000 years.  It is considered to be some of North Americas oldest pictographs.

This a must see kind of place.  Absolutely beautiful.  They also offered some great hiking trails.  Linda and I took the 6 mile trail that went down to the Rio Grande River.

No trip across Texas is complete without a stop in Langtry.  The entire Judge Roy Bean story unfolds before your eyes.  They have a gorgeous visitor center staffed with some very knowledgeable people.

FORT MASSAC STATE PARK, ILLINOIS

Fort Massac State Park is located just outside of Metropolis, Illinois, the home of Superman. Linda and I decided to visit the fort, as its been 20 or more years since we last visited it. It is replica of an 1802 American fort.

In 1757 the French built Fort di L'Ascension (Fort Ascension) on the low bluff top site in order to protect their route to forts along the upper Ohio River. This first fort was described as "in ruins" by 1760, but was rebuilt that spring by the French and renamed Fort Massiac in honor of Monsieur Massiac, French Minister of Colonial Affairs for the New World. Under the treaty of 1763, the French surrendered the fort to the British. After being abandoned, it was burned to the ground in 1765. The British did not rebuild the fort. In June 1778 the location was visited by George Rogers Clark, enroute to capture the British garrisoned at Vincennes. The Americans erected their first Fort Massac (the Anglicized spelling) on top of the French fort site in 1794. Fort Massac soon became a major entry point on the Ohio River for settlers entering the Illinois country from the east and south. The stockade walls were rebuilt by the Americans four or five times between 1794 and 1814. Each fort was built atop the ruins of the former fort, but each was larger than its predecessor.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark stopped at the fort November 11 through 13, 1803, with the intention of collecting non-commissioned officers and privates to accompany them on their westward explorations.

Linda and I spent several days exploring the fort. It is left open to visitors all the time, so you can come and go as you please. The campground is located within walking distance of the fort which made is handy for us. All of the trails in the park were under water as the Ohio River was flooded.

Metropolis is located just outside of the fort and features a very large statue of Superman. Harrah's also has a casino in Metropolis which can be good or bad depending upon your luck, at

the time.

FORT PICKENS

We have spent the winter here in Gulf Shores, Alabama. I have wanted to visit Fort Pickens for a long time. It is part of a four forts that guarded Pennacola Bay. Fort Pickens, as well as the other three forts, Barrancas, McRee, and Morgan were all built with slave labor. It took 21 million bricks to build just Fort Pickens. Fort Pickens is the largest of the four forts. Fort Pickens was the only one of the forts to stay under Union control during the Civil War.

There is a small campground located on the island close to the fort, to small for me. It is all part of the Gulf Island National Seashore. It is very beautiful on the island and worth the drive over from Gulf Shores.

The fort is very much intact, even thogh its been thru several hurricanes. I guess they lost a few cannons with the last storm. We plan to visit it again while we are here for the winter. If you get to the area I would recommend taking a visit to the fort.

GUNTERSVILLE LAKE, ALABAMA...AREA

We really enjoyed the trip to Guntersville and the surrounding area. We hooked up with our good friends Benny and Fran Flynn. Fran was born and raised in this area. We met some of Fran's family and found them to be so very nice and friendly. If we ever get back this way I hope to see how Chuck and Bob are doing with the buffalo. Benny and Fran showed us some of the most beautiful and scenic areas I have ever witnessed. We covered a lot ground in a short time.

Noccalula Falls was a great place to start. We drove out to the Falls early in the morning and took a picnic lunch with us. I thought the trail to the bottom of the falls was good but the falls were even better. There is a legend that about the falls. It seems a young Indian maid was promised to a rich chief of a powerful neighboring tribe. She already had a young brave she wanted to marry. The chief banished the young brave from the tribe and promised her to the other chief. Noccalula slipped away on her wedding day and leaped from the brink of the falls.

We took trip to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, in Scottsboro. This is where the airlines sell the merchandise that goes unclaimed. It turns out that they have no idea what used merchandise should cost. In some cases they were asking more for used than you could purchase for new.

We traveled to Little River Canyon National Preserve. It offered some scenic vistas and waterfalls. It offered a 23 mile drive along the canyon's rim. This is one of those places you just want to hang around all day.

We enjoyed the trip to the Cathedral Caverns State Park. It is billed North Alabama's Hidden Treasure, and lives up to its name. Located near the north Alabama towns of Grant and Woodville it is a great day trip destination. The cave's massive 126-foot-wide, 25-foot-high entrance makes a lasting impression.See the beauty of stalagmite formations and hear the sound of water as Mystery River crosses the caverns. It takes about an hour and a half to tour the cave. The cave temperature is a constant 60 degrees all year.

I like the Desoto Falls, its part of Desoto State Park. We couldn't figure a way to get to the bottom of the falls, I guess that's something we will figure out the next time. There is supposed to be a large cave underneath the falls. There is nothing like a good cave to make a person want to return.

When you go exploring with the Flaps, you never know where you might end up. Benny decided that Georgia wasn't that far. We ended up visiting Cloudland Canyon State Park, and it was worth the drive.

CORNERSVILLE TENNESSE AREA

We left Illinois and traveled to Cornersville, Tennessee. It is a small town in south central Tennessee. We camped at the Texas T RV Park, its right off Interstate 65 at the 27 mile marker. We parked the motorhome and used the truck to explore the area. We enjoyed our tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. The distillery is located in the town of Lynchburg. The town square has a few restaurants that are very nice and they people are so pleasant.

We also liked David Crockett State Park. Shoal Creek runs through the middle of the park and there are trails that run along side. Linda and I hiked the 3 mile trail that starts at Crockett Falls.

We also found the Meriwether Lewis Memorial, its located on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway is a 444 mile stretch that runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.

Some of our other discoveries were a family of snakes that lived in the creek that runs behind the campground, we liked the pioneer cemetery that had concrete covers over the graves. If anyone knows why they did that we would sure like to know?