MAPS CAN HOLD MANY GREAT MEMORIES

IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN AT THE ARCH'S....... MOAB UTAH 

Thought I would have a look at the map this morning & see what neck of the woods MIKE & PAT McFALL were hanging their hats in the past few days. I knew they were in South Dakota somewhere west of the Badlands but wasn't sure where.

SOMETIMES IT'S JUST TO ROCKY FOR LITTLE DOGGY PAWS 

Geography, as well as history were always a couple of my favorite high school subjects & I still enjoy pouring over maps looking at roads, towns & routes. Whether it be paper maps, State Atlas’s, Google Earth, MapQuest or Microsoft’s Streets & Trips, I enjoy using them all. It happened to be Streets & Trips I looked at this morning to find Mike’s location.  And, I did find the little town of Custer.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM DOWNTOWN SEDONA ,ARIZONA
For me, looking at maps is like listening to old music. Each song brings back it’s own set of memories, just as a map's towns & highways bring back recollections of dates, places & thoughts of great traveling days gone by. Toledo, Cinncinatti & Interstate 75 bring memories of a few trips to Florida beginning in the summer of 64. The trans Canada highway from Halifax to Vancouver with countless towns & happenings in between can keep me glued to a map for many miles & smiles as well.

RIFLE FALLS, COLORADO
Each Province & State I have traveled holds a treasure trove of memories for me. From State Parks, historic sites, scenic overlooks, busy cities with their chaotic traffic patterns to dusty little Texas towns with boarded up main street store fronts. Georgia swamps, downtown Washington DC, the great Canadian Prairies, Miami Beach, Tucson, Vancouver Island’s Victoria harbor & a little speck of a place in northwest Ontario near the Manitoba border called Oxdrift. So many great travels, so many great memories & a few great people along the way.

NEAR MOAB, UTAH 

It didn’t take long for my time in Map Land this morning to get myself all wound up thinking about the upcoming winter & our southwest travels.  In fact, my enthusiasm bubbled over so much that I even managed to broach the subject to Kelly of, "when do you think we can get out of here this year?" 

A QUIET SPOT NEAR ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT IN SOUTHERN ARIZONA 

Date of departure is important because that determines just where we can head for right off the bat when we leave here.  A November departure means we have to get as far south as fast as we can to avoid any ice, snow & freezing cold temperatures.  An early to mid October departure means we could head straight west for the southwest corner of Colorado & hopefully get there before the snow does.  It is an area I have been wanting to see for a long time now.  A September departure (highly unlikely) could mean the same route but with a bunch of great stops along the way.  The South Dakota Badlands come to mind.  I have been through that neighborhood before (Mt. Rushmore) but not the Badlands.

BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA 

I did manage to get a verbal October departure out of Kelly this morning but nothing official yet.  With 4+ months to go, any number of things can still happen between now & then.  Just the fact of sitting down with a road map up on the screen was good enough for me today.  Looking at that map knowing we might be heading for an area we have never been before is a great part of the excitement for me.  And, in my world, that is what the RV lifestyle is all about.  Traveling & staying on the move searching out new horizons, new adventures & new memories:))

NEAR AJO, ARIZONA 

GROANER'S CORNER:((     A police officer had just pulled a car over. When he walked up to the car a man rolled down the window and said, "what's the problem officer?" To which the policeman responded, "I stopped you for running that red light behind you." Just then the man's wife leaned forward from the driver's seat and said with a very loud voice, "I told him to stop at that light. But did he listen? No. He just kept right on going."
The man then turned to his wife and yelled "Shut up will ya!" The policeman continued, "And just before the light I clocked you doing 50 m.p.h. and the speed limit is only 30." His wife then leaned forward again and squawked "I told him to slow down. But did he listen to me. No! He never listens to me."
And again the man shouted at his wife "Listen Agnes, I told you to SHUT UP!"
The policeman then looked at the woman and said "does he always talk to you this way?"
To which the woman responded, "Only when he has been drinking."

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.