{"id":1041,"date":"2022-09-03T15:07:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-03T15:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/?p=1041"},"modified":"2022-09-05T01:31:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T01:31:08","slug":"the-adventures-continue-week-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/2022\/09\/03\/the-adventures-continue-week-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventures Continue \u2013 Week 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

September 3, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\/27- The start of our second week as full-time Rvers was a full day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was Saturday so we had the whole day to enjoy. We got up early so we could make our 9 am Sandia Tram time. We got on the first tram going up the mountain. It was packed with high school kids. We were almost at the end of the line to get on. There were three or four people after us so I stepped aside and let them in first so Frank and I could be right next to the window going up. Frank calls it my King Tut trick because years ago when we went to see King Tut and I always managed to get up to the front of the exhibit while there were lines of people waiting to view it. When asked how I did it I told him you just go around to the back of the exhibit and get as close to the case as possible and edge around to the front. Anyway it worked once again and we had a great view going up the mountain. https:\/\/sandiapeak.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Packed Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The other tram heading down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the Tram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mountain is over 10,000 feet and we had amazing views until we were almost to the top. Then we hit a cloud bank that was hanging over the mountain. That meant we didn\u2019t have any great views from the top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Reaching the top of the mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sandia Peak Tram station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Low Visibility<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Watching the next tram come up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We can finally see the next tram coming up <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Trying to see anything from the mountain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We walked around a bit and then got on another tram going down. This one had less than a dozen people on it and you could walk around to see from different sides. It only took us a moment or two heading down to break out of the cloud bank and enjoy more beautiful views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heading back down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The clouds start to break<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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We can see clearly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Long ways to go<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Getting closer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Almost there<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After our tram ride we had booked a trolley tour of Albuquerque to leave at noon. So we headed into town and found the hotel where the trolley would be picking us up. We were hungry and close by was a food court called the Saw Mill. We walked over and looked at all the different choices before getting pastries. I was able to enjoy a gluten free blueberry muffin. Then it was time to head back to the hotel for our tour. The tour was an hour and a half long and very interesting. Our tour guide was an actress and she put on quite a show. Albuquerque is a popular place for filming movies and TV shows because of all the days of sunshine there. We went past some houses that were used in the show Breaking Bad. We visited the old railyards and various neighborhoods but the highlight of the trip was visiting three houses built by Bart Prince. One of the house is known as the Bug House or Spaceship UFO. The tour guide told us the store of Will Shatner stopping at the house and knocking on the door. When Bart opened the door Will said Beam me up Scotty. It earned him one of the few tours ever permitted of the house. https:\/\/www.tourabq.com\/abqtrolley<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our trolley bus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Exploring downtown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Exploring old town<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bart Prince House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Bart Prince House<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After our tour we actually had to hurry back to the RV as Frank had a schedule Saturday migration for a customer. While he was doing that I worked on last week\u2019s blog and did our laundry at the campground laundromat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\/28- Got packed up and headed out this morning. Stopped at the Albuquerque balloon museum on the way out of town. The building is shaped to look like a giant balloon on its side. Sunday\u2019s admission is free in the morning. I am glad it was free because there was a lot of reading and very little exhibits. I did enjoy the kid\u2019s section where I got to shot scarfs out of a tube. https:\/\/balloonmuseum.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I would rather be going up in a real balloon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fake balloon ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Balloon Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Views from the TramBalloon Muesum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The building is shaped like a balloon laying down<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We needed to find somewhere to fill up with gas and there was a Costco nearby. Getting gas is always a challenge because you have to find a pump that you can get into and out of with a 37 foot motorhome pulling a Jeep which adds another 16 + feet. Costco was a challenge but we were able to make it work. After we got gas we pulled into the parking lot and ate lunch and listen to our church service on my phone. The security guard at Costco must have thought we were there to set up camp as he stopped by and asked if we were okay. Then we headed out to Bloomfield, New Mexico which is just 20 miles from the Colorado boarder. Since we were getting in late afternoon we had thought of going and seeing some sights but we were both tired out and decided to make an early dinner, watch some TV and head off to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8\/29- Left Bloomfield as soon as Frank finished his morning work and headed toward Moab, Utah. We had seen a Cherokee Culture Center on the map and thought that would be a great place to tour and make lunch. Boy was that an adventure. We had no idea that the Culture Center was on a one lane dirt road. By the time we turned the corner and found out we had to then figure out how we were going to get our motor home turned around and back on the paved road. I used my made Tetris skills and Frank agreed it would work. We unhooked the Jeep and I moved it down the road to the pavement out of the way then Frank managed to eked the RV back and forth in the limited space and get it turned around toward the paved road. He pulled in front of the Jeep and we got it hooked back up. After that adventure we took a few minutes to sit down and eat lunch before hitting the road again. Our lunch break was very relaxing but we did have an adventure and got to stretch our legs. We didn\u2019t make any other stops and managed to get to the KOA in Moab just in time to hook up and for Frank to go to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okay It wasn’t really that bad but it felt like it<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

