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USA Road Trip 2019

April - July 2019
Simon & Jackie’s 3 month Road Trip across the USA Read more
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  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 12

    Day 11 - Rimming the Black Canyon

    May 3, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Woke up freezing in the RV. Eventually I forced myself out of bed & put the heating. For the next 15 minutes I was Jackie’s skivvy with her barking her orders at me. I made her a cup of tea, got the breakfast stuff out & took the rubbish out (in socks & adventure sandals). I didn’t moan, because I was feeling guilty that Jackie had cleaned up the wine debacle from the previous evening. After having a shower, I even sorted out the poop pipe on my own.

    At 9:45 am, still wearing my adventure sandals without the socks, we set off, back on US-50 through The Rockies. This scenic route followed the Arkansas River on the south side & a railroad on the other. We went through gorgeous high sided canyons, & meadows for approximately 50 miles until we arrived at Salida, a one-time railroad town. We turned off US-50 here & headed about 8 miles north to locate Browns Canyon National Monument. We failed & instead ended up down a private dirt track. Turning round was tricky to say the least.

    We returned to US-50 & soon started climbing higher & higher. Soon we were surrounded by snowy mountains & it actually started snowing. We got into a skiing region & chugged over the 11,312 ft Monarch Pass, where the snow was thick. Monarch Pass is the highest point on US-50 & straddles the Continental Divide. In theory, rain falling to the east of the Pass end up in the Atlantic & rain to west in the Pacific.

    On the other side we stopped to brew a coffee in a tiny scruffy town called Parlin, then continued on to the crossroads cattle town of Gunnison. The town was much nicer than I had imagined, old fashioned buildings & wide boulevards. We stopped at the local Walmart for a few provisions, Jackie was yearning for a steak for her tea.

    At the entrance, we were confronted by the clothes section. I had a quick browse & bought a pair of brown moccasin slippers that took my fancy. Don’t laugh, the slippers are made by Levi Strauss & cost less that $10. Not to be outdone, Jackie insisted on buying a hoodie for $15. We bought some other odds & sods, then realised that the shop didn’t sell any meat or dairy products . They were in the shop next door.

    So we unloaded our 1st trolley full in to the RV, then went to City Market & what a supermarket it was. It had everything we spent ages filling up another trolley full, including 2 juicy ribeye steaks (the upsetting cattle ranches haven’t turned as veggie just yet!). At check out, the till lady asked us if we had a store loyalty card to get our discount. We obviously didn’t, but she borrowed one of another customer & saved us $12.

    I would add at this point that every American we have come into contact with so far has been so lovely & helpful. They also can’t get enough of our accents & feel compelled to ask us where we are from.

    Next we filled up with petrol, where I went to pay up front, Jackie was too premature with the pump & broke the attendants machine. It took several minutes to fix, whilst a queue started forming behind me. It was getting embarrassing, so I pointed out to everyone that it was Jackie who had broken it. We then drove to the Blue Mesa Reservoir where we stopped beside Middle Bridge for a roll & coffee.

    We then continued on westwards to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, where we decided we may stay for the evening. Jackie was worried about the bears & we had a stupid conversation about which of us a bear 🐻 would eat 1st (more of me, but would they want an arthritic foot?). Could we stand in front of one calmly & back away or just run? Jackie apparently is faster than a bear & would run round & round a tree until it gave up!

    We arrived at Black Canyon of the Gunnison N. P. around 3:30pm. We drove up to the entrance gates to the South Rim & I proudly produced my $80 US National Parks Annual Visitors Pass, which allows us free entry to all US National Parks. Otherwise it would have cost us $20 for this visit. The Ranger gave us a map, informed us that there maybe some campsite spaces available & to be careful of the snow, 6” had fallen a couple of days previously.

    Our first stop was the Tomichi Point, where we got our 1st view of the Black Canyon & wow wow what a view. It was breathtakingly beautiful & more than slightly frightening as it was a sheer drop.. After several photos we drove on to the the visitors centre at Gunnison Point where we watched a 20 minute video, explaining how the canyon was formed & how virtually every attempt to explore the bottom of the canyon had ended in disaster.

    The view from the Gunnison Point was just impressive, a couple of photos, then we embarked on the South Rim Road drive, which was in places quite hair raising to say the least. I was just glad I was driving & Jackie was near the edge. Along the route there were stop off points for different lookout points. Some were at the end of 300 - 400 metre tracks.

    We stopped at & hiked to Pulpit Rock Overlook, Cross Fissures View, Rock Point, Chasm View & lastly, but definitely not leastly, Sunset View where the Gunnison River disappeared out to the west. The view seemed to get more & more spectacular. Sunset View was incredible, I would be tempted to use the ‘A’ word, but I can’t bring myself to. Neither my photos & definitely not my descriptions will do justice to the sheer majestic beauty of the Black Canyon. The other massive bonus was that there were so few people around that we had each of the lookout points to ourself. In the silence you could hear the Gunnison River thundering along some 1800 ft below us & numerous hawks soaring on the thermals.

    We called it a day at Sunset View, then drove back along South Rim Road to the South Rim Campground. There were more RVs & caravans than we were expecting (about 10), but we found ourselves a nice private spot with electric hook up still in the sunshine.

    We supped a couple of Colorado Native beers in the setting sun with stupid grins on our faces, but jumped every time there was a rustle in the hedgerow. This was not helped by a sign on our table warning us of bears. Bizarrely we had 2 minutes of snow as the sun went down.

    When the sun went down the temperature dropped dramatically causing us to take shelter & get the heating. We didn’t bother with cooking, just rolls, nuts & popcorn.

    For me it was the best day of our trip so far, particularly as we think we don’t have to pay to stay in the park. Tomorrow, however, could be even better.

    FITBIT = 9,995 steps / 4.64 miles

    Song of the Day - Canyon by Joseph.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 13

    Day 12 - Million Dollar Highway

    May 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    Woke up utterly freezing. I put the heating on, made a cup of tea & waited for Jackie to surface. Outside my wine stained shorts that we had left out to dry were frozen solid, however there was not a single cloud in the sky.

