Albuquerque Central KOA Campground
Albuquerque, New Mexico
April 28, 2009, 9:15 am CDT

Sunny, breezy, and warming up
Temperature: 63F at 9 am; predicted high, 78F
Altitude: 5599 feet

We're actually within the city limits of Albuquerque, in a mixed residential-commercial area about 8 miles from the Old Town center of the city. It's high desert country, very dry, very beige, with wide swings in temperature day to night. The picture is actually at our site in Santa Fe on Sunday night and the mountain in the background is one of the reasons we left (more on that later).

This blog will be suspended for a few days, while Ed flies back to New Jersey. His mother died peacefully at home around midnight Sunday night. The funeral will be Thursday, the 30th--one month short of her 90th birthday. This has been a long time coming as the Alzheimer's has slowly destroyed her mind and led to numerous complications. In February a fall caused a compression vertebra fracture that still pained her to the end. She's been heavily medicated for pain and we all just hoped her pain would soon end, and now it has. Rest in Peace, Mom.

Karen will stay in Albuquerque and we will resume our travels, probably on Sunday, May 2d. We moved here Monday morning from Santa Fe so we could be nearer a major airport and also so we could locate to a campground with a wider range of services for Karen's solo stay. Unfortunately, cellphone service at the Santa Fe campground was blocked by the mountain in the picture, so we had to use alternate means to stay in contact with family (email, Skype voice internet, and at one point, a plain vanilla, old fashioned pay phone!). We saw little of Santa Fe, one of the major objects of this trip, so we will probably return there next week before heading out to Lake Tahoe for another family gathering, this time a happier occasion with Karen's family.

Amarillo KOA Campground
Amarillo, Texas
Saturday, April 25, 2009, 7:55 pm CDT

Sunny, breezy, and warm
Temperature: 74F
Altitude: 3676 feet

We continued our westward trek yesterday and today, while simultaneously keeping in close cellphone and email communication with Ed's family and his mother's caregivers. We're told it's only a matter of time and we check airline schedules daily for every city along our route.

We drove west yesterday from a fairly green and spring-like Arkansas to an Oklahoma that was hot and very windy. Even last night the winds buffeted our camper and woke us at times. And today's drive was not an easy one as the winds continued. Of course we had the anti-sway control on the trailer cranked down hard, but we still had to hang on and pay attention. Dark clouds ahead threatened a storm, but we never saw a drop. Of course this being spring on the southern plains, we were more concerned with tornadoes than rain, but happily our drive was uneventful. We did note that the campground here in Amarillo has an "extreme weather warning" siren and a "weather shelter." Gulp!

The countryside became progressively drier as we went westward and cattle began to appear in pasture with their spring calves. Oil pumpers are scattered about. Eastern Oklahoma announces when you drive from one Indian reservation to another (the whole state was once reserved for Eastern tribes that had been removed to this area in the 1830's and 40's) and even some of the vehicle license plates sport the tribe's name ("Muskogee Nation," "Cherokee Nation") instead of "Oklahoma." But the land was remarkably absent any major farming or ranching, mostly small holdings and few animals evident. Maybe it's just early in the season, but west of Oklahoma City and in the Texas panhandle, large scale cattle ranching was much more obvious.

The land is also tilted upward as we move farther west. Oklahoma City is barely 2,0000 feet above sea level, while Amarillo, 260 miles west, is well over 3,600 feet. With the slight rise to the road and the constant push against a southwest wind, our gas mileage today was down from 10 to 15 percent. But unlike last summer, prices remain low (less than $2.00 per gallon in most places).

Tomorrow it's off to Santa Fe, New Mexico, the first major goal of this trip, where he hope to be able to spend a few days.

Little Rock KOA Campground
North Little Rock, Arkansas
Thursday, April 23, 2009, 5:30 pm CDT

Sunny, breezy, and unseasonably hot
Temperature: 88F now, 93 earlier.
Altitude: 264 feet

This is our second night in Little Rock, and we visited the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum today. Worth a stop if you're in the area.

Aside from that, however, we've spent a good bit of the time on the cellphone and reading and answering emails. For those of you outside our immediate family who haven't heard, Ed's mother is in a bad way. In fact, she is slowly dying and we now hear that she may not last through the weekend. She has had Alzheimer's Disease for a few years now and has declined markedly in the past six months. Since January she's been in and out of hospitals and rehab facilities and we knew the end was coming. When Ed saw her last Friday, she hardly knew him and spoke little. Ed and his brother decided then to bring her home and call in hospice care to make her comfortable for her final weeks or months. Still, we just thought she'd see the summer. But things are moving a lot faster than we expected and Ed is preparing to fly back to New Jersey (checking airline schedules from various cities along our route). Karen and Charley will stay in the camper wherever we may be at the time, and Ed will return when things in New Jersey are settled.

Until we get everything sorted out, we may not be blogging very much, but please check every few days for updates.

