Caught a glimpse of them flying low over the Griffith Park area. I don't generally get excited about that kind of stuff but that was really cool. Made me proud to be an American.

 

Here's a few pictures we took at Friendship Park in San Pedro. The shuttle came north over Long Beach and turned out to the coast headed right at us, then directly over us and turned east headed for central L.A. area and eventually LAX.
Enjoy.

 

You can see my viewpoint with the Vincent Thomas bridge in the background.[/IMG]

 

Nice Bob

 

Very cool!

 

I also had a 'proud to be an American' moment today. Watching the people be naturalized is very cool. They are all excited, they all worked hard for it and they are achieving their American dream.

Sometimes we forget how lucky we have it. I was honored to be apart of it.

About 8000 in total were naturalized, including some decorated soldiers.

 

Dawn in Amarillo.

Across Oklahoma today into Western Missouri.

Only problem has been a battery went dead for one of the trailer's TPMS sensors. Went to Radio Shack last night. Waaa-laaa!

Also, Marge's iPhone car charger's plug broke the wires off.

The Shack has ALL that stuff!

All's well again!

On the road again with....

Pop

 

Have a nice I-44 day Marv, tossing coins into the peach baskets

No incidents Trey? Good deal

 

oh, we had incidents...

 

Hopefully not too bumpy from 50 years of patchwork!


"The stretch of I-44 between Riverside Dr. and Yale Ave. in Tulsa is one of the oldest sections of interstate in Oklahoma. (In fact, it was built before the creation of the Interstate System in 1956!) The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is working to widen this area from four lanes to six, and to upgrade the intersections at Riverside Dr., Peoria Ave., Lewis Ave. and Harvard Avenue. This $360 million project will greatly improve the traffic flow and safety for this corridor.
During the first phase of construction, completed in 2010, a 1.25 mile long drainage structure was built on the north side of I-44 between Riverside Dr. and Yorktown Avenue. This massive structure is 30 feet underground, and contains nearly 35,000 cubic yards of concrete and almost six million pounds of steel. It serves as a major drainage structure for this entire corridor.
The second phase of construction is underway in the Harvard Ave. corridor; the third phase is underway in the Riverside Dr./Peoria Ave. corridor. The final phase will be the Lewis Ave. corridor, tentatively scheduled for bid in 2012. The overall project is expected to be complete in 2013.
There are many daily lane and ramp closures for these projects. Please click on the "Traffic Advisories" link on the left side of this page to access information on daily lane and ramp closures."

 

Steve,

No coins in any baskets today, as Nuvi took me through town rather than the Kilpatrick (where those "exact change" baskets are). 40 direct to the 44. Just paid the main toll booths on the Turner and the Rogers. Don't know why, as every other time she's routed me around on the northwest. Maybe she knew traffic in Oak City would be light on a Saturday. Dunno...

Sean,

Yea, there is "some" construction going on in Tulsa! However, as I mentioned above, Saturday made it more tolerable.

And yes, the two-lane part is still there!

We're in Lebanon, Missouri tonight.

Just a two-and-a-half-hour drive to drop the trailer and then scoot into St. Louis for the night tomorrow evening. Then back out to Gray Summit Monday morning for the week.

Still on the road with....

Pop

 

Packing up here in the motel room this morning, then going down for a bite, then off again, across about half of Missouri.

Travels with...

Pop

 

In Chi-town this weekend.

Helped mom pick up a new set of wheels. Those 78 yr olds like to go fast!

 

And WHY NOT?

Y' only go around the sun just so many times, and you don't which one will be incomplete.

Pop

 

September seems to be the month for travel.

Espousa and I headed out for a week of wandering in the fifthwheel. Headed north on I-15 as far as Cedar City, then east up the mountain on UT-14 to Duck Creek Campground, near Duck Creek Village. Really nice Forest Service campground there, large. We spent 2 nights here under the pines and aspen.



We did a little trail riding, but this area is a big ATV destination, and many of the trails are for the little Utes only. A bit disappointed in that. I guess they think my truck is going to do more damage than those little buggies zipping around. But, we saw nice country anyway.



We then headed southeast on 89 toward the Grand Canyon North Rim. Haven't been to the NR in at least 30 years, while visiting the South Rim has become routine. We found this really neat spot for dispersed camping, free of charge, and just a few miles from the entrance to the park. Obviously a popular hunters camp, it was already well stocked with firewood. We didn't get around to using any. We spent two nights here. Didn't see a single vehicle passby camp.



As always, the canyon is beautiful from any direction.




After two days we continued east on 89 and then northeast on 160, through the Four Corners Monument area, through Page AZ. Just outside to the east of Page we spent some quality time getting to know other folks stuck in this traffic backup.



Still haven't learned the details of what started the fire, or if there were injuries. But I think the backup was about 2 hours, of which we only enjoyed the final 30 minutes.


We continued northeast through Cortez CO, then Dolores CO, and camped on the West Fork of the Dolores River. This is my first experience with Forest Service campgrounds that offer electrical hookup. For the low price of only $22/night, and a very nicely maintained ground. We spent 2 nights here, at about 7,800' elevation.


The Dolores River is a decent sized waterway, and the West Fork runs down a beautifully forested canyon, very dense forest. The section through the campground offered wonderful safe pools for fishing or playing. I wasn't fishing, but Boey enjoyed playing.



We did a bit of dirt-roading here too. The colors were just beginning to change, but not yet spectacular. The views are spectacular regardless of color. This little hacienda is for sale.


The elevation is up there. Bow deer season was open, and we saw plenty of hunters.



After 6 nights on the road we were all tired, and it was time to hit the road toward home. We headed due south toward Shiprock, and Gallup NM, through the Indian Nations. Interestingly, we were driving 491, but I have an AAA map and a US Atlas that both show the route as 666. Someone must have had an issue with a highway named for Satan and got them to change it. My maps are a few years old. (Here is the story behind the number change)


We made it as far as Kingman AZ on Friday night. Let me tell you, it is a shock going from 6 nights in the upper 30's at night, and arriving where it is 90°F at 9PM. We got to try out the A/C in the fiver, which did a surprisingly good job of cooling the trailer. Easy drive home on Saturday, caught up on chores today, and back to the grind tomorrow.

The truck just purred like a kitten all week, and roared like a Lion when needed. About 1,800 miles total, averaged 10.2 MPG.