    Just before 9.00am, we set out on the South Rim Road again, this time to visit the lookout spots we didn’t see the previous day. 1st was Devils Lookout, followed by Painted Wall View, Dragon Point and back to Sunset View. In total we did a couples of miles of walking at an altitude of 8000 ft.. The views were just amazing, if not better, with the sun in east giving a different light.

    Around 10.30 am we rejoined the US-50 & drove into Montrose, which is the main town for the region. We turned left & headed south on Highway 550. It was a fairly straight blast through Ridgeway & down to Ouray with a back drop of the San Juan Mountains.

    At Ouray, we stopped for a coffee beside the Hot Springs Park, where several old ladies were wallowing in the pools. We sat on a bench in front of a meadow, where a middle aged man, all muscles & wearing just a pair of shorts ran round & round & performed various exercises. Inspired to exercise, I did a couple of star jumps.

    Feeling much fitter, we set out on the Million Dollar Highway, which took us steeply upwards on a narrow precarious winding road. My arms were aching by the time we reached Red Mountain Pass, it’s highest point at over 11,000 ft. Most of the way down the other side was as equally testing. We arrived in the mining town of Silverton about an hour later having now completed the Million Dollar Highway which is only 24 miles long. It is an exhilarating drive, but not for the faint hearted. It was definitely tricky trying to take photos whilst driving at the same time. It is easy to understand why MDH is one of the best-loved roads in America.

    There are 3 possible explanations as to how MDH got it’s name. The 1st is that a traveller on completing the route declared “If you gave me a million dollars I wouldn’t go over it again “. The 2nd is the it cost that amount to build in the 1930s. The 3rd & considered most likely explanation is that the road builders used the waste product from the local gold & silver mines & only years later was it realised that the road contained ore worth a million dollars.

    We drove up & down the main drag in Silverton, then continued along Highway 550 towards Durango. Again we had to scale another San Juan mountain, then past Purgatory Skiing Resort & Glacier Golf Course before having a fast wide descent into Durango.

    Durango didn’t look much, but it had incredibly large number of motels, so presumably something about it attracted visitors. The region is very outdoorsy, we were amazed how many cyclists (and some runners) we saw on the road between Ouray & Durango, as well as in Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP.

    At Durango we turned right and picked up Highway 160 westbound. We sped straight past the town of Mancos & pulled off at Mesa Verde National Park. We felt it would be rude no to stop, particularly as we had our NP Pass so we stopped & headed for the visitors centre. Mesa Verde NP is all about the Ancestral Pueblo people & how they lived about 550 AD. We decided we would give it an hour of our time.

    At the ticket desk in the visitors centre, I presented our NP Pass & said to the Ranger that we didn’t want a tour, just a look around. She said, “Well how long have you got?” When I said, “About an hour”, she laughed & said it was a 45 minute drive through the park to the site. We made our excuses & left.

    Instead we continued on to the town of Cortez & stopped at the KOA campground where we secured a spot for the night. Unfortunately this KOA did not sell propane & we were desperately low. It was only that morning we realised that we had been boiling the water in our 24/7 for the whole week . We we directed to a garage that would sell it, so we drove out. For the next hour or so it was a total farce as we went from one side of Cortez to the other & back again looking for someone to fill up our propane. On the 5th attempt & now 5 miles out of town we found an old boy at Garden Gas who helped us. To add insult to injury, he filled our propane tank up to full for $2.40. Apparently it was still over half full - indicators are notoriously unreliable.

    Finally back at the KOA, we sat in the really warm sun with a beer & Jackie made that much anticipated steak & salad, which was a huge success.

    FITBIT = 7,312 steps / 3.39 miles.

    Song of the Day - Holy Mountain by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds 🦅

    Bonus Song of the Day :-

    Gas Panic! by Oasis    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 13

    Day 13 - Monumental Valley

    May 4, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Inexplicably, I woke up at midnight and out of the blue decided to change our route completely. After a couple of hours, l had made the decision that we were going to head down to Monument Valley today.

    After breakfast, shower etc we drove out into Cortez around 9.30am to fill up with fuel ⛽️ for the adventure ahead. After another $80 of fuel we headed south to Four Corners Monument on Highway 160. I had identified a KOA campground at Monument Valley, so I implored Jackie to ring them. After a lengthy phone call with lots of flirting on her part (Luckily it wasn’t FaceTime) she secured us the very last spot in the campground with 10% discount for just $32. I was so chuffed.

    Four Corners Monument is as it suggests the corners of four US States meeting at a single point. The four States are Colorado (where we came from), New Mexico to the South, Utah to the West & Arizona to the South-West. We paid the $5 dollar entrance fee & had the obligatory selfie & photo straddling all four US States at once.

    We then dabbled in Arizona, before heading north on Highway 191 into Utah and Native Indian country. We had the very distant teasing glimpse of Monument Valley, but we had other things to visit first. The earth all around us turned very red.

    After what felt like an age on a pretty rough road, we reached Interstate 163 (I’m never sure what to call these roads). We headed south & by chance found the Valley of the Gods (I didn’t even know it existed). We went down a short dusty dirt track, impassable if wet & stopped at a spot with great views of the Gods! Here we had lunch & I practised my panoramic & time delay photos to the point where Jackie had had enough.

    We continued south on I-163 to Gooseneck State Park. It promised fantastic views of the Colorado River at a ‘gooseneck’ bend, but it required a few miles driving AND a Park entrance fee. We discussed this & Jackie told me we weren’t going in.

    In silence, we drove just a couple of miles to a rocky outcrop, called Mexican Hat (not sure why). There was even a small touristy town called Mexican Hat.

    As we headed south & approached Monument Valley you couldn’t be utterly impressed by the vista in front of us, it was totally mind-blowingly stunning. We stopped at most scenic points to take photos. We also risked standing in the middle of the road for that iconic photo. Easier said than done!

    We passed our home for the night & turned left into Monument Valley ‘Park’ to embark on the 17 mile scenic drive. At the entrance gates, the Navajo Indian at the ticket booth informed us that we couldn’t take our RV on the 17 mile drive. We asked what our options were & he said that we could pay the $20 entrance fee, then get a guided tour for about $80 each. Oh no, we were not paying that so we arranged that we would turn around & go back out without payment.