This is of course a sad occasion, but Alzheimer's is a strange disease. One minute the victim is lucid, the next not. Recently, though, the lucid moments have been few and far between. In a way Ed lost his mother when she no longer knew him or was unable to think clearly enough to carry on a reasonable conversation. In that sense, his mourning began months ago and this is just the end of a long, sad journey. Vivian Dorothy Edwards Guest would be 90 years old on May 30th.

Nashville East KOA Campground
Nashville, Tennessee
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 7:45 Central Daylight Time

A mix of sun and clouds, temperature 56F

The picture is a beautiful dogwood tree in full bloom on the Tennessee end of the road that crosses Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This was at a lower elevation, so some of the other trees have started to leaf.

After leaving the park, we decided to press on West. But to do so, we had to pass through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, both tourist traps of the first order. We never saw so many fast food stands, "amusement parks," and motels in so small a space. Dolly Parton is apparently very big around here. Truly tacky, or as Dolly says, "it takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"

We are now camped just east of Nashville, near a kind of country music Mecca--Opryland. Spare me.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cherokee, North Carolina
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

We left the campground this morning in rain and fog, deciding that sightseeing or hiking was futile. But as we crossed the gap into Tennessee, the sun came out and the fog lifted. The picture is from the road at the top of Newfound Gap, the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.

As we climbed over the crest of the Smokies, we progressed through several seasons--from leafed out trees, green grasses, and spring flowers to totally bare trees, brown grass, and no flowers. In between, about all that was consistent were the dogwoods. The mountain laurels lined the road in spots, but were not in bloom yet.

Great Smokies KOA Campground
Eastern Cherokee Band Reservation
Cherokee, North Carolina
Monday, April 20, 2009, 5:45 pm EDT

Cloudy and Breezy, with Sun and Rain Shower Intervals
Temperature: 58F
Altitude: 2168 feet

A strange day. We got off about 8:30 am and drove south into rain and fog. As we climbed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway near the North Carolina border, the fog became so thick, we couldn't see where we were going--we just followed the center line on the road! We only drove the Parkway for a short distance before deciding this was just too dangerous and took the first opportunity to drive back down to the valley. And as soon as we did, the fog lifted, but the rain continued. With the mountain ridges in fog, we stayed on the main valley roads and got to Cherokee, NC, by 4 pm, a day early. We actually drove the last few miles on the Parkway, since by afternoon, the rains and fog had dissipated. This last portion is also the highest part of the Parkway (gaps about 2 to 3,000 feet and ridges between 5 and 6,000, so the Explorer earned its keep today pulling up and down winding roads. In the valleys, the azaleas and dogwoods were blooming and most of the trees were leafed out; on the Parkway this afternoon above 3,000 feet, it's still late Winter--no leaves, no flowers, and only a few buds.

So here we are (picture) set up at the KOA, with WiFi and a weak cell signal. Tomorow we'll go into the Great Smokies National Park for a bit of exploring and then probably stay at a Park Service campground (no hookups or WiFi) tomorrow night.

Wytheville KOA Campground
Wytheville, Virginia
5:30 pm EDT
Overcast and raining lightly
Temperature: 57F
Elevation: 2362 feet

We arrived here a little before 4 pm after a pleasant drive from Alexandria in a mix of sun and clouds with temps in the 60's and 70's. Ed's following doctor's orders and stopping frequently for lower back exercises and a nice long lunch with a walk. With all that we still made nearly 300 miles in 7 hours.

We drove west on I-66 through the Virginia hunt country and then southwest on I-81 down the Shenandoah Valley. Lovely country, just coming alive--Spring is in full force here and the shrubs and trees are in blossom and the grasses are greening. A lovely purple blossoming tree is found frequently along I-81, but unfortunately we couldn't identify it. There are still some late-blooming dogwoods, but most have since peaked, as have the daffodils and other early Spring bulb flowers.

Tomorrow we climb to the ridgeline and follow the Blue Ridge Parkway into North Carolina and toward the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Annapolis, Maryland
April 18, 2009, 1:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time
Sunny and Spring-like
Temperature: 76F

Here's our rig (with grandson, Sam, by the basketball hoop) at Kris and Dan's house in Hillsmere Shores, Annapolis. We're fully provisioned, all hooked up, and ready to go. After two weeks of visiting, attending grandkid soccer and baseball games, and too much good food and wine, we're ready. It's off to Shelly and Adam's in Alexandria for one last Little League baseball game and then a quiet evening. Sunday morning, we hit the trail!

The cul-de-sac at the end of our driveway (our driveway in to the right; the one straight ahead is our neighbor's).
April 2, 2009

This is why we leave Vermont in April. The thawing of our unpaved roads supposedly can swallow small pets and young children!

We left the next morning and ran into fairly heavy rain in southern Vermont and Massachusetts, which washed all the mud from our tires and undercarriage.

Good Hours Cottage
East Burke, VT
The morning of March 31st

Getting ready to leave and, of course, we get a dusting of snow just to make loading the camper more interesting.