Georgetown KY, April 2013

Georgetown for us was horses and scenery and...um...Bourbon!

Kentucky has its own unique country charm. Lazily exploring the area seemed to fit with that charm. It is truly scenic, so I wasted a lot of film while we were there ;-)

We had a grand time on the Bourbon Trail. http://kybourbontrail.com/ Each distillery has its own special recipe for and way of making the mash and aging and blending. The finest moments, believe it or not, is not the tasting, but the bonded warehouses! When they open the huge oak doors, the ambrosia-like aroma of fresh sourdough bread that has been tainted with bourbon will waft out to you, surround you and may cause a tiny bit of wanton spittle to gather at the corner of your mouth.

There is a free tour of the Toyota factory in Georgetown. it was quite an entertaining show of today's technology in manufacturing autos. A good time, and FREE!  http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/tour.asp

Old Friends was quite a highlight of our stay in Georgetown. http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/ You get to feed carrots to the horses while the guide narrates fascinating stories about the Old Friends farm, and each individual horse that is on display.  Many of the heroes here we literally saved from the glue factory! Some horses were bought for as little as $30,000 and returned millions in winning, and some cost millions to buy and brought back little to nothing in winnings. They are all gorgeous, friendly, and waiting to see you!

 View from our RV.  Oops. Upside-down!

Wild Turkey Distillery

Old Friends racehorse retirement farm

Pahrump, NV - March 2013

Red Rock Canyon, China Ranch Date Farm, Wheeler Pass, NV - March 2013

We stayed for 2 weeks in Pahrump NV. It is a lovely hunk of desert, with more surprises than we expected.


Wheeler Pass was right near us, and we followed a bunch of kamikazi desert cars for the 23 mile trek. A total blast, and superbly scenic. Saw a desert tortoise on the way in.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/overlandroutes/index.php?title=Wheeler_Pass

China Rand Date Farm was an unexpected surprise! Out in the middle of zip-point-nuthin kitty litter between Pahrump and Death Valley is a dusty road that goes steeply down hill...into an amazing oasis. It is a mom-and-pop-shop that does a brisk business out of their tiny facility, and the history of the area (see link) is facinating.
 https://www.chinaranch.com/

Red Rock Canyon, between Pahrump and Las Vegas, is just one of those drop-dead gorgeous places that fills up with gawkers every weekend. The wall climbers were waaaay beyond my climbing skills! WOOF!
 http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/blm_special_areas/red_rock_nca.html

 A Desert Tortoise

Wheeler Pass is the notch straight ahead

Red got real dirty. A happy boy!

Wheeler Pass from camp; 23 miles!

Red Rock Canyon

And some wall climbing!

China Ranch Date Farm

The date shakes are Om-Nom!

Amazing limestone sculptures on the trail to China Ranch

Royal Gorge, Canon City, CO, September 2013

Royal Gorge, Canon City, CO, September 2013

Canon City (pronounced "Canyon") provided us with a new and unique perspective at our first stop in Colorado. Royal Gorge had a big fire in June and the bridge and park were closed. But the Royal Gorge Railroad was running on schedule, and we found ways to go off-road with Red Wrangler to view the burn area and the bridge.

The burn area was very stark in appearance, but already was showing signs of recovery with wild flowers flourishing.

We feel that it is not possible to ride too many trains nor take too many pics.

We stayed at Starlite Classic Campground, a truly delightful place. The owners restore vintage RVs and then place them on some of their campsites for vacation rentals.  The owner/hostess even wears saddle shoes!
http://starliteclassiccampground.com/

It was a "No Parking" sign

Royal Gorge Bridge

Gold panning still happens here!

Skyline drive, Canyon City.

Straight cliff on each side!

Nola called it the place I tried to kill her!

Salida, CO

Starlite Classics!!!

A 58 Winnebago

and

A 58 Chevy

New Brunswick, Canada - August 2013

New Brunswick, Canada - August 2013

This was a magical tour for us in a place we had never been; new roads, sites, history, and the luck of great weather.

We have been to Maine maybe seven times, and the thought of discovering the other side of the Bay of Fundy was exciting to us. We stayed at the Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground near St. Andrews; a superbly gorgeous, friendly and peaceful place.

Much to see and do, and we filled up the time very well. We traveled as far away as St. John to see the Old City Market that we first saw on our Fall Colors tour a few years ago. The ice cream is still Om-Nom there!

The wild blueberries were at their peak, and the best was found in St. George. It was fun to see them process the berries there.

Bay of Fundy from camp

Downtown St. Andrews (GREAT FOOD!!)

The Fundy Discovery Aquarium, Saint Andrews, 

and the park that surrounds it

Da shore, aye?

Mill and raceway in St. George

St. Andrews pier at high tide

and low tide; highest tides in the world!

Old City Market, St. John and some folks we met nearby

Fundy National Park

A lovely day trip!