Merry Christmas

Hi all
What a great holiday!
Time with family and friends
blizzard on it's way
So thinking about the warmer weather down south!

We spent Christmas eve at Chelsey's house
Yes, she is a Old House owner.
Great food, sure glad we can all cook.
A bit hard on the belt line, but Oh so good!

I got just what I wanted this year.
Christmas with my immediate family.
We had a guest this year,
Lucy, a Weimaraner that Chelsey is watching for friends.
She is old and deaf, and such a lovely old gal.
Loves her scratches and head pets.
Also got into the Christmas spirit.

Of course Chelsey's 3 year old Freyja, a Goldendoodle
also had to be in the action.
Fun to watch her find the tennis balls in the pile of paper.

And Elska our 14 year old Multipoo
cuddled on the couch, or hid on Freyja's bed (in the background above) and watched.
I think she did not want to get lost in the paper.

Christmas day Millie, Carissa, Chelsey and I spent the day at our house
watching Christmas movies and snacking on Christmas goodies.
Was so nice and relaxing, except the 6 dogs kept us busy with
the "in and out" game.
That did encourage them to all sleep well that night.

Our friends Greg and Eileen stopped by after morning church for coffee.
Nice to catch up with them as we hardly are ever in the same town at the same time.

Millie and I got ourselves an irobot for hard surface floors.
We named it Rosie,
what else, robot maid, remember the Jetsons?
And a bit for one of our past cleaning ladies with the same name.
Been without a cleaning person for some time now
and really happy to have our own floor cleaner.
We can usually keep up on the rest
now just need a bot to do windows!

I have been spending time making trim parts for Chelsey's house
and trying to get all duties caught up so we can continue our journeys.
Millie has been quilting away
and loving every minute she gets to spend in her quilting studio.

Hope you all have had a great Christmas
and enjoying Monday off.

Make your day great and have a Happy New Year
Tom and Millie

Turkey Day

Hi all
Hope you can get the belt back to where it was Wednesday!

We had a great day.
Spent with family and dear friends.
Lots of food
and a few slow eaters.

Watched some football, including Sophia!

Thanks Don and Sue for hosting again this year.
Glad we came home for the holidays.

Today is now November 25
ONE MONTH TO CHRISTMAS!
Better start making my list.

Make this season the best one yet!
Tom and Millie

Home

Hi all
We made it home last evening
Unpacked a few things
then went to see our Daughter's new (to her) home.
Had a great pizza and a quick look see
of all the projects going on.
Lots of work ahead
I can see sleeping good
many nights in the future.

Remember
Tom and Millie's Big Adventure
will continue.
Post may be less frequent
however our journey continues.
BA2.1 Will begin in December.

Make every day great
since God saw fit to give you a new one to work with.
Tom and Millie

Kearney, NE

Hi all
All most 700 miles today.
We are tired,
quick sub
a glass of wine
a shower and
off to bed.

Drive was intense
and I70 in Colorado is a spectacular drive.

Rest areas are interesting.
Guess they ran out of important people to name things after.

Sunset on the road
at a rest area.

Tomorrow we should be home
a little shorter than today
and if we get an earlier start..........

Look out Fargo,
here we come.
Tom and Millie

4 states in one day!

Hi all
We did well today.
about 550 miles and made it to
Fruita, Colorado.
Staying at a LaQuinta Inn
they are a bit more expensive,
but do not have "per pet" charges
that could make less expensive places
actually more expensive.
Looking forward to a good night's sleep
and breakfast tomorrow.
Going for 600 miles tomorrow
we shall see............

We got a good show
of the almost Super Moon
rising over the desert cliffs north of
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah.
So nice, had to pull over and attempt a few shots.

Make your day great and enjoy the Super Moon.
Tom and Millie

Travel

Hi all
Today we start our trek home.
Time to find out how far we can go in a day.
Yesterday we got the trailer ready for and into storage.
Packed all the stuff going home in the back of the truck.
Had a great spaghetti dinner
With Shawn, Mark, Cassie and her children, and Dean.
Homemade sauce was excellent!
Thanks Shawn and Mark for your hospitality
And a little storage space.

See you tomorrow,  somewhere down the road.
Tom and Millie

Henderson, NV

Hi all
As you may have guessed
this is the end of our fall journey.
We have located storage for the BWB
Eaten out lots, really good food,
and purchased new paws for the truck.
Now we are packing up the BWB
and bringing home stuff that we have not used.
Extra clothes and gifts.
Going to be able to leave
some things with Shawn and Mark.
To lighten our load going home
and not wanting to leave in the trailer.
So great they are willing.
Tomorrow we will finish up
getting the trailer ready
sleep one more night in our BWB
and Sunday clean out the tanks
and place in storage till we get back.
So Monday Morning we head back home
to help Chelsey get into her new house
and do projects.
Thanksgiving with friends
and family for Christmas.
Then back to the fun and games.