    We went to Goldings Lodge, a supposed Trading Post where they had the filmset cabin used by John Wayne in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. I had now hatched a plan that I would ask anyone at our campsite who had a separate vehicle if we could join them & split the entry price into Monument Valley park.

    We drove to the Monument Valley KOA & checked in with 2 Native Indian women. We told them about our plight & that the park wouldn’t allow us to drive round & they were offering tours for $80. They agreed it was too much, but offered no solution other than to rent a jeep for $200 for 6 hours. They did say that the reason RVs weren’t allowed to drive around the park is because the roads are mud & some RVs got stuck, then sued the park for damages. There is always one or two who ruin it for everyone!

    We set up in our allocated spot in the campground & what an amazing view we had. I decided to put my plan into practice & when the 1st 4x4 with an RV trailer turned up, I sought them out & gave them my spiel. At the end it, the bloke said, “What?”, so I said “Are you going into the park today?” To which he curtly replied “No”. What an absolute miserable bastard.

    Note: over the last few days, most of the RVers have been miserable bastards. I have made it my mission to wave at every single one we pass on the road & recently the positive response has been less than 3 in 10 including fellow CruiseAmericas.

    I returned to Jackie with my tail well & truly between my legs, then had a beer in the sun & we decided we couldn’t be bothered now any way. In our opinion we had seen & photoed the best bits of Monument Valley.

    We may return in a hire car to do the 17 mile route later on our travels, which was my original plan.

    We plotted our ongoing journey, next stop was Arches National Park followed by Canyonlands National Park. It is maybe we will have to stop at a campground in Moab.

    Dinner consisted of sausages, salad & red wine, then bed when the sun had gone down.

    FITBIT = 8,215 steps / 3.81 miles.

    Song of the Day - Red Earth by New Model Army.

    Photos to follow when we get some decent internet    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 14

    Day 14 - US Highway 191 to Arches NP

    May 5, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Woke up to glorious sunshine. After all the usual requirements taken care of we headed north on US Highway 191.

    Just north of Monument Valley we stopped for the most iconic of photos looking back. We hopped in & out of the road, traffic permitting. We took photos in all different permutations & I ended up taking some for a Canadian couple with a posh camera.

    On we headed to the little town of Bluff, where stumbled across Fort Bluff. It was advertised as free, so we stopped. Upon entering the grounds of the fort we were accosted by A couple in old fashioned clothing. They invited us to watch a 14 minute video relating to the history of the Fort, which we accepted & watched in a church.....of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Another fascinating documentary about the plight of the Hole-In-The-Rock Pioneers who trail blazed a route from Escalante to Bluff.

    The Fort Bluff grounds contained various mock-ups of the huts they were living in. There are numerous original artefacts, wagons etc. Jackie declined the opportunity to dress up, but I enjoyed it so I put a donation in the box. Jackie accused me of being tight, but for my generous donation, Kelly & Carly (who had volunteered to work there for a year) posed for a photo with me.

    We continued back on the same road, through Blanding (that lived up to it’s name), Monticello, then into Moab. The scenery had been quite diverse as was the weather, we even had a drop of rain. I attempted a couple of panoramic photos whilst driving along, but I don’t recommend it.

    In Moab we stopped at a supermarket to stock up on a few provisions, beer mainly (wine & spirits are not sold on a Sunday). The plan was to camp in Arches National Park if there was any room available. We returned to the car park to encounter another miserable RVer, then sat in our RV to catch up on ‘social media’.

    We arrived at Arches National Park around 2.00pm & presented my NP Pass. The ranger asked for ID & it was at this point I realised we had mislaid my UK driving licence. We enquired about the possibility of camping in the park & she told us that there was not a chance of there being a vacancy. So as we ascended into the Park, Jackie urgently made a phone call to the Moab KOA campground to see if they still had vacancies. They did & we booked ourselves in for the night.

    Arches NP was busy & the 1st viewpoint, Park Avenue Viewpoint was full of vehicles, so we carried on. We stopped at La Sal Mountains Viewpoint, Courthouse Towers Viewpoint & Petrified Dunes Viewpoint, where we were able to take photos by just stepping out of the RV.

    We continued on to Balanced Rock, where we took a half mile walking trail around said rock, taking photos from most angles. We resisted the temptation to climb halfway up the rock itself. A fork in the road then took off to Garden of Eden, Double Arch, North & South Window & Turret Arch. We could see them from the road, but didn’t stop because again there were way too many people. We come back when it was quieter.

    Next we caught a glimpse of Pothole Arch, then continued to Panorama Point for a ‘panoramic’ photo, then took the next right fork to Wolfe Ranch, where there was a 3 mile trail to Delicate Arch. Again, let’s of people, so we promised ourselves we would do it another day, instead we drove a bit further where we too a short hike about half a mile to Lower, then Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoints.

    We returned to the RV just in time, before the wind suddenly violently got up & we had rain again. This was supposed to be one of the driest places on the planet, yet we were rained on! The strong winds were a reminder of how the weather had eroded this land to create weird Arches & Towers. It is an unforgettable spectacle.

    We left the park & checked into our campground & sat in the warm SUN & plotted our onward travels. The evening finished with Spag Bol & an episode of Dirty John.

    FITBIT = 10,452 steps / 4.85 miles

    Song of the Day - Archway Towers by New Model Army.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 15

    Day 15 - Canyonlands & Dead Horse Point

    May 6, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    After the usual morning routine, including ablutions, we got ready to hit the road. We had signed up for just electric & water at our site, but I had espied a pipe in the ground for us to dump our waste. After a quick discussion we agreed that we would use it.

    I hooked up the poop pipe & held it in place as Jackie released the contents of the toilet tank. The smell was horrendous, so I told Jackie to release the contents of the shower & sink tank. Immediately, the pipe my end started to overflow with foul smelling water, not dissimilar to the scene in the film RV.

    I shouted at Jackie to close off the tanks & I yanked the poop as I could in to the air. I was now stuck holding a slinky type pipe full of dirty, if not worse, water, which was sloshing from side to side. There was no other choice than to release the end of the poop pipe attached the vehicle & take our chances.

    Now holding either end up in the air, the pipe had a mind of his own...it was like wrestling a fat anaconda. I frantically looked for somewhere to dump the contents of this pipe, but I saw a couple watching us, shaking their heads in disgust.

