Bob & LeeAnn road trip 2023

There are a lot of fancy RVs here, but this one looks ready for anything! Just a few of our treasures. I am not usually attracted to the surf board and car resin cabachons, but these bulls-eye surfite pieces were calling to me. The large blue/green stone is a new one to us. It looks just like chrysocolla and malachite, but it isn't. It's cornitite mined in it's own mines in Africa. There are two rose cut sapphires and two pieces of moldavite, which is a glass formed from a meteor impact (according to people who are knowledgeable about crystals it is very powerful). We're ready for another beautiful sunset. So Beautiful! On the road back to Tucson for the Gem and Rock show. We took a route around Phoenix. Phoenix is HUGE! Raleigh on steroids, and spread out for miles and miles and miles.

There are a lot of RV models here. We had fun looking at the different layouts and we each chose a favorite. But,the RV show is a little disappointing. I was interested in a bedding system that makes making an rv bed easier; but they are not here. I was expecting a lot of RV organization ideas, but other than plastic food storage it's all about connectivity, solar power, work/stay opportunities, and assorted pain relief (that does tempt me). But we did get literature on electronic locking. Charlie is having a great time playing ball in a big, dry clean area. There is no photo editing in this photo. The colors are beautiful. However, in the next photo I did edit to try to show the colors more accurately. The moon was orange and the night sky was deep blue around the moon and fading higher in the sky. It was really gorgeous and I wish I could have a true photo of it as it was. And Bob says "Hi"

There are tons more people here than last year. Bob and I expect sensory overload with the RV show on one side of the road and Gem and Rock show on the other! But, we did not visit anything yesterday. We filled up water and gas then picked a spot and set up camp. Charlie was very happy. He was finally able to play ball until he was totally worn out. It had been raining and this beautiful rainbow formed as we set up camp. We both love the desert mountain landscape and this sunset was gorgeous! I found a schedule of events that we plan to go to over the next few days. Hopefully, everything anyone could need to make an RV trip comfortable; I have a list. And, there are RV's set up all over town that we can look at if we have time. And then across the street to find some pretty rocks to make pretty jewelry.

Mon. Jan.22, 2024 We didn't plan to do a blog this year. We thought we would just post on facebook, but didn't really want to do a diary type post on facebook, so here we are. The trip so far has been a bit of a chore. Not nearly as much fun as last year when we stopped to visit with kids and grandkids along the way. We did have ice again, ugh! Some of the campgrounds have been significantly disappointing. Heritage RV in Augusta didn't have a bath house! That was a first for me. Toomsuba KOA is Missippi was nice, gratefully, since that was where we were iced in. Midland, Tx. is dry and dusty and darn cold, ugh, couldn't wait to get out of there. Deming, N.M. looks like a nice town but I chose the wrong campground ($25.00 a night so I shouldn't be surprised). Finally we are seeing mountains in the distance, trees and shrubs; yeah! The highlight of the week was in Abilene, Tx where we visited with a fellow marine and friend that Bob served with some years ag