Top 10 Workplace Tours

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Jelly Belly Factory

    

Top 10 Tacky Tourist Traps

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Devil's Tower

 

Top 10 Unique Eateries

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Top 10 Historical Sites

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Alcatraz Island inmates

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Top 10 National Parks

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Big Horn Sheep at Yellowstone

Arkansas - our 30th state

We have now visited three-fifths of the states on our Napkin Dreams trip. Arkansas had the distinction of being number thirty. How many will we get to? Forty, forty-nine, maybe even fifty? Time will tell how far we get!

First year in review

It has been awhile since I, Sunset the Snake gave one of my reports from the road. So since I do not have as much to do I thought I could report on the first year the Martin family has spent on the road. Yes a snake has put together a video, made the map and compiled the stats! If you do not believe this then you're imagination is seriously lacking and I am afraid you may suffer from serpent prejudice! Sorry about the lack of sound on the video, youtube has been having fits accepting the music, but we are trying to replace the sound with an audio swap but youtube is also having fits with that!

So here is the adventure by the numbers:

• We started in Cambridge, IL and ended the year in Pittsburgh, PA.
• We traveled over 35,000 miles between the RV and the vans.
• We visited 22 states
• Over 100 Walmarts and 1 Target
• We replaced eight tires.
• We visited 17 Zoos/Aquariums.
• We lost a total of 7 teeth.
• We explored 49 National Parks.
• We soaked up the sun on 10 different beaches.
• We ate at over 70 unique eateries and 25 different McDonalds and 95 other national or regional restaurant chains! 
• We saw at least 277 different species of animals.
• We toured 27 workplaces.
• We went to 6 different amusement parks.
• We spent time in two different countries.
• We traversed through 42 state parks.
• We stayed at over 120 campgrounds!
• Celebrated 7 birthdays.
• Expanded our horizons in over 40 museums.
• All in 372 days (this is from 9/23/10 - 10/1/11)

more...

Check out the basic path we took on our trip in the first year!

Four Corners

We are sorry, but we have removed this post because it is a part of our new book entitled Napkin Dreams.

 

 

Hoover Dam

We definitely had to stop and see Hoover Dam on our way through Vegas to California. In fact we really liked Hoover Dam better than we have Vegas. It is impressive site for sure. We elected not take the Dam tour, or should I say the tour of the Dam.

It was $30 each which comes out to $210 for our family. No discounts for the kids either.

Most of the crew would not have been very interested in the tour, and those that were did not feel good about leaving the other parent with all the little kids for so long in the parking lot.

Still it is quite impressive to see the sheer size of this structure, to read about the those who died during the construction process and to analyze the various facts on the size and tonage of the most famous (not the biggest though) dam in America.

It is ...
-- 726.4 feet high
-- 1,244 feet across at the top
-- 660 feet thick at the base
-- 45 feet thick at the topIt ...
-- weighs 6.6 millions ton ...
-- can store up 2 years 'average' flow from the Colorado River ...
-- total storage capacity can be measured in 30,500,000 acre feet ...

-- NO ONE IS BURIED IN THE DAM...
-- about 16,000 men and women worked on the project...
-- about 3,500 people were employed at any specific time.
-- Officially ... There were 96 'industrial' fatalities. during the construction of Hoover Dam. This figure does not include deaths by other means including heat, heart problems and curiously, pneumonia.

We also got to see the newly opened bridge over Hoover Dam. Actually we drove Howard across it! It is a pretty site as it towers above the dam connecting Arizona and Nevada. It also has some interesting facts that might amaze you:

• The highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

• The second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States and 14th in the world.

• The world's tallest concrete columns of their kind.

But what sets the bridge apart most of all is the setting.