    There was no other choice we would re-enter the pipe contents back into the tank via the toilet. Jackie & I struggled around the RV with the writhing stinking pipe, up the steps, through the kitchen & dining area, through the bedroom to the bathroom, where we gingerly attempted to empty the contents into the toilet whilst I repeatedly flushed the toilet to make it disappear.

    Basically, we had tried to dump our waste in a blocked up pipe. There was a lot of damp soil around our vehicle, including traces of toilet paper. Mortified & in shock, we threw everything back in the RV & made to leave, but inexplicably we stopped at reception to book a space for tonight. We were told that our space from last night was reserved, but they could squeeze us in a few places up. Jackie booked it.

    These events could have been a lot worse! Firstly, the toilet tank could have been a lot fuller. Secondly, the group of 4 lads had gone to breakfast so didn’t witness it. Thirdly, the CruiseAmerica RV immediately had already left & fourthly, the man in the tent on his own with his dog, closest & downhill from us had literally just packed & driven off.

    However, as we were driving to Canyonlands National Park, it started to dawn on me that we had attempted to fill a fresh water tank with our waste. We spent literally the remainder of the day nervously laughing, expecting their to be an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease or closure of the swimming pool (the biggest in Utah) or the entire campground. We did think maybe we shouldn’t go back or changing our appearance, but instead spent several hours perfecting our story to cause least damage / blame.

    Anyway, we stopped for $100 fuel, then drove back up Highway 191 to Canyonlands NP, I flashed the US Parks Pass together with my found UK driving license. We drove to the Island in the Sky Visitor Center & was quite miffed to see that they were advertising that there was still camping availability. We were tempted to book a night here, but our decision was made for us when we saw the enormous queue.

    We marvelled at the Canyon & Colorado River views from the Visitor Center & Shafer Canyon Overlook. Next we took the half mile trail to Mesa Arch, which was spectacular, particularly as through the Arch you could see the canyon below & the snow capped San Juan mountains in the distance. Numerous photos were taken, including some of both us sat in the Arch. Whilst walking to Mesa Arch Jackie managed to trip over & graze most of her right shin, luckily she didn’t mention it again! She is so clumsy & that is why I keep telling her to stay away from edge.

    We moved on to Whale Rock, but declined to scale it, then Upheaval Dome, but there was no available parking space, so we turned round & stopped just up the road at Holeman Spring Canyon Overlook, where we chose to have lunch. After rolls & coffee, we decided we didn’t need to go back to Upheaval.

    Next was Green River Overlook for views of the Green River, funnily enough. We then carried on southwards stopping at Buck Canyon Overlook, Orange Cliffs Overlook & finally at Grand View Point Overlook. The Grand View was the ‘money shot’ with 270 degree views of both the Colorado River & the Green River meandering either side of us & converging in front of us. Their waters continue as the Colorado River & make their way south to the Grand Canyon & Hoover Dam. Here we took a stroll along a Rim Trail, but sadly we didn’t get the end because Jackie’s injured leg was hurting.

    Satisfied we had seen enough of Canyonlands National Park, we drove back through it to the exit, then turned of to Dead Horse Point State Park. It was $20 entry fee for our vehicle. First port of call was the Visitors Center where we took a short nature trail, then watched a short video all about DHP State Park.

    It was during this video we learnt that according to legend, the point was once used as a corral for wild mustangs roaming the mesa. Cowboys rounded up these horses into the neck of the land just 30 yards wide, then fenced it off. The cowboys took the horses they wanted & abandoned the rest in the corral. These abandoned horses either fell to their death or died of thirst, hence the name. Cheery story!

    Feeling jolly, we drove to Dead Horse Point, the 30 yard wide neck of the park. After the obligatory photo it was onto Dead Horse Point Overlook, which was another spectacular view. This time it was of the Colorado River carving a deep sharp meandering furrow around us. We spent time just enjoying the view & possibly delaying the inevitable. It had been a great day visually & as always too difficult to describe.

    Incidentally, Dead Horse Point State Park is the actual location where Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis drove off a cliff in the movie Thelma & Louise. Not the Grand Canyon as it purports in the film.

    Now we were heading back to the Moab KOA to face the music. Somehow I was volunteered to check in whilst Jackie waited in the RV. I put on my game face & was ready to appear indignant if we were accused of anything. We needn’t of worried, they were happy to see us & we were shown to our new site. What a relief. Everything looked rosy again. Our visions of being banned from KOAs, sued & /or deported dissipated, well almost.

    Our evening was spent in the sun, observing all the tent campers setting up around us. It has potentially put me off buying a tent on this trip. At one point I even felt compelled to assist the lone girl directly behind us, whose living tent kept collapsing. Her name was Carmen & she was ‘mighty grateful’, when I had it standing back upright for her! My attempts didn’t last long & she was soon taking the whole thing down, whilst we discreetly watched.

    Jackie believes she is a wrong’un, because she had set up camp for about 5 people, cooked masses of food on the bbq & had a huge bottle of wine. She ate a chicken leg, then spent the rest of the evening packing everything away again. Weirdo.

    We finished up the spag bol & had an our of Netflix before bed.

    FITBIT = 13, 532 steps / 6.28 miles

    Song of the Day = Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de) by Patti Smith

    Bonus Songs of the Day :-

    Dirty Water by Steve Fawcett
    Beating Dead Horses by Mojo Monkeys    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 16

    Day 16 - Highway To Hell?

    May 7, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We woke up having had a really good sleep. We were going hiking today, so we donned the appropriate gear, me - linen shirt, shorts & walking boots & Jackie - her Martina Navaratilova outfit. We sneaked out the campsite without being detained & headed for Arches National Park for the 2nd time.

    We arrived at 10.00am, then sat in a queue until we finally gained entry at 10.30. We headed straight up to the car park for the Delicate Arch Trail, which is a round trip of 3 miles.The outward leg is mostly uphill to an elevation gain of 480 ft. As intrepid explorers, we set off with cameras & a bottle of water each, although Jackie failed to screw the top on properly and managed to water half of the trail!!

    There was a steady procession of people ascending or descending the trail dressed up in all sorts of outfits. Some wore full mountaineering gear with balaclavas & sunglasses (mainly the Japanese & Chinese), whilst others wore vests, skimpy shorts & flip flops.

