This town has so much to do. We got to La Posa South BLM land on December 24. It took us a few days to find a quiet spot to settle in. We found a spot about 2 miles off the road, just on the edge of the Magic Circle section. La Posa South is a BLM area that allows long term stay from September to April for $180. With this cost, we have access to a dump station, fresh water and trash bins. There are two long term camping areas in Arizona and four in California. Some people sell flags, bread, junk, and there are even several people that have tents set up to be able to offer massages.

Quartzsite is an interesting town. In the summer there are around 3,000 people that reside here. I would guess that there are easily a million here right now. It seems that the town does not try very hard. A large amount of the town is a tent city that goes up for the winter. Many of the buildings in town look pretty rough. I spoke with a woman that owns a coffee shop and laundromat. She said that she makes her money in the winter and closes up for the summer to go back to Montana. One of the restaurants closes up March 15. The bartender says that is the end of their season here.

Even though the town looks like it is having a hard time, there is plenty to do. There are many different shows here including gem and mineral shows, RV shows, craft shows and what looks to be flea markets.  It is amazing how busy the streets are when the RV show was happening. 

Tom and I joined the gem and mineral club, the club offers several crafting classes from stained glass to knife making and everything in between.  I took a silversmithing class and made some real amazing jewelry. Tom took a stained-glass class as well. While in Quartzsite we took some time to explore the nearby cities such as Yuma, AZ, Parker, AZ, Lake Havasu, AZ, 29 Palms, CA and Los Algodones, Mexico. 

​In Lake Havasu we saw the London bridge. It's the actual London bridge that was shipped from England block by block to Lake Havasu then reconstructed. We also had a few beers at brewery next to the airport. In Parker, we participated in a 5K walk/run at the Desert Bar with friends that we met in La Posa South.  We dressed up in crazy costumes. Tom won the grand prize 50-inch TV. Luck for us, our friends needed one.

Tom, our friend Lauren, and I went to 29 Palms to see Joshua Tree National Patk. Joshua Tree is defiantly worth see but we don't think we will visit a second time. It was interesting to explore all the different kinds of cactus. 

We ventured to Yuma a few times to do some shopping for thing not available in Quartzsite. It is a larger town that has many of the name stores. On our way there we traveled through some of the military training areas and quite a bit of crop land. About 20 minutes way from Yuma is Los Algodones, Mexico. We went down their because Tom had an eye infection. He was able to quickly see a doctor and get his prescriptions. All cost him $80. Los Algodones is known for dental and eyes care. When we were there, people were extremely helpful, and the food was great.

While we stayed in Quartzsite, we made so many new friends. We also had friend come to visit. Scott and Joy (our friends that also full time RV) stopped in for two weeks before heading to Mexico. They had planned to stay in Mexico for one month but love it so much that they have extended their stay and are exploring more of the Baja region. We also had our friend Lauren visit. She just started her full-time journey and is looking for a larger vehicle to travel in.

One of the last adventures that we took before leaving was two jeep rides to several destinations. One of the days we drove with about nine other jeeps to see an old mine. The next trip, our friends took us to Palm Cayon which is in the Kofa Mountains. We hiked into the canyon to see palm trees growing high up on a cliff, Of course, Tom hiked up to them.  From what we have learned, these are native palm trees.

Wow, after looking through the pictures I remembered more. Some of the pictures are of Scott and Tom working on the roof and solar. Somehow our solar is not working optimally. We had a solar work on it in Tuscon and did some trouble shooting. Then Scott made some more adjustments to it and some rewiring. Unfortunately, we don't have all the kinks out, but we are getting closer. 

We also watched Checkers, Scott and Joys's dog while they took a family cruise. We love her but defiantly would not want to have a big dog in the RV for a long period of time.

I also got to take my first cruise to celebrate my birthday and my girlfriend's birthday. I flew to Dallas where Coreen picked me up and we drove down to Galveston to take a 5-day trip to Cozumel. We have been friends since high school and have never taken a vacation together, so it was much needed and long overdue. I had such an amazing time with her!!!

​I had time to be crafty, so I made Stella a sweater, Claire a sweater and start a temperature blanket.
There are some pictures of meat because Tom got a smoker for Christmas. He has mastered brisket and ribs for sure. We also tried out the local restaurants and bars in Quartzsite. 

Lastly, I could not leave out all the amazing photos of the sunrises and the sunsets. 

We spent about a month back in Wisconsin to transition from the teardrop camper back into our RV. We had some time to catch up with family and friends. Tom was able to get out to spend some time in the woods hunting. I worked at the dental office a few days and started my new job with Primal Air as an OMT.

