Joan and Keith's Travels: Off To South Padre Island For The Winter!!

Leaving The Snow & Cold Behind!

We spent December back in upstate New York

visiting with family and enjoying the holidays.

Santa Claus found us for sure.

Gee - That looks like an Ulu knife from Alaska!

Dad got his chocolate covered peanuts - He's happy!

Alaskan Salmon!

While in Vermont visiting family we stopped by to visit with

Skip and Chris Sintz.

After Tons of Food And Some Great Memories

It is Time for Us to Leave the North Country

And

Head Southwest!!!

But - First
I had to Uncover the Truck!

Lake Champlain is cooling down and will be frozen over before too long!

Next Stop

Elkhart, Indiana!

MOR-ryde - What a great facility. The staff was SUPER!

They provided a nice level concrete area with 50amp electric to hook up to.

The body work was done at Charger Enterprises also in Elkhart. Both, I highly recommend!

http://www.chargerrvservices.com

http://www.morryde.com

As we headed south we stopped in West Lafayette, Indiana to see our friends

Dale and Mary Anne

We had a great time playing Mexican Train, seeing all of their special themed Christmas trees and just plan visiting! What delightful people we have met. We are so fortunate to be able to stop and see friends as we travel.

Next stop - Arkansas!

We stopped and visited with
Mike and Diane.
The weather was sooo nice with temps in the lower 60's.

We went for a very nice hike!

Time to stop to take a selfie!

We had a great time!

See you in 2016 on the 49 Day Canadian Provinces Tour!

Time to head West to Las Vegas, Nevada

for our annual Fantasy RV Meeting!

WAIT!!!!

This is the Texas panhandle.

What is that white stuff????!!!!???

A major snow storm hit Texas just ahead of us.

and

Yup - New Mexico Too!

In fact we had snow all the way to Albuquerque!

Good Bye Snow!!!!!

This was our view of Laughlin, Nevada from our campground in Bullhead City, Arizona!
As the Sun Set!

Our meeting in Las Vegas was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and tips with other Fantasy Ambassadors. After the meeting we headed Southeast to SPI!

I talked Joan into letting me drive into California on our way South

One more sticker!!

It is amazing the number of trains we see traveling cross country.

Back into Arizona.

These carvings were on the rock ledge near the Arizona state line.

Sonoran Desert!

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which covers large parts of the Southwestern United States in Arizona and California, and of Northwestern Mexico in Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur. It is the hottest desert in North America, with an area of 280,000 square kilometers (110,000 sq mi). The western portion of the United States–Mexico border passes through the Sonoran Desert.
In phytogeography, the Sonoran Desert is within the Sonoran Floristic Province of the Madrean Region in southwestern North America, part of the Holarctic Kingdom of the northern Western Hemisphere. The desert contains a variety of unique and endemic plants and animals, such as the Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) and Organ Pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi).

First time we had seen these giant Cactuses!

The saguaro (/səˈwɑroʊ/) (Carnegiea gigantea) is an arborescent (tree-like) cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea, which can grow to be over 20 m (70 ft) tall. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Mexican State of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains and Imperial County areas of California. The saguaro blossom is the state wildflower of Arizona. Its scientific name is given in honor of Andrew Carnegie.

Saguaros have a relatively long lifespan. They may grow their first side arm any time from 75–100 years of age, but some never grow one at all. A saguaro without arms is called a spear.

The arms are grown to increase the plant's reproductive capacity (more apices lead to more flowers and fruit). The growth rate of saguaros is strongly dependent on precipitation; saguaros in drier western Arizona grow only half as fast as those in and around Tucson, Arizona. Some specimens may live for more than 150 years; the largest known saguaro is the Champion Saguaro growing in Maricopa County, Arizona, and is 13.8 m (45.3 ft) tall with a girth of 3.1 m (10 ft). These cacti can grow from 40 to 60 ft tall. They grow slowly from seed, and never from cuttings. Whenever it rains, saguaros soak up the rainwater. The cactus will visibly expand, holding in the water. It conserves the water and slowly consumes it.