    I am proud to announce that we overtook numerous people on the ascent, although we set off a bit fast & one re-overtook us. As we approached the top the trail narrowed to a ledge just wide enough for people to pass, then suddenly the Delicate Arch was there in front of us. I’m going to stick my neck out & say that this was the most impressive spectacle we have seen so far on this trip!

    We took photographs from the little plateau where most people had gathered, but we noticed that some people had gone down on to a sloping rock that led over to the Delicate Arch itself. Mustering up all my bravery I slid down a rock on my backside to the sloping rock. I didn’t feel comfortable, but I encouraged Jackie to join me. She refused in her skirt, but undeterred she went further along & to my horror jumped down. Oh my god I panicked, if she had fallen forward she would probably have gone over the edge & to certain death.

    Now a nervous wreck, we edged along the sloped rock towards the Delicate Arch & waited in line for the ultimate photo. Our turn arrived, but my legs were now jelly. I had to say to myself, “What would Evel do?” As a fellow daredevil, I had now choice & we shuffled to the foot of the Arch. I scrambled up a rock then hauled Jackie up for someone to take our photo.

    When we got back on to the plateau it felt so exhilarating, but my heartbeat was out of control. I would that only about 10% of the people attempted to stand by the Arch. Feeling smug for the umpteenth time on this trip, we descended the trail with a bounce in our step.

    Back at the RV we drove up to the further point Devil’ Garden Trailhead, where there were a number of trail options. We chose the 2 shortest trails to Pine Tree Arch, which was impressive & Tunnel Arch, which was a bit disappointing, well to Jackie anyway. I think she was all ‘arched’ out now.

    We drove back towards the park exit, but stopped at Skyline Arch for lunch, well I visited the Arch, while Jackie made lunch. After lunch, we made our final stop at Park Avenue Viewpoint, where I popped out, then we left Arches NP at 2:30pm.

    We rejoined Highway 191 & headed north bound for Salt Lake City some 200 miles away. After just 20 miles of driving the weather took a turn for the worse. We turned westbound on to I-70, past Green River, then back northbound on the 191. We had continued stopping the night at Green River, but so glad we didn’t. There was nothing there, made all the more bleak by the black clouds & rain.

    For the next hour, we drove through driving rain & were battered by strong gusts of wind. The RV was seriously rocking & it felt like we were on the ‘Highway to Hell’. Apologies now. We passed through the god forsaken towns of Wellington & Price, then the weather changed so we stopped for a coffee in the quaint little Historic Mining town of Helper. Great name & we had the chance to see Big John.

    The road then started climbing up into the Wasatch Mountains & into sunshine & fantastic scenery. We got over Soldier Summit and down the other side into a nice little town called Spanish Fork, where got a couple of provisions & $100 of fuel.

    We then raced on through Provo & to the outskirts of Salt Lake City, with the sun beaming through my drivers window. The mountains were topped with snow & white clouds & as the sun shone through, it gave everything a silvery tint, which was quite beautiful even at 70mph.

    But, just 3 mile from our KOA campground in the centre of Salt Lake City, we drove into a black cloud hanging over the City. The temperature had dropped about 10 degrees. We hooked up for the night, Jackie cooked hamburgers & had an early night.

    FITBIT = 17,376 steps / 8.07 miles

    Song of the Day - Highway to Hell by AC/DC.    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 17

    Day 17 - Mormons & Nutters?

    May 8, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Hello! Hello! Hello! My Name is Elder Annals, I like to share this blog of Jesus Christ.........This blog will change your life.......Hello!

    We have woken up in the Mormon dominated conurbation of Salt Lake City. A leisurely start to the morning, including a phone call to my Mum to wish her a ‘Happy 80th Birthday’🎂. She was at hospital, where Dad was having a routine check up!!

    It took a while for the sun to warm up, but by 10.30am we were on the move. We had to walk just 50 yards to the little train station to catch the train into the centre of the city & Temple square. The ticket machine wasn’t working so we jumped on without paying.

    Four stops later we got off at the Arena stop, outside the enormous Vivint Smart Home Arena....catchy name. After taking stock of our bearings, we passed the impressive music venue called The Depot & Devereaux House. We the headed straight for Temple Square with its domineering skyline of steeples & gold statues.

    We entered Temple Square via the South Gate & headed straight for the Visitor Centre. There were various exhibits explaining how Joseph Smith & Brigham Young founded the Mormons & established their epicentre in Salt Lake City (my words, not theirs). We ducked & dived to avoid the hoards of volunteers waiting to trap you in conversation, take you on a tour or possibly more.

    We went back outside & bumped into 2 ‘Sisters’ who welcomed us to Temple Square. As soon as we replied we were deep in conversation, because one of the sisters originated from Manchester, the other was Australian. We had quite a pleasant chat with the 2 sisters & we told them all about our travels....they made their excuses & left. Not really, but we made it abundantly clear we were not looking for any divine intervention.

    We strolled around the complex, admiring the statues & particularly the well tended gardens. We entered the Assembly Hall, then circumnavigated the Tabernacle & entered the North Visitors Centre, where we ascended a spiral ‘Stairway to Heaven’. At the top was an oversized Jesus Christ statue surrounded by sky painted walls & ceiling. There were various unmarked doors off this dome like heaven, one I opened & we walked into a full sized cinema, playing a feature movie of the story of the Mormons. We stayed to watch for at least 20 minutes. It was interesting, but just too long.

    Next we went back out & as we walked past the Tabernacle, I enquired if we could look inside. The sister said we had to wait for the organ recital to finish, but her colleague suddenly opened the door & allowed us in. Inside, an elder then let us & another couple into the auditorium, where we with a reasonable crowd watched a spellbinding organ recital played on the organ with it’s 11,632 pipes.

    During the recital, I received a WhatsApp message from Craig Boswell informing me that I was missing out an all you can eat Brazilian meat feast. After I rang back & we ended up having a video call with my old Fusion Team. They were all sat in a restaurant gorging on endless meat & I was admiring an organ recital........wow, how things have changed!

    Jackie & I then moved on to the Salt Lake Temple, which apparently you are not allowed to enter unless you have converted. However, there were several weddings parties in the grounds. I infiltrated them & started taking photos, whilst Jackie disowned me.

