On our way home

As we travel home to Minnesota we move from the desert mountains and plains into the grassland and midwest and witness the changes with every few miles. The temps have changed little as we move north because we also lower our altitude. But the surroundings change dramatically. With the spring rains in the desert things were beginning to bloom but as we near the midwest, the trees are bare and the grass is brown. But the signs of spring are many at each stop on the road. From the migration of birds, Red Tail hawks and Turkey Vultures to Robins and Cardinals singing their morning songs, even a blue heron in the now open creek bottom, life is changing fast. New buds are beginning to form on the trees and the smell of moist air filled with decayed leaves assaults our senses with every breath.

Tonight's stay is just a few miles north of KC (Kansas City) in Watkins Woolen Mill State Park, Missouri. The park is also a historic site containing a beautifully restored woolen mill and farm from the mid 18800's once owned by the Watkins family. Sounds a little odd but the park is very nice with grounds surrounding a quite little lake. Tomorrow we move into Iowa.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

I would never have believed that there was such a beautiful park in the panhandle of Texas, but there is. Palo Duro Canyon appears out of no where on the flat plains, dropping 800 feet and 120 miles long, it is the second largest canyon in the US (the Grand Canyon being the largest). Thanks to Cassie and Jack for the tip or we would never have found this park. We entered the park from the top of the ridge and were meet with a small herd of deer. As we approached the campground a flock of turkey crossed the road. Later this group came through our site looking for a hand out. Last night we sat by our campfire and listened to Bobcats howling near the cliffs behind our rig. What a fantastic place!

Santa Rosa Lake State Park

Our next destination, Santa Rosa Lake State Park, put us back on the mother road, Route 66. I'm amazed how the landscape changes with just a 100 miles. We are back in the high country with pines and junipers. Near our campsite, we found the Colorado Pine that are responsible for Pinion (Pine Nuts) but the season is long over and the remaining seeds are dried up. So sad!

Revenge of Minnesota winter

Many back home will get a chuckle when they hear that we had a few inches of snow. It made a stark contrast to the lava in the park so I had to run out to take a picture first thing in the morning. I almost fell on my fanny when I hit the ice covered road in front of our rig but the years of experience on snow and ice paid off.

We made some wonderful friends at the Valley of Fires and hope to catch up with Cassie and Jack in future travels. One of the wonderful things about traveling in an RV are the new friends we make along the way.

Valley of Fires

On to the Valley of Fires, also a BLM managed property. This site has the youngest lava flow on the Continental US (Mount St. Helens erupted in 90 but did not cause a lava flow across the land) flowing into the Tularosa basin. The one photo is of a graceful Juniper thought to be over 400 years old. This is a nice campground but moving north has it's drawbacks with a storm moving in. Still, a beautiful spot to spend a few days.