Trip West MD-NM March-April 2019

A cold day on Mt Rodgers, VA

Fall Creek Falls

After returning from our Middle East trip, Pat worked on recovering from pneumonia. My computer died several times, finally I replaced it. My old computer has been running fine ever since. In mid-March we left for our seven-month trip west. First, we stopped to have lunch with Shirley and Bill in Dayton, VA on our way to our property in WV. After a quick check of our property and storage, we were off to Mt Rodgers. We planned to hike to the summit, but were a bit unprepared for the snow, ice and bitter cold winds that shielded the mountain. When we reached a saddle and were blown backwards, we decided we picked the wrong day to attempt this hike, and returned to the car. 

Pat at Fall Creek SP in TN

Tennessee proved to be more enjoyable as we crossed it from Knoxville to Memphis, with a side trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park. If you love waterfalls, this park has 6 waterfalls to enjoy. We had some RV work done in Lebanon TN. We saw the tulip display at Cheekwood Estate and Gardens in Nashville. 

Cheekwood Gardens

Stax Museum 

 In Memphis we toured the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Isaac Hayes’ gold Cadillac was on display. He wrote or co-wrote 65 songs that make it to the charts. We had lunch at BB King’s and enjoyed the live music.

Historic Bathhouse

We toured Bathhouse Row at Hot Springs NP. This was the first piece of land set aside by the federal government to preserve its use as an area for recreation. We really enjoyed walking through Garland Woodland Gardens, one of my most favorite gardens in a natural setting. 

Chihully Exhibit

At the Museum of Art in Oklahoma City, we saw a Chihuly glass exhibit and Ansel Adams landscapes. The Myriad Botanical Gardens and urban park featured a carousel and a sunken lake.

Carousel at Myriad Gardens

At our campground in Amarillo, we ran into our friend Robert, whom we worked with at Savenac in 2013. We waited about an hour in traffic to enter Palo Duro State Park, one of the more stunning parks in Texas

Our last stop was Albuquerque, NM where we made final preparations for our trip to Hawaii. We got a front-end alignment on the RV before putting it in storage for a month. We flew from ABQ to Phoenix, AZ where we met up with Linda Erby. We left on the next flight to Kona, HI.