It is perched 890 feet above the turquoise Colorado River, wedged between rock cliffs that form Black Canyon, with commanding views of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

Oatman, Arizona

This Family Friendly Freebee happens to be an entire town. It is a small little metropolis with a thriving population. However, the population that is thriving is not entirely human. Actually, the humans in this town may just be outnumbered by the wild burros that also walk it’s streets. It is the town of Oatman, Arizona and it is well worth a visit, should you ever happen to be in the area.
It’s a very quaint town resting quietly along old Route 66 in the middle of the Arizona mountains, and from the looks of it, it hasn’t changed much since the time that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon night in it’s little hotel. The ride through the twisting, turning mountain roads is enough to make the trip into Oatman worthwhile, though I don’t believe I would want to take an RV or over sided vehicle through those turns too often. But the ride is not the best part of this trip.
The best part of this Family Friendly Freebee is that the donkeys that roam the streets are extremely friendly and love to be petted and fed. Bring a bag of carrots with you if you plan on making this trip. (Or, if you choose to spend the money, there are stores that also sell bags of donkey food for a mere $1 a bag.) The donkeys eat right out of your hand and will bring you ample opportunities for Kodak moments. Even the littlest baby burros enjoy the human attention, but don’t feed them. In fact, the town is so careful of it’s tiny donkeys, that they put little stickers on their foreheads warning you not to feed them. But they do love the snuggles and your family will love the experience.
Check out the town on it’s website before you head there though. They seem to have some of the most interesting things going on in town. They put on a gunfight in the main street a couple of times a day and while we were there, the town was preparing for it’s big “Bed Race”. It seems this town has quite a sense of humor and you wouldn’t want to miss any of the fun. For our family, the ride through the mountains on the Old Mother Road was too much fun. And the donkeys roaming the streets were a huge 5 thumbs up from the Martin boys.

Playing London Bridge under London Bridge

So we visited London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and we had to play London Bridge underneath London Bridge! So what is London Bridge doing in a desert in America? I have copied the relevant information below for all you interested parties!

London Bridge is a bridge in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, United States, that is based on the 1831 London Bridge that spanned the River Thames in London, England until it was dismantled in 1967. The Arizona bridge is a reinforced concrete structure clad in the original masonry of the 1830s bridge, that was bought by Robert P. McCulloch from the City of London. McCulloch had exterior granite blocks from the original bridge numbered and transported to America, in order to construct the present bridge in Lake Havasu City, a planned community he established in 1964 on the shore of Lake Havasu. The bridge was completed in 1971 along with a canal, and links an island in the lake with the main part of Lake Havasu City.

So yes a large part of the London Bridge was actually moved here!

Get your kicks on Route 66

 

 

Sorry, this mpost has been taken down because it is in our book detailing our trip across America!

 

 

Calm at the Grand Canyon

Sorry, this mpost has been taken down because it is in our book detailing our trip across America!

 

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Campground reviews - Meteor RV Park/Canyon Gateway RV Park

The next two RV parks are in Northern Arizona. It has been a bit cold and barren here, so perhaps our impression of these two parks is eschewed because of the weather. Still for just finding a cheap place with hook-ups, these parks worked for us.

First on is Meteor Crater RV Park near Winslow, Arizona.

Nearby attractions - 8 - Extremely close to the Meteor Crater and Flagstaff. Lots of Route 66 sites close by and several national parks within an hour away.

Staff - 7 - Professional, but not personable.

Natural surroundings - 7 - Great view of the San Francisco Mountain peaks, a few trees on the sites. Interstate 40 close by but we could not hear anything.

Value - 8 - We paid $24 a night for two nights for electric and water only, pull-through site.

Bathrooms - 8 - Nice bathrooms. Had to let the hot water run for quite awhile, but it does eventually turn hot.

Roominess - 7 - Sites were a little short and a picnic table at each site. Had to squeeze the van in.

Facility fun - 4 - Very small playground. Clubhouse with large TV and foosball table.

Cleanliness - 8 - Decently maintained.

Facility usefulness - 8 - Expensive laundry facilities, no library, wifi was OK.

Overall - 7 - This park worked well for us because it was decent, moderately priced and close to the Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest National Park. It was too cold to play outside. We did see an amazing sunset here.

Next we stayed at Canyon Gateway RV Park in Williams, Arizona. Very nicely priced and less than an hour from the Grand Canyon.

Nearby attractions - 8 - Grand Canyon and Flagstaff both pretty close. Grand Canyon Railway is in Williams if you are so inclined.

Staff - 8 - Didn't charge me extra for our kids and manager helped me get the cable set up to watch the Bears get clobbered.

Natural surroundings - 6 - A few trees and some decent views of mountains. Interstate and train are nearby but not overly loud.

Value - 8 - We paid $22 a night for three nights with Passport America.

Bathrooms - 7 - They were warm, a little on the downslide.