8\/30- When Frank was done with work today we head out to Arches National Park. We didn\u2019t know that they had a system to keep the number of people down in the park. Everyone has to reserve an entrance time in advance. So when we pulled up we were told we couldn\u2019t go into the park until we had an entrance time reserved. We were lucky that there were still several 10-11 am entrance times still available. We pulled over and jumped on my iPad reserved the time and came back around and got in the park. If you haven\u2019t had an opportunity to visit Arches National Park I highly recommend it. It is an amazing, beautiful, breath-taking place. Our Jeep was perfect for the park as we were able to pop off the roof and see unobstructed views as we drove. https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/arch\/index.htm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taking the top off the Jeep improved the our view<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Only thing better than a Jeep is………. nothing, nothing is better than a Jeep<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Enjoying the scenery with the top of the Jeep off<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Camel Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Elephant Parade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The waves imprint left by water running over the rocks millions of years ago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Balance Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We ended up spending 4 hours there before we had to head back to the RV for Frank to work. We found an off-road trail and after Frank had driven on it quite a ways he asked me if I wanted to drive. I was nervous but excited to give it a try and it was a blast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fun getting off the red line and exploring the black and dotted line roads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Diane Off-Roading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Diane enjoyed Off-Roading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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They warned us and<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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warned us and<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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warned us again<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After Frank was done working we went for a swim at the campground pool, had dinner and waited for it to get dark enough to head back to Arches to watch the stars come out.  It was dark when we left the campsite but as we drove up into Arches the sun was still setting. And then we watched the millions and millions of stars come out. You could see the Milky Way and it was so beautiful. My only disappointment was that my IPhone would not take pictures of the stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunset at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sunset at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sunset at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Evening time at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Evening time at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Evening time at Arches National Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

8\/31- Another great day in Moab! Frank had to work late today so we weren\u2019t able to head out until noon but we took advantage of every minute we had. We tried out one off-roading trail but found out quickly with its big boulders to climb it wasn\u2019t right for us. We headed down the road and saw a dinosaur exhibit. It was closed for the day but we were able to take some fun pictures with the \u201cdinosaur chasing us\u201d for our grandkids. https:\/\/moabgiants.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Trying out an off-road trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Trying out an off-road trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Trying out an off-road trail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Frank terrified of the dinosaur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Diane running from the dinosaur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We found Dinosaur Trail that lead to an area with some dinosaur fossils. After walking around there we hoped on another trail that was 18 miles long and eventually lead us back to the highway. https:\/\/www.discovermoab.com\/4-wheeling\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Off-Roading in Moab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On our way back to town we stopped and crossed the Colorado River on a walking bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Colorado River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Colorado River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Colorado River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since we still had some time left before Frank had to go back to work we decided to visit Hole \u2018n the Rock. I thought it was just a gift shop but found out they have a tour of a 14 room 5,000 square foot house that was built in the rock back in the 1950\u2019s. It has a 65 foot tall chimney that runs through the rock to their fireplace. All the original furnishing are still there and it was like walking back in time. Mr. Christensen who built the house died in 1957 and his wife continued to live there until she passed away in the 1970\u2019s. The family now allows tours but no pictures. The cost of the tour was only $6 each and well worth it.\u00a0 We headed back to the RV and Frank finished his work day before we got the RV ready to head out tomorrow. https:\/\/www.theholeintherock.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hole in the Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hole in the Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Hole in the Rock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9\/1- Today was not the greatest day. I started out doing the things I can do to get the RV ready to head out this morning while Frank finished his work day. I got the water and electric unhooked and the Jeep lined up for the tow-hitch. Then when Frank was done working we finished up and headed out. We had to stop for gas before leaving town and ended up paying $4.79 a gallon. The most we have paid the whole trip by a lot. Our drive from Moab to Provo was supposed to be 3 \u00bd hours but due to bad roads and steep hills that slowed us way down it actually took us 5 hours. We did stop in Green River and toured the museum their on the history of the river, saw their dinosaur display and ate lunch. We stopped at a fruit stand on the way out of town to pick up Green Rivers famous melons. We got a watermelon and a cantaloupe. https:\/\/johnwesleypowell.com\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Green River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Green River famous for their melons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Thought we would give Green River melons a try<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After driving through the hills for a couple hours we needed another short break so we pulled into Helper, Utah and got out and stretched our legs. We saw a giant statue of Big John honoring the coal miners who had died doing their job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Memorial for the Miners who died<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Diane and Big John<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Frank and Big John<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When we finally got to Provo our Garmin let us down. Instead of having us turn down the road the RV park was on, it lead us past it. Once we realized that we had to find a place to turn around. We went into a business park under construction and didn\u2019t notice there was a huge hole in the road we were turning on. We hit the hole and everything in the RV went flying. Doors that normally stay shut flew open along with the fridge. The only glass bowl I brought ended up in a million pieces amid grapes and other items. Once we finally got to the campground we had quite the job cleaning up all the broken pieces. The RV had to be swept, vacuumed and mopped. After we got that all cleaned up we still had laundry to do so after Frank got off work we head over to the laundromat and was finally done and able to go to bed by 10 pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mema was not a happy woman <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

9\/2- Today was my birthday! It really made up for yesterday. We spent the morning just being lazy. I even took a nap before we headed out. Since it was my birthday Frank took a half day off work. This afternoon we headed over to where my daughter-in-law Melanie works. Frank dropped me off and Melanie and I went and got our nails done. Then we headed back to her house where she gave me a haircut. Frank spent the time doing some running around to Costco and Lowe\u2019s before meeting us back at Franklyn and Melanie\u2019s house. We got to see the grandkids but only for a brief time as they had been ill. They all wore masks and stayed in their bedroom so they wouldn\u2019t get us sick. We picked up a Costco pizza for them for dinner since they weren\u2019t up to go out to dinner with their parents and us. We met my son Franklyn at Blue Lemon for dinner. It is a great restaurant with lots of healthy options. After dinner they headed home and we headed to the nearby outlet mall to get Frank some new tennis shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That finished week 2 of our adventures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 3, 2022 8\/27- The start of our second week as full-time Rvers was a full day in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was Saturday so we had the whole day to enjoy. We got up early so we could make our 9 am Sandia Tram time. We got on the first tram going up the…Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1041"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1152,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041\/revisions\/1152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themuellerfamily.org\/htr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}