    Leaving Temple Square, we headed uphill to the Utah State Capitol building resplendent on the hill against the azure blue sky. We took a look around the interior, then headed back down the hill towards the Downtown District. We paused in Brigham Young Historic Park, then carried on down the road for a selfie with the Salt Lake Temple. We passed the Beehive House, then headed into Downtown, where the person on the street changed dramatically.

    We went from happy clappy geeks to being surrounded by the homeless & nutters. I don’t think care in the community is practised much here in SLC. Too be fair they didn’t blatantly beg, just barked random noises......Tourette’s?

    We treated ourselves to lunch in Spitz, where we had a pitcher of local beer & shared a doner kebab, not as we know it. After a pleasant lunch, we walked nearly a mile through the badlands of Salt Lake City to the State Liquor Store, because Jackie fancied a white wine. Wine & spirits can only be purchased in Liquor Stores in Utah. That alone is enough to persuade Jackie not to be a Mormon.

    I was instructed to leave my rucksack at the entrance by the heavily armed security guards & only then were we allowed in. We purchased a box of Bootlegger white wine, with a cool wanted poster from Sing Sing Prison for Charles “Lucky” Luciano wanted for Prohibition crimes.

    We walked back to the Arena train stop & jumped on the wrong train. 2 stops later we got off & waited in Old Greek Town with lots of nutters for the train back to the Arena. Seriously there are way too many people wandering the streets that need help. Eventually we got the correct train & arrived back at our campsite at 5pm.

    We enjoyed an hour in the sun, before we were forced to retreat to the RV for warmth. As I write, we have just had a German couple ask us advice on the hosepipes. If only the knew.

    The plan is to get up at silly o’clock & race across Nevada on I-80 to Reno, just the 550 miles. Jackie is even threatening to assist with the driving or is that the white wine talking? We will only know tomorrow.

    We are currently listening to musical soundtracks & quaffing the newly purchased white wine!

    FITBIT = 15,967 steps / 7.41 miles.

    Song of the Day - Hello! by The Book of Mormon (Original Broadway Cast).

    Bonus Songs of the Day :-

    Temple of Love by Sisters of Mercy
    Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 19

    Day 18 - I Shot a Man in Reno!

    May 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Woke up at 5.45am, just 15 minutes before my alarm. Got up & made cups of tea. I allowed Jackie a shower, but not time to put her make-up on, whilst I unhooked & 6.40am we rumbled out of the RV Park.

    We turned on the directions on our phone & the SatNav voice instructed to continue on the same road for the next 520 miles. Not something you hear everyday. (We looked it up, the A1 is the longest road in the UK at 410 miles). We were heading to Reno on Interstate 80 which was a total of 526 miles.

    Around 7.00pm we started to circumnavigate the Salt Lake. It looked quite beautiful shimmering in the early morning sun. Sadly I missed the Rest Stop to get a proper photo. For close on 50 miles the Salt Lake was permanently in our sight on our right hand side. I set the RV to cruise control at 80 mph & sat back to enjoy the views.

    About 75 miles out of Salt Lake City we passed The Tree of Utah aka Metaphor. It is an 87 foot high tree sculpture on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Managed to spot it & photo it as we sped past at 80mph.

    Several miles along we stopped at the Rest Area at Bonneville Salt Flats where there was a plaque commemorating the place where numerous land speed records had been broken, including by Sir Malcolm Campbell. The current record was set here by Gary Gabelich in his ‘Blue Flame’ at 622mph on 23rd October 1970.

    We then drove along a narrow causeway to Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway. Sadly, the Salt Flats were still a lake so I was unable to try & beat the land speed record in the RV!! It was very surreal as we were now surrounded by shimmering silver water. A few photos & panos to mark the occasion, then we were off.

    Next stop, Wendover, which was just over the state line in Nevada. Apparently you are allowed to gamble & drink spirits in Nevada, you wouldn’t know it, by just the one or two (thousand) billboards advertising the fact. First we filled up with $100 of fuel at a petrol station that also doubles as a casino.

    Then we went to see & photo Wendover Will, ‘The World’s Largest Cowboy’ at 90foot tall. We caused chaos on the road as we tried to find his best side from the comfort of the RV. That done, we made do with a Big Breakfast from McDonalds. A strange mix of sausage patty, scrambled egg, hash brown, 3 fluffy pancakes with syrup & butter & a side of Hot Cakes.

    Pretty full we headed back to I-80 & let the RV take the strain in cruise control. We went up & over several mountain passes, passed through the towns of Wells, Elko, Battle Mountain, Winnemucca & Lovelock. We saw signposts for Shafter, Deeth Starr Valley, Devils Gate, Emigrant & Pumpernickel Valley. On 4 or 5 occasions we came across the ominous road signs ‘Prison Area. Hitchhiking Prohibited’. We looked it up & yes they related to the presence of local prisons, the most significant being Lovelock Correctional Center, made famous when O. J. Simpson was sent there in 2008 & released in 2017.

    Jackie was obviously bored, because she discovered the ‘Joy of Siri’. After a bit of experimentation, I was bombarded with WhatsApp messages & poor old Siri attempted to answer every stupid question Jackie could think of. Also somewhere halfway across Nevada we crossed into Pacific Daylight Time Zone, now 8 hours behind the UK.

    We took a ‘comfort’ break at Trinity, where there was some interesting information ‘Travelling Through Hell’ about the California Trail in this location. Trinity marked the start of the barren Forty-Mile Desert which travellers dreaded the most, starvation & dehydration took many a man & animal. A survey in 1850 showed the appalling statistics for this stretch of the trail. They found 1061 dead mules, almost 5000 dead horses, 3,750 dead cattle & 953 graves. Let’s hope we don’t break down!

    Next stop was Terrible’s Casino at Fernley for another $100 of fuel. And then finally we cruised into Reno along Virginia Street & under Reno’s Famous Arch, which proudly proclaims ‘Reno - The Biggest Little City In The World’. Reno looked lively so we decided to return later that evening.

