Our last (penultimate) episode ended in Tusayan, AZ, adjacent to the Grand Canyon National Park. Here’s a brief summary of our final travels.
April 3 (Wednesday): We drove 146 miles from Tusayan to the Homolovi State Park near Winslow, AZ, for a 1 night stay at a site with electric and water hookups. This State Park includes several archaeological sites which are remnants of prehistoric settlements of the Hisat’sinom, which is the Hopi word for “long-ago people.” These sites are considered sacred to the Hopi, and they ask that visitors treat the settlements with respect by not disturbing anything or taking photographs. After settling in at the campground, I rode my bike about half a mile to one of the sites and walked around the pathways marked for visitors. It was fascinating to see these remnants, such as pottery shards and stone walls, from a village that was occupied between 1330 and 1400 AD. The RV campground was very nice, with widely spaced sites and expansive views of the desert terrain and far-off mountains. As luck would have it, another couple from Cleveland pulled in to a nearby site in a Leisure Travel Vans Unity RV (same brand as ours) and had to come over and compare notes about our campers – just what a curmudgeonly hermit like me hopes for during dinner. NOT!
April 4 (Thursday): The next day, we drove 204 miles from Homolovi State Park to the Lavaland RV Park near Grants, NM, where we spent the night in a site with full hookups. The interesting thing about this park was an on-site microbrewery. I strolled over to check it out shortly after we arrived, and enjoyed a pint of something called Bombin’ Out Piñon Stout, flavored with piñon nuts as you probably guessed. Delicious!
April 5 (Friday): On Friday, we drove 250 miles to Tucumcari, NM, where we stayed one night at the Blaze-In-Saddle RV Park. On the entire trip, we didn’t see many places that looked sadder than Tucumcari. Formerly a thriving part of the famous Route 66, the road leading into the city is now lined on both sides with vacant and decaying buildings. The main part of town still has a fair number of residents and businesses, but it must be no more than half what it was back in the glory days. What a shame that no enterprise has come in to revitalize the place. The RV park was nice enough, with full hookups, but when we drove off the next day, we inadvertently left our leveling jack pads behind. I hope the next folks made good use of them!
April 6 (Saturday): We drove 207 miles to Liberal, KS on Saturday. Any thought that the political leanings of the place might match the city name were quickly dispelled as we passed by the local High School, which sported a large sign proclaiming itself as the “Proud Home of the Redskins.” Pfui. We parked the RV at a simple site with an electrical hookup. And what did I discover as I rode my bike over to the nearby Event Center to deposit a check for the site? The Willow Tree Golf Course, that’s what! So, I schlepped about a mile over to the clubhouse with my golf clubs and played 18 holes. The course was very nice, though flat as a pancake, with excellent fairways and greens. I played very well (for an old duffer) and enjoyed the beautiful spring afternoon.
April 7 (Sunday): The next day we were off again, for a 195-mile drive to the Sand Hills State Park near Buehler, KS. Overnight, the wind had come up, and we made the entire drive in a howling fury, buffeted by gusts that had to be near 50 mph. Worst of all, the highway was a two-lane affair, and whenever we encountered a semi-trailer truck going the opposite direction we were temporarily shielded from the wind, nearly sucking us into the wrong lane before the subsequent blast threw us back toward the right-hand ditch. By the time we reached the State Park, I could barely pry my hands off the wheel, and I was exhausted beyond belief. We found a nice RV site with full hookups, but hardly ventured out of the RV for fear of blowing away to he Land of Oz like Dorothy and Toto.
April 8 (Monday): Thankfully, the wind died down overnight before we left on our next leg, a 261-mile jaunt to the Wallace State Park near Cameron, MO. There, we were able to camp in a very nice RV site with water and electric hookups and a trailhead just steps away. Feeling much more relaxed than the day before, we hiked several miles around the park trails before retiring for the night.
April 9-12 (Tuesday-Friday): On Tuesday, we continued our near-sprint toward home with a 224-mile drive to the Pine Lake State Park near Eldora, IA. This is the same place we stayed way back when (October 23-24, 2018), our first stop outside of MN on our way south at the beginning of the Excellent Adventure. As faithful readers may recall, there is a golf course right next to the park, and I walked over there with my clubs right after we made camp in a site with an electric hookup. The weather was not too bad, mostly cloudy but warm enough (upper 50s). By the time I had played the 9-hole course twice, the weather began to deteriorate. By late afternoon it was sprinkling, and by late evening it was raining steadily. So, our sprint home stalled out there in Eldora as we were pelted by heavy rain for three days straight. Meanwhile, Minnesota was suffering through a veritable blizzard, so we just hunkered down in Iowa to wait it out. We ended up staying four nights at Pine Lake State Park, without encountering a single other camper. I guess most people realized it was too early for camping.
April 13-21 (Saturday-Saturday-Sunday): On Saturday we boldly ventured north to Minnesota. Almost comically, within a mile or two of crossing the border from Iowa, the ground was covered with snow. The sun was shining brightly, though, doing its best to melt it all away. After a 209-mile drive, we arrived at our son, Nick’s, home in Brooklyn Center, MN. The snow melted within a few days, and we stayed in the Twin Cities for just over a week doing various things, such as recovering our car from son Matt (who had served as its steward all winter), running errands that we had put off while traveling about the country, and visiting with family members, including a lovely Easter dinner at Pat’s brother Allen’s new home in Minnetonka. We actually stayed with Allen and his wife, LeAnne, during the week while the RV rested up in Nick’s driveway for the final leg of the trip home.
April 22 (Monday): After one final, 268-mile drive, I arrived home with the RV on Monday afternoon.
So that’s the end of our Excellent Adventure! Below is a map of our travels home from the Grand Canyon. (Click here for maps of the entire trip.)
Thanks to those faithful readers who have followed the adventure! I’ll leave you with a few final notes:
- From October 22, 2018 through April 22, 2019, we travelled 10,200 miles in the RV, plus several hundred more (not tracked) in three rental cars and our own car.
- We visited 11 states, 9 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, 1 National Recreation Area, and 12 or more State Parks in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
- We stayed at a wide array of RV Parks, from simple campgrounds with 10 or 20 sites to elaborate villages with over a thousand sites. All of them were nice, but I enjoyed the less fancy ones better.
- We had more fun than any two senior citizens have a right to expect, and we can’t wait to make another RV trip starting this fall.
Dave Saari 
Just WOW!
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