From Wisconsin we headed to Minnesota to watch my sister and niece show their horses. Both of them did so well. I really got the itch to ride horses again. Maybe I can do some horse showing in the future.

We left MN and traveled south staying at multiple Harvest Host places along the way. We were finally able to put the Kansas sticker on the map. We have no idea with all our travels we have not stayed overnight in Kansa before this. Tom did not like the wind while we traveled through that state as we drove toward Oklahoma City.

​Once we got to Oklahoma, we stayed on Jp’s property outside Norman, OK. He is a friend that we met on the trail in the Shenandoah National Park. It was a great spot and we loved and spoiled his guard dogs and almost burned down his property. The breeze there and the dry grass is no joke.  

While we were there, we watched my sister horse show at the NRHA Futurity Show. We had a really great time. We checked out some breweries, walked the riverwalk, ate some BBQ, spent time at the Cowboy Museum and the Oklahoma City Memorial Museum, and Mike and Tom went to a Sooners football game. Unfortunately, our bikes were stolen from us when we were camping at the Oklahoma State Fair grounds. We are learning lessons about what our insurance really covers and what it does not.

We have stayed at Bottomless Lake State Park for the second time since we started this journey. It is a great spot just outside Roswell, NM.

Another spot that we camped at for two nights is Hueco Tanks State Park, TX. It is a place that has over 6,000 pictographs. We hiked all the self-guided trails and took a guided tour as well. This place is defiantly worth it. When you go, take the tour.

Today we are traveling from New Mexico to Arizona. The last two night we stayed at Sierra Vista dispersed camping outside of Las Cruces, NM. It made for an easy drive to White Sands National Park yesterday. Tonight, we are staying in Bowie, NM at a RV park. We checked out two wineries in Wilcox. One is called Coronado Vineyards, and another is called Bird and Barrels Vineyards. I tried a tannat wine that was amazing.

We plan to hang around Tucson for a bit. Tom might look for a winter job there if we like it. It looks like there is a lot to do in that area. Otherwise, we will stick with our plan to stay in the Quartzite area. We are enjoying the warmer weather down here. I have been enjoying the sunrises and the sunsets.

Places we have camped since leaving WI:

• Minnesota Equestrian Center-Winona, MN
• LS Storage and Sprague’s Tree Farm (HH)-Albert Lea, MN
• Revelton Distilling CO (HH)-Osceola, IA
• Happy Bassett Brewing CO (HH)-Topeka, KS
• Wyldewood Cellars (HH)-Peck, KS
• Oklahoma State Fairgrounds West RV Park-Oklahoma City, OK
• Lake McClellan National Grassland Park-Clarendon, TX
• Oasis State Park-Portales, NM
• Bottomless Lakes State Park-Roswell, NM
• Hueco Tanks State Park-El Paso, TX
• Sierra Vista Dispersed Camping-Las Cruces, NM
• Dwayne’s Mountain View RV Park-Bowie, NM

First of all, I am so sorry to leave you guys hanging. Thankful Tom has had enough service on the trail to drop you all information on his progress. Service and WIFI have been very limited, so I have had a hard time finishing my class and as you have noticed, the blog has been lacking. I will have to do a big photo drop at the end. Gosh, the last time I posted we still had five states to go and now we are in the last one. 

Connecticut was a quick state to hike through with only 52 miles. Then Massachusetts with 92 miles and they climbed Mount Greylock at 3,491 feet. After that was Vermont and the most recent is New Hampshire. Generally, all of them have been really wet hikes. There has consistently been a lot of rain. We have been in the areas that have gotten hit with all of the flooding. One day in Vermont I was driving to pick the guys up and came upon a spot where a bridge was out. Luck for us, it was a through road, so I turned around and drove and hour and a half the other way. It is not often that the guys have to wait for me. Thank goodness there was another way to get to them. The service is so poor that it makes communication between us impossible. Tom does have a device that can send me text messages but if I don't have service, I am unable to get the messages. We now come up with back up plans. Overall, the technology has been so helpful. We use an app called Farout to follow the trail. It can help me navigate to the pickup and drop off spots. It also helps them stay on trail. Sometimes the trail has not been marked well and they have taken "detours."

New Hampshire, oh boy, where do I start?
 