Roominess - 8 - Park was not crowded at all, but during summer I am thinking it will be. Still our pull-through site was plenty long.

Facility fun - 1 - Nutin to do here!

Cleanliness - 7 - Seven is slightly above average.

Facility usefulness - 7 - Nice and affordable laundry facilities, smokin' wifi was very good.

Overall - 6 - With Passport America the only cheaper place to stay nearby would be the national park, with no hook-ups. Plus we didn't have to take the RV off of Interstate 40, saving some gas.

Snapshots

This post has been deleted because it is in our new book describing our adventures across America entitled Napkin Dreams!

Tanner Explores Petrified Wood in 2002

 

 

Patsy and Blake at Painted Desert in 2002

Meteor Craters and Changing Theories

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Campground Review - Distant Drums RV Park

We found a nice little RV Park called Distant Drums in Camp Verde, Arizona, not far from the Sedona area. We found out that sometimes clean and tidy gets in the way of functional and convenient!

Nearby attractions - 7 - Very close to Montezuma Castle and Sedona. Flagstaff less than an hour away.

Staff - 7 - Very nice at first, but if you want to take a shower late or get your laundry out of the dryer at 8 pm, you might hear a sweet but unmistakable rebuke.

Natural surroundings - 8 - Great mountains all around. Interstate very close by.

Value - 9 - We paid $18 a night for three nights.

Bathrooms - 8 - What to say about the bathrooms. They were immaculate. Here's the catch though. You have to ask for a key, because they clean every time someone uses them. That way they know when to clean them. This means you can only take showers during office hours. The office was supposed to close at nine, so I got there at 8:10 and the lady said she guessed I could take one, but it would be hard on "the guy." My wife got the third degree about how many were going to use the shower when she went as well. Personally I felt like a third grader asking his school marm if he could go to the potty.

Roominess - 9 - Plenty of parking room and a picnic table at each site..

Facility fun - 8 - Heated pool and hot tub. Exercise room but no playground.

Cleanliness - 10 - This is the cleanest park I've seen yet.

Facility usefulness - 9 - Nice laundry facilities, swapping library, wifi was very good. They sell propane, small store, we had a back-in site since we were Passport America, but they have lots of pull throughs.

Overall - 8 - This is a very well kept park. They even sweep the small rocks every morning in between the sites. Just be careful of the bathroom key nazis.

Sedona and Red Rock State Park

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Montezuma Castle National Monument

We had never heard of this little national park south of Flagstaff until we stayed in nearby Camp Verde. We were staying in this region to visit the Sedona area and we saw signs and grabbed a brochure for Montezuma Castle. The main attraction are some ancient cliff dwellings still very well preserved.

I am still planning on taking the family to Mesa Verde this spring where we can walk through the cliff dwellings, but this was still a cool and educational stop, even if we could just view them from a distance. The junior ranger program here was so simple compared to Saguaro, where it took forever to complete the program.

It is pretty amazing to consider how these ancient peoples built this adobe home on the side of a cliff using no power tools, cranes, or even iron tools. I am sure it took an incredible amount of skill, patience and teamwork to see the task finished. Some of the very same character traits I am trying to teach my kids.

Most of these photos are courtesy of our resident photographer Blake.

Stuffington Bear Factory

Did you know there are only two working stuffed animal factories left in the United States? I guess we get most of our stuffed animals and teddy bears from cheap labor overseas. The Stuffington Bear Factory in Phoenix, Arizona is one of the two left standing! Our family made a stop here on our way out of Phoenix.

I will admit Blake was slightly less than thrilled, but he agreed to help us with the younger guys. Tanner on the other hand collects stuffed animals and was quite excited about stopping in to see the factory and use some of his money to make his own teddy bear.

The tour was the prefect length for toddlers and early elementary aged kids. Not only did they get to go back into the factory, they got to touch fur, eyes, thread, fluff and even have an air gun shot on their arm. There are nice blue tiles marking where to stay during the tour and they also got to see a bear stuffed.

Afterwards we had some lunch in their back parking lot and then Tanner went in with mom and made his bear. You not only get to stuff your bear, you can bathe and comb it as well as pick out some ribbons for it. Tanner went with the most affordable bear for only $10. It is a pretty good deal because it is so well made. He named his bear Jonathan! If you don't buy a bear, there is no cost for this tour!