Make each day great
and I will continue to post.
Tom and Millie

We're Back!

Hi all
Last few days in Valley of Fire State Park
was, no other words explain as well,
AMAZING!!!
So far I believe it ranks #1
on our top 10 list.
The camp sites in the dry area are just great

and out solar collector did a great job
keeping the batteries full after
evening and night usage.

We did many hikes

couple of hours for the longest

and saw so much nature carving,

sculpting and color pallets.

I will just post a bunch of the photos
for you to enjoy, without too much print.

The Fur Kids really got into the sandstone.

As did Millie.

The vistas on the drive were wonderful

And some of the other sites
such as the petroglyphs

Flora

Minerals

and last but certainly not least
Tom playing in the firelight with a flashlight!

Make your day great
Tom and Millie

Valley of Fire

Little or no service
See ya in a few days.

Big Travel Day

Hi all
Yesterday was busy.
Putting things away in the BWB
Laundry
Quilting
Naps
Visit to museum
Clean out the truck
and welcoming new camping neighbors.
Went out for some fine dining
Was nice and weather still great to sit outside.

Park museum was nice
Loved the relief map of the park.

The views from the veranda are spectacular.

And the cloudy, rainless, skies added a bit to the drama.

Our stay at Zion has been great.
The RV Park, run by Quality Inn
worked out well for us to enjoy the area.
The staff was friendly,
even though they were having some sewer line issues,
none effecting the area we were in.

Today we move on traveling through 3 states
totaling about 75 miles.
Oh yeah, big travel day.
It's all about timing today.
We would not expect to find a spot in Valley of Fire
on a Saturday of a beautiful weekend.
So we are going to a Casino for a big Saturday night.
Then tomorrow we can reach VoF early
and hopefully find a great spot for a few days of dry camping.

Make your day great and rejoice in another day.
Tom and Millie

Nearly time to leave

Hi all
Yesterday we took the Fur Kids on the one trail in the park
that allows  pets.
They had a great time and it was only
about 2 miles long.

Elska made it all the way and

was one happy girl to be along.

The Boyz even settled down and
were behaving quite well when
we got to the visitor center and lots of people.

Back to the BWB about 2 PM
had a snack and a nap.

Met another couple that had a newer Passport trailer
and visited with them for a bit about modifications.
Then went into town and did a little shopping.
Home and pork steaks, veggies and rice.
Great supper after a great day.
Made a campfire and
enjoyed watching the stars.
Slept pretty good and up early
Today we put the BWB back into
travel mode, do a little laundry and
get us all cleaned up.
Tomorrow we move on.
Really enjoyed our time at Zion
Now looking forward to Valley of Fire.

Make your day great and say "Hi" to someone you don't know.
Tom and Millie

Emerald Pools

Hi all
First of all, our campsite.

We have been fairly secluded
and have appreciated it, along with full hookups
and great showers, big enough to share.

Yesterday we did about 3 miles hiking
only some of it steep and rocky.

Yes, Millie was able to hike this close to the edge
however, she did keep hold of the wall.
Beautiful views of the Virgin River Valley
and the surrounding "mountains".
Maybe more accurate, canyon walls.

The pools each had their own characters
and I found it nearly impossible
to capture the grand experience in photographs.

We were so close to the canyon walls
and I did not have a wide enough angle lens,
to capture the experience.

If you ever have the chance to visit Zion NP
DO IT!
We are, ok, I am, a pretty slow hiker.
The info said the hike we took would take about 3 hours.
We did it in 5!
I stop a lot not only to rest, but to take photos.
And on this hike sometimes just stopping to take it all in.

Hard to believe some of this exists in a desert.
Nearly rain forest like little ecosystem
with cactus and yucca.

When we finished the hike
the reward was $7 beer at the lodge.
Wasn't so much the attraction of the beer
as the feeling of the reward
for a great day and a great hike.

Back to the BWB
and our fur kids, who were happy to see us.
Home made pizza
a couple of cool ones
and out around a campfire with
our furry lap warmers.
They really cuddled last night
I guess they missed us.

Today they get to go along.
One of the trails is pet friendly
and is 3 miles long, although
we can do only half of it
in case Elska can't make that far.

A little shopping
should fill out the day.

Make your day great and enjoy the New Moon.
Tom and Millie