​It is an interesting state. Their state motto is “live life or die.” I think that many of them may be dying... There are so many rules, so many speed changes, and so many over “safe” people. I have gotten 2 speeding tickets in a matter of three weeks of being in this state. If anyone has driven with me, you know that I may have a bit of a lead foot…Well, I was trying to behave and still missed the decrease of speed sign. Oh, well. On the other hand, the guys are cruising right along on the trail.  The Whites (White Mountains) are full of rocks so the milage per day has slowed a bit, but they are doing awesome. Both Dustin and Tom were excited to finally get into the Whites so they could have some great views rather than getting to the top of a mountain just to go back down. Hikers call those PUDS (pointless ups and downs.) They even lucked out and had a full view on top of Washington Mountain.

I was able to stay at two national forest campgrounds in the area. Both were amazing with super friendly camp hosts. The first was called Wildwood Campground. There I met Byron. He and I could have talked for days. He has defiantly lived an interested life and we had a lot of interests in common. I sure hope to run into him in the future. Then I moved on to Dolly Copp campground. Everyone was so nice there as well. I took some walks in the area and discovered chanterelle mushrooms. Boy are they tasty. I am trying to make some chanterelle rum from a recipe that I found.

​Yesterday, I moved to Grafton Notch Campground near Bethel, ME. The lady that owns this campground is so knowledgeable of the area and trails. She is so great, and we have made fast friends. The guys also hit Maine on the trail yesterday. There are only 282 miles of the Appalachian trail in Maine ending at Mount Katahdin. They have been out on the trail for two nights. I plan to pick them up on Grafton Notch night.

We are so close to the end. I am so proud of the guys for everything they have accomplished!

​Hiking the White Mountains has been amazing for Tom and Dustin. This is another area where their mileage per hour has been greatly reduced because of the tough trial conditions. They had beautiful views but, it was extremely windy. Tomorrow they will summit of Mt Washington. Mt Washington has the highest recorded sustained wind speeds in the world 231 mph and some of the coldest temperatures. Currently, the temperature on the mountain is 34° with winds at 50 mph.

​Last week Tuesday, the guys reached the 1600-mile mark. On Thursday they hiked out of Massachusetts and into Vermont, AKA "Vermud". It extra muddy with the ridiculous amount of rain we have been getting this summer. They have reached the 3/4 of the way to Katahdin and the 1700-mile mark.

​Tom and Dustin hiked out of Connecticut and into Massachusetts today. 10 states down, only 4 to go. They reached 1500 miles yesterday with only 673 miles to go!

The guys are doing awesome!

I can’t believe the progress they are making. Pennsylvania was a tough state to for them to get through. It is often called Rocklvania by the hikers. Apparently, the last ice age left ridges of sharp rock and of course the Appalachian trail must travel right over the top of them. There were days that the guys wanted to quit, but thankfully they have each other to keep going.

​As for me, I have been traveling winding roads to and frow enjoying the landscape, the beautiful stone house and barns. It’s amazing how busy I keep myself. Someone asked me what I do all day and I couldn’t give her a good answer. I explained that the only time I sat down was to drop the guys off and pick them back up. Setting up and tearing down camp, laundry, grocery shopping, walking the dog, doing my classes, reading recommended materials, help out other hikers, and making amazing meals is what I really do all day.

Other than the ridiculous terrain, the wasps have been terrible on trail. They must nest in the rocks. Tom got hit at least 25 times on one of the days. Thankfully he was a mile from pick up and we were camping close to a river. Stella had to get picked up early from the trail on another day because she got stung multiple times. One poor guy that was trying to help Tom get his hiking stick got stung so many times and ended up at the emergency room. What a hard way to learn that he was allergic. We sure do owe him!

We are now in New York. Which means that we have also made it through New Jersey. We are currently camping at Clarence Fahnestock State Park very close to the city. I am sitting in the camper for fear that I will be carried away by the mosquitoes. It has been hard to find places to stay overnight. New Jersey does not allow overnight camping in the AT parking lots and Tom feels safer sleeping at a campground right now. Tomorrow, we will move to another private campground just over the border into Connecticut. The wonderful lady that took my reservation promised me two pools and a working hot tub. Hip Hip Hoorah!!

Yesterday the guys hit their 1,400-mile marker. I am so proud of them. There are 93 miles of hiking in New York. Tom tells me that the rocks are a little more rounded here. It still doesn’t make want to get back on trail yet. Today the heat index is 101 degrees, so they are doing about 17 miles rather than the 22 miles they planned for this morning. They have run into a few detours and closers due to flooding Also, there is a zoo they were supposed to walk through that is unfortunately closed. On a lighter note, we have only five more states to go; Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

​Happy trails everyone. Go out and take a walk!