    We then drove the 9 miles to Boomtown to our KOA campground arriving around 4.00pm & relaxed with a couple of beers. At 7.00pm we took an Uber into downtown Reno. The driver Glenn recommended some places to visit & dropped us off back under the Reno Arch. It was not yet dark, so we checked out the Riverwalk- they make too much of these!

    Our first stop was into the Club Cal Neva casino & what smacked us in the face was smell of cigarette smoke & the assortment of lowlifes were all smoking. We circled the floor, then moved on to the Casino at Hurrah. Again everyone was smoking (in fact everywhere in Reno was a smoking zone) & we circulated the several floors enjoying the crazies at play. It felt like a lot of the gamblers had lost their short there & were unable to leave.

    We moved on to Eldorado Resort Casino which was slightly a bit more upmarket & found Roxy’ Lounge Bar, a speciality martini bar, which had been recommended by our Uber driver. We had 102 martinis 🍸 to choose from. I had a Chocolate Duchess & Jackie had a Blue Eyes Martini. They were very nice & we sipped them very slowly (we weren’t having another at $10 a drink), whilst listening to the house band & getting our moneys worth of the free pretzels.

    By now it was dark, so we wandered outside for fresh air & to take photos of the Reno lights. We strolled up & down the Main Street until Jackie had had enough. I tried to shoot the odd photo of some of the ‘colourful sights’ frequenting the casinos, but Jackie curbed this, fearing we would get shot.To be fair she was patient.

    We popped into a couple of dive casinos, The Nugget & Siri’s Casino. Selfie attempts were made at the Reno Arch, then it was back into Eldorado for a beer at Brew Brothers bar, where we had to show our ID, then have our hand stamped. I was slightly indignant, but the doorman handed Jackie a free drink ticket, which meant our 2 beers cost just $5.

    Jackie had built up the ‘Dutch’ courage for some gambling. She wasted a couple of dollars in $1 slot machines, so I went on the hunt & found some 25c slot machines. I changed up $20 notes into $5 notes (last of the big spenders) & gave Jackie $5 to have some fun with. Within minutes her money was gone.

    We went for a wander through Circus Circus & Silver Legacy Resort but gravitated back to Eldorado. I relented & gave Jackie more dollars to spend & at one point she had a Jackpot of $16, we whooped for joy. A woman nearby won a jackpot of over $2000, which made us look a bit silly. I think we ended up about $10 down.

    We did also get a free beer each while playing from one of the rather elderly waitresses who were dressed inappropriately for their age! To celebrate a really enjoyable evening, we went to Lucky Joy’s Noodle Bar & shared a massive plate of Pad Thai.

    We ordered an Uber & got home about midnight, dog tired. Reno is a low budget version of Las Vegas, but it was a great experience.

    FITBIT = 12,231 steps / 5.68 miles. We discovered that my tapping my foot the music in the RV racks up the steps. I walked 2 miles whilst driving!!

    Song of the Day - I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers.

    Bonus Songs of the Day :-

    All The Way To Reno (You’re Gonna Be A Star) by R.E.M.
    Reno by Bruce Springsteen    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 19

    Day 19 - There's a New Sheriff in Town

    May 10, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    We both woke up late, the excess’s of yesterday had caught up with us. Still slightly jaded, we decided to have a relatively relaxed day. After helping ourselves to free coffee from the KOA shop, arranging to stay a further night & getting ready, we tumbled out of the campground at about 10.30am.

    Our journey took us onto Geiger Grade Road & up into the mountains. 30 minutes later, we arrived at our intended destination of Virginia City, an old historic mining town, dubbed ‘The Richest Place on Earth’. The narrow High Street was busy with tourists & parked cars. We saw signposts for parking spots for $7, but decided to explore a bit further.

    We went to the end of the High Street & then on a bit, where we found Fourth Ward School Museum with an empty car park. We parked in the ‘free’ car park, then I went & got permission to leave our RV there as we would be visiting the museum later.

    We strolled down into Virginia City High Street & browsed the touristy, but fascinating historic buildings. We resisted the urge to get breakfast at Virginia City Jerky Co & Smokehouse BBQ, but my resistance was broken at the prospect of a ‘World Famous Pondo Dog’ in the Pondarosa Saloon. We both had that World Famous large hotdog.

    The Pondarosa Saloon was a functioning bar, but it was also effectively a museum stuffed with artifacts. It was same at all the other bars, namely The Washoe Club (the oldest saloon in Virginia City), The Original Bucket of Blood Saloon & Silver Queen Hotel & Wedding Chapel. We were able to wander into each & everyone of them to look at all the items of interest. Sadly, due to an unexplained explosion in March 2019, the Delta Saloon was closed. It contained The Suicide Table (3 of it’s owners committed suicide) & the $100,000 globe.

    The Silver Queen Hotel had actually had a wedding take place in their chapel at 11.00am that morning. The Silver Queen is depicted as a huge painting on the wall & her dress is actually made from silver coins. It was also a brothel frequented by the notorious prostitute, The Wild Rose.

    We also visited the excellent Storey County Courthouse, which housed 10 cells, each with a display about life in Virginia City in the 1800s. There were numerous other buildings we visited, but too many to list. Finally we stopped at Virginia City Mercantile, a great little shop full of American memorabilia. We bought a weird flavoured assortment of chewy sweets & Jackie insisted on gold Sheriffs Badge with her name on it.

    We walked back to the RV & sneakily drove off, without paying $6 each to visit the Fourth Ward School Museum. I wanted to drive through Gold Hill & Silver City, but RVs weren’t allowed down the road. I believe it was too steep & windy, so we made do with the truck route to Carson City, named after Kit Carson. We drove around, but didn’t see anything too interesting, so we went to Walmart for further provisions.

    Next we drove out to Washoe Lake State Park & pulled over by the lake shore for lunch in our camping chairs. It was baking hot & surrounded by snow capped mountains, all very nice. We headed back to Boomtown & our RV park to get some mundane chores done. Jackie had planned to get a bag of washing done, but the washing machines were out of use until the morning.

    There was nothing for it, but to sit in the sun & catch up on my blog etc. It was all very pleasant until out of the blue we heard some bloke shouting & swearing. We looked round, but couldn’t see anything. Every so often he would start up again, which was totally out of keeping with the rest of the campground.

