LAST ONE FOR NOW

This is probably the last entry in our travel blog at least for a while. We'll be home in a couple days. It's still snowing in Maine . Good grief! I do miss our family and friends, tho... a lot.

For those interested, we did use a wonderful Canon 5D digital SLR...for about 5% of the photos on this blog. All the rest were taken with an inexpensive little Canon digital point-and-shoot Power Shot SD 1000. It was easy to stick in my pocket and take anywhere. I have been extremely impressed with this little camera. It's really tough (I dropped it twice, once on a rock, and stepped on it once) and takes amazingly nice quality pix. It endured a huge amount of dust in the desert.

It has 7.1 megapixels. I got it used on eBay for 129.00. I certainly got my $$ worth! I highly recommend it.

I'm so glad everyone seemed to enjoy the blog. I'll pick up where we left off on our next adventure!

LUNCH ON THE PARKWAY

ANNIE GETS COMFORTABLE

Annie, at age (almost) 13 still pops up on the couch for a nap! (while we are moving, lol)

THE GIRLS HIKE

BLUE RIDGE HIKE

Paul and I took the dogs (for part of ) a beautiful hike to Linvall Falls in the mountains. It was dreary and foggy, but lovely just the same. And the girls had a blast.

FOGGY TUNNELS

We didn't have very good luck today on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The fog simply wouldn't lift. We went a different route for about 50 miles, but it was still too foggy to drive safely. Some of the shoulders here are only a few feet wide, no guardrails, and drops of 1000 feet or more. No problem at all when the visibility is OK, but.....

Here are some shots of the tunnels we went through on the Parkway. Pitch black inside, with fog billowing at the entrance and exit. Notice the headlights on the car exiting the tunnel...that's all you can see, headlights.

We are parked at a Love's truck stop for the night, we'll try again tomorrow. I doubt things will have changed. If it' still socked in, we'll head on home on I 81.

Boo Hoo...it's our last shot at a fun motorcycle ride before we go home to snowy Maine. And nobody will feel sorry for us at all!! haha...

SOCKED IN WITH BLUE RIDGE FOG

We are still on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are totally socked in with pea soup fog. Totally. We finally found a place to pull off and hopefully the fog will lift enough for us to travel. If not: we'll spend the night here, I guess.

We've been going 15-20 mph through this pass...very steep and very curvy. Paul said at times he could only see 15 feet in front of him. So much for the lovely view!

IN THE TRUCK WITH THE BELLES

While traveling, we still find fun stuff for the dogs to do. Chewies and toys to pass the time, playing tug of war, grooming, and just holding and cuddling them is enjoyment for them and me too. (notice Bella's "stash". ) :)

Anniebelle is grinning because she just stole Bella's favorite place to be: in the dog bed between the seats. Annie gets her turns sitting in my lap looking out the side window, too.

Of course, Breezey's favorite way to pass the time is lying in my lap like a baby.

MORE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

Looking down on the truck from our hike.

More scenery. You can certainly see why they are called the "Smokies" and "Blue Ridge Parkway"

TENNESSEE: SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY

Today we came through Knoxville TN. (not bad) and then through Pigeon Forge to Gatlainburg (BIG MISTAKE!) A gazillion people, cars, traffic lights , narrow streets, like a gigantic carnival that stretched for miles and miles. aaaargggh. I thought Paul's mirrors were going to hit someone in the head. No kidding. It took us at least two hours to cover that cussed route. Paul was in a foul mood after all that stressful driving.

Finally made it to Smoky Mountain National Park. What a relief! It's pretty today, misty and blue. I have always loved this area. So surreal and awe inspiring. The dogwoods and redbuds are in bloom.

Strange thing: the Blue Ridge Parkway (0ver 450 miles) had a closed sign on it. hmmmm...thought we'd go as far as we could. We are in about 100 miles now and still no closure. It's fantastic, we have it all to ourselves.

We are now parked at a parking area at the top of an incredible overlook, and plan to spend the night here. Took the dogs for a long glorious walk into the misty hills. They are exhausted but so happy. I even made Breezey walk for a half mile or so, lol.

Life is good!!

THE TRIP EAST

We are now headed slowly North East to home. A few interesting things along the way:

Flooded areas in Arkansas. (we saw an area devasted by a (tornado?) but I wasn't fast enough with the camera to get a shot of it. Tree tops were torn off like toothpicks.

A truck carrying a bunch of fun!!!

Lotsa trucks on I 40

A cropduster flying low.

MORE MOUNT LEMMON

As we descended down the other side of Mt. Lemmon, we stopped at a cafe and had some lemon ice cream pie and iced tea. Then we turned around and went back through the pass again. :)

MOUNT LEMMON

After our cruise through the park, we decided to climb Mt. Lemmon at the recommendation of Winn and John, and Keith as well.

We had a ball!

Great switchbacks, beautiful vistas, totally fun twists and turns. I got a shot of Paul on his 'Busa coming around one of the turns.

Mt. Lemmon is a rare jewel in the Arizona desert. Jutting up 9,000 feet above sea level, this magnificent mountain peak stands amidst the pale backdrop of the sparse desert sand and cactus.

As we climbed into the higher elevations, we had to have the usual tourist photo in the snow (it was 70 degrees out)

SAQUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST

Paul and I took the loop road today on the motorcycles. I apologise for raving about the desert here, over and over. It has really left a huge impression on me. It's like a giant cultivated garden. So incredibly beautiful. If you are ever in Tucson, be sure to drive this loop, especially if the desert is blooming.

JIM AND WANDA, WESTERNERS IN THE DESERT

This post is out of sequence, but no matter. While in Brenda we met Jim and Wanda (from Minnesota) who also fly a powered parachute and love 4 wheeling.

They asked Paul and I if we would take some portraits of them at the corral in the desert behind Black Rock Park for an anniversary photo.

I called it the "5 minute photo shoot", but the pix came out pretty good. (great subject matter, cooperative, too!)