​The guys hiked out of New Jersey and into New York early today. Eight states down, six to go. They stopped at a creamery next to the trail for a root beer float and had a nice refreshing stop a waterfall. They ended the day with a 150-foot vertical climb.

​Finally, we out of Pennsylvania! The last 100 miles have really taken a toll on Tom's feet and body.  We were able to celebrate with some of our trail friends. The guys officially left the state the next morning when they crossed the Delaware River and entered New Jersey. Only seven more states to go. Dustin and Tom also hit the 1,300-mile mark on Thursday.  They are on ​pace to be out of New Jersey by Monday and will hit 1400 miles by Tuesday. 

​Tom had hoped to be out of Pennsylvania by tomorrow, July 16th. A 21-mile hike should have taken 7 to 8 hours. Because of the terrain, it took over 11 hours, so the guys had fewer miles this past week.  Tom was stung 25-30 times by yellow jackets with 2 miles for trail to finish for the day. He decided to take today and tomorrow off to rest his body and soak in the river. Tom and Dusitn hope to be out of Pennsylvania by Tuesday.

Tom and Dustin agree that ​yesterday was the easiest section of trail that they have hiked so far. The 94° temperature, high humidity, and no wind made it a little less fun, but it was still a good day. Today, they crossed the Susquehanna River at Duncannon, PA. With this being said, that means they are entering 150 miles of the rockiest part of the AT. It is so full of sharp rocks that it is known by AT hikers as Rocksylvania. 

​Stella, Tom and Dustin hiked though more of the South Mountain Civil War Battlefield and stopped at the first George Washington monument east of Boonsboro. They crossed the Mason Dixon Line and entered into Pennsylvania on July 2nd. The guys have 6 states done and 8 states to go.

​On the 3rd of July, Dustin and Tom reached the Appalachian Trail halfway point. They both did the half gallon ice cream challenge at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA. On the July 4th, we all watched fireworks in Gettysburg, PA. It was the 160-year anniversary after the battle.

Happy 4th of July. It has been so long since my last post. 

Well, we made it to Pennsylvania. Today I moved us from Pine Grove Furnace State Park to Buddy Boy Winery and Restaurant in Duncannon, PA. I haven’t tried the wine yet. I have to pick up the guys this afternoon. They plan to hike 18.2 today and possible more if the terrain is good.
Yesterday the men took the day off to enjoy the lake at the park. I was the first day without rain in 16 days. I wish we could send it to Wisconsin. This last week was full of milestones. They have now hiked 1,100 miles and have hit the halfway point. There is no quitting now! Both Tom and Dustin took the half gallon of ice cream challenge. Tom finished his in 28 minutes and Dustin beat him with 26 minutes. The record this year so far is 3 minutes. I cannot imagine the belly aches that person had after that.

Since I posted last, Harper’s feet were hurting enough that he decided to get off trail. I took him part way to meet his family so he could go home to Harper’s Ferry. We traveled through Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. The guys hiked through Shenandoah National Park. The trail is full of rocks, and we are told that it will only get worse they proceed north.

I have defiantly found my purpose for this trip, and it has filled my heart. I have an amazing trail family around me that I can get ride to and from the trail. We fill our camp sites past capacity, and I am able to feed them and hopefully share my happiness. I have been able to meet so many people from different countries and walks of life. I am so grateful for all of them.

We are still staying overnight in all different places; parking lots, Harvest Hosts, campgrounds through the National Park, State Parks. I typically love the parking lots so that I get to chat with everyone coming through, but lately they have been next to highways, and I can’t hear myself think. The campgrounds get me some relief.

Tom is doing pretty well with his body. His back has not been bothering him with the light pack. He has had some foot pain. A few days ago, he made an appointment with a pediatrist. They told him he has severe bursitis and gave him multiple cortisone shots. Since then, he has had amazing improvements and feels like putting on more miles.

Dustin is an awesome addition to our group. He and Tom keep each other motivated. At this point, he plans to stay with us. He is such a cool laid-back guy that doesn’t mind my cooking.

​I have been having fun trying recipes in my new dutch oven. I have wanted one for a while now but could validate the space it would take up in the big RV. It is perfect for this situation. I can prepare and start dinner and it is often finished by the time I get the guys back to camp at night. I have not had a failed dinner yet. I have made lasagna, spaghetti, chicken and rice, pork tenderloin, pizza, blueberry pie, biscuits, and a few other things that I can’t remember.

​Well, until next time. Hope you are all well and enjoying your summer!