Made it - hopefully

By the time this blog publishes, we should be safe and sound back in Vegas – at least that is the plan. Our old plan, that we still have in our written itinerary for now, was to visit some sites we had not seen before either because we didn’t know about them, or they were lesser attractions. We managed to visit Louisiana’s Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge; however, we could only drive through it as it was closed due to Covid 19. Also, in Louisiana we visited the Cane Creole National Historic Park. However, we had the same result. We could drive through it, but all facilities were closed. Dang!

We did manage to at least see one of the items we had planned on. Old Route 66 runs through historic Holbrook Arizona, and we had planned to go there to and walk on Bucket of Blood Street. In 1886, Terrill’s Cottage Saloon had a reputation for being exceptionally violent, and one night that year a gunfight broke out between the cowboys that ended in so much death that the floors were said to be slick with a “bucket of blood.” Given the state of things, we didn’t get out and walk around to find it. We did manage to find the Empty Pockets Saloon which dates back to that time. However, before Coronavirus, we would have been excited to go inside to have a beer. As you can see the doors are closed and the Covid notice is posted.

It seemed to us that it was time to try to get home safe. As we mentioned, they opened the beaches on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and while it isn’t as insane as Jacksonville, the day before we left, you couldn’t even find a parking spot at the beach. As we wandered through Louisiana, the mall parking lots were simply packed. In Texas, a lot of dine in restaurants had parking lots that looked to be 80% full. We’ll feel better to be in our house where we can decide if we go out, rather than in an RV Park where social distancing is hard. Did I say “our house”/ We actually do have a house in Vegas, but we have a tenant, and because of the Governor’s emergency order, we can’t ask him to leave so we can live in our own house! We had to find somewhere else to rent!

Even though we seem to dwell nonstop on the pandemic, we still find ourselves in RV parks every night. Occasionally we are pleased to see things that make us feel bit more normal, although in most cases the feeling is rather fleeting. At the KOA in Williams Arizona, if you wanted to experience first hand the old west, you can spend the night in a teepee. We have seen this before, but what we had not seen in any other park we have visited the ability to spend the night in Conestoga wagons.

 

We have also found another way to pretend we aren’t in the midst of a national pandemic. Even though all hell has broken loose, there are still geocaches out in public that are being maintained by their owners. When we stop at a rest area or in an RV park at night, we check to see if there is a cache nearby, and luckily, there usually is. It gives us just a few minutes to feel more in the past – that is until we open the cache container, sign the log, and then douse our hands in sanitizer!

Talk to you soon.