    During a lull in rants, I decided to go & investigate, so I walked to the end of the park & looked out over the river & soaring eagles above. I waited about 5 minutes, still no sound, so started to walk back. Then suddenly all hell broke loose, a big fat bare chested 60 something year old man burst out of his caravan & screamed at me “Don’t you go f**king looking in my windows”. I asked him what he was talking about & he screamed “I saw you looking through my f**king windows”. I told him he was being stupid & that I had been looking at the river. He continued to scream & shout, so I turned my back & walked away from him, praying he wasn’t going to shoot me! Where is a Sheriff when you want one?

    On the way back to our RV, two, let’s say long term residents with an armchair outside their caravan, ladies called me over & asked what his problem was. I told them what had happened & they said they were nervous, but it should be alright because their neighbor was a cop & her partner was an ex-cop. I accidentally blurted out that so was I, damn. They then told me that they had access to guns in their caravans if they needed it. Great we were going to get caught up in a shootout!

    I believe security sent him packing not too much later. The remainder of the evening was fortunately uneventful, although it did make us realise there are some right oddballs at RV parks, probably more so in Reno. The man next door to us has spent 2 days polishing his truck & careful coiling up all of his cables & pipes in concentric circles on the ground. I know someone who would be very proud of him!!!

    FITBIT = 10,653 steps / 4.94 miles??

    Song of the Day - Sheriff Fatman by Carter The Unstoppable Machine.

    Bonus Songs of the Day :-

    Buckets of Blood by The Offenders
    The Madman by The White Buffalo    Read more

  • Simon and Jackie AnnalsUSA Road Trip 2019
    Day 20

    Day 20 - A Celebration at Lake Tahoe

    May 11, 2019 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    We got up at sensible hour (having survived the night!), showered, breakfasted etc then hit the road around 10.00am. We were on a mission to get a nice scenic spot for about midday to have a video WhatsApp with my parents & the rest of my family who were rudely celebrating my Mother’s 80th Birthday without us!

    Our planned scenic spot was Emerald Bay State Park on the west side of Lake Tahoe. We took I-80 westwards until we reached the California State Line & a California Border Protection Station. We were stopped & asked to produce what fruit & veg we had on board. Jackie went in to our kitchen area & returned with a handful of apples, oranges & assorted mixed salad. The guard was only interested in the oranges for inspection & gave them the all clear.

    I exchanged pleasantries with him, then accelerated away. Unfortunately I had forgotten that Jackie was returning the greens to the open fridge & she lurched forward banging her head on the sink (& possibly swallowing a bag of 3 oranges).

    After Truckee, we turned left towards Lake Tahoe on Route 89, a fantastically scenic drive following the Truckee River to Tahoe City & the shore of Lake Tahoe. Of note : we noticed that unlead fuel prices were now double what they were in St Louis.

    We travelled south down the western shore of Lake Tahoe admiring the grand houses on the lake shore. We stopped at a scenic spot for a selfie on the pebble beach. The water was crystal clear, sparkled silver & in the background mountains were snow capped. We could & should have stayed here all day.

    We arrived at Emerald Bay only to find the area had been infested with Japanese or Chinese tourists. Every available parking spot was taken up by them & there was no chance of us squeezing in our RV. So regrettably we continued southwards straining our necks to admire the views as best as we could as we drove along.

    Eventually we arrived in South Lake Tahoe still on the California side amongst its low-rise motels & followed the lake round, but stopped short of crossing back into Nevada. We were now conscious of the time & were looking for anywhere suitable to have our WhatsApp video call with a relatively scenic backdrop.

    We drove round & round & ended up parking in a Safeway supermarket. Evidently, Lake Tahoe doesn’t cater for RVers. We sneaked out of the ‘customer only’ car park & wandered along the southern end for a suitable broadcast stop. We found it, a rocky beach that was empty of other people, because it was quite an ordeal to get to.

    With a few minutes to spare we donned our happy birthday tiaras & practiced with our non-tooting tooters. I caught a Japanese tourist taking a photo of us dressed up in our party outfits. At 1.00pm, we received the video call & we burst into our rendition of Happy Birthday. For 10 minutes we had a long distance (exactly 5,218 mile) video call with my Mother & whole family who were tucking into the finest food at the Spread Eagle Hotel In Midhurst, whist Jackie & I made do with a cheese & bovril roll!!

    After what I think & hope was a successful video call, we put away our tiaras, & strolled along to El Dorado Beach or patch of sand. It was full of Hispanics having bbqs, so we didn’t stay long & decided to head out to our next campground.

    We picked up Highway 50 & almost immediately we were stopped again at a California Border Protection Station. I informed the guard that we had been stopped earlier & he was only interested in our oranges. The guard asked to see our oranges, but said he wanted to have a look in our fridge as well. This is where things went downhill!

    I turned to open up the side door & accidentally leant on the horn, making everyone including myself jump out of our skins. We let the guard into our RV & then went to retrieve the oranges for him. For the next 5 minutes plus, we hunted high & low looking for 3 oranges in a bag. It was embarrassing to say the least. I kept apologising to the guard & got more annoyed with Jackie for not remembering where she put them. In the end, the bored guard had had enough & said that he trusted us & sent us on our way. (At the time of writing, we still haven’t located the oranges 🍊 & I’m now wondering if I left the 1st guard still holding them when I sped off).

    Now not talking, we climbed up into the gorgeous Sierra Nevada Mountains. After the summit we had the most enjoyable drive down the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We descended some 4000 feet on a meandering road flanked by pine trees & a fast flowing river. We passed through the villages of Kyburz, Pollock Pines, Camino & the town of Placerville before arriving at our campground.

    What a lovely surprise the Placerville KOA turned out to be. A nice grassy campground out in the countryside & our allocated spot was secluded, sunny & overlooking fields & woods. We got our washing sorted, then spent the remainder of the afternoon sitting in our camp chairs sunbathing. We have made the decision to do nothing tomorrow, but sunbathe, as it promises to be a sweltering ☀️😎 27 degrees.

    FITBIT = 7,941 steps / 3.69 miles.

    Song of the Day - Celebrate by An Emotional Fish.

    Bonus Songs of the Day :-

    Lake Tahoe Eyes by little hurricane
    Happy Birthday by Altered Images    Read more

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