10/5/26 - A fairly short driving day was made long by needing to fix a leaking RV tire, following a drunk driver (we called it in), and Albuquerque rush hour traffic. After setting up, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at Chili's. 10/6/26 - Up at 3am!!!! to get to Balloon Fiesta Park before the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival activities started at 5am. We enjoyed the "Gondola Club" which provided parking, a shuttle, private seating, hot drinks, breakfast b

10/1/26 - We drove about 3 hours south to reach Alamosa, CO, near Great Sand Dunes National Park. We had a great view of the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains out the back of our RV We had some time after we set up so we did a short hike at Zapata Falls. Although sunny when we left the RV, it was drizzling when we arrived at our hike. This produced a rainbow to welcome us! The falls were tucked behind the rocks and inaccessible (Pat tried!) but the raging stream was lo

9/25/26 - In the morning, I went to a great farmers market in Woodland Park (the town where we are staying). I bought veggies, fruit, bakery, beef, and a new wallet. In the afternoon, Pat and I went to the nearby Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. On the way, we got a close-up view of the mule deer that hang out by our RV park. They like the new grass the town in trying to grow next to the road. We attended a wolf feeding. The wolf rescue currently has 14 wolves (and othe

9/20/27 - We drove about 7 hours this day from Lincoln, NE, to where Pat's brother, Jeff, lives with his wife, Trina, in Wellington, CO (north of Fort Collins). We were able to hook up next to their house and sleep in our own bed We got to meet Teddy for the first time. He is a very good boy and loves cuddling. He likes to fetch and I helped him learn "drop" so it wasn't always tug of war when he brought the toy back. We had dinner and hung out with Trina's cousin and son.

9/17/26 - We left Tennessee and drove through Kentucky, Illinois, and into Missouri. Four states in one day!! We spent one night west of St. Louis. 9/18/26 - We drove briefly through Iowa on the way to Lincoln, Nebraska. We arrived early enough that we had time to take a guided tour of their truly ornate capitol building (finished in 1932). Nebraska's capitol building has gorgeous mosaics on ceilings, walls, and floors This specific mosaic scrolled through the area under

9/12/26 - Rain thwarted our plans to hike a 2nd time in Great Smoky Mountain NP. I spent the day reading my dad's extensive writings about his life and travels. In the evening, we ventured out for pizza at our favorite chain (Mellow Mushroom) and we saw a beautiful rainbow on the way back to the RV. 9/13/26 - Before we left our site, I took the truck to drop off some mail. On my way back, I saw a good-sized black bear running down the sidewalk that Pat and I had been using

9/6/26 - Our RV park was near Gatlinburg, on the north edge of Great Smoky Mountains (GSM) National Park. Our site backed up to a stream with woods beyond. Pat made friends with the small fish in the stream by giving them pieces of ham and crackers. 9/8/26 - We drove through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge (both tourist attraction madness on an epic level!!)... ...to visit Sevierville, the town Dolly Parton would visit as a child. Since she passed away so recently, there were m

9/2/26 - In the afternoon, we checked into our hotel in Lexington before meeting our South Dakota friends who live part-time near us in Arizona. Chris and Carrie Nipe flew from South Dakota. Alice and Steve Kary drove in from a family reunion in Missouri. We had cocktails in our room before taking the hotel shuttle to/from dinner at a nice steak and seafood place. 9/3/26 - We were picked up mid-morning by our Mint Julep Tours driver for a day of horse farms. Our first sto

8/27/26 - We left the RV at 5:30am(!!!) to drive 1.5 hours to Louisville for our 7am tour of Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby since 1875). Our tour guide took us to the edge of the racetrack to watch the "workout riders" giving the horses their daily exercise. We also saw the owners' suites and the Winners Circle. We learned that ~1400 horses stay on the "backside" of the track in stables leased by several "trainers" who manage the care and training of the horses

8/21/26 - We arrived in our RV park about 45 minutes south of Lexington, KY. Our RV park is next to the Kentucky River (with a pretty waterfall on the opposite site) and has a Sasquatch theme After extra time setting the RV up (our spot had quite a slope, requiring use of cinderblocks to raise the front enough), we packed overnight bags again and hit the road to drive about 2 hours to Bowling Green for our Kentucky half marathon. Near Bowling Green, we drove by a large Corv

8/12/26 - We arrived at another hilltop campground near Fayetteville, WV. Another pretty, wooded spot. We'd frequently hear acorns dropping down onto the RV. We spotted deer when we drove around at dusk looking for the bears (supposedly scavenging the campground's dumpster) 8/14/26 - We left for a 2-night stay near Parkersburg, WV, for another half marathon. West Virginia is very hilly, with rivers/creeks far below the bridges we used On the way, we stopped in Charleston t