Oh Fred, Say it ain't so...

6500 miles, 13 KOA's, 6 Wal-Marts, a spell at the Florer Family Campground and Fred decided to throw a hissy-fit. What's up with that? It's true we did manage to limp into a Citgo Station, but still, he basically just up and quit on us.

Four hours later we found ourselves hitched up to a huge monster-sized wrecker and on the way to Harvey Chevrolet in Radford, Virginia. I can't tell you how traumatized my princess was (not from the breakdown, but having to ride in the wrecker). I can tell you that neither our new BFF Bruce nor his wrecker was inspiring much confidence.


Never-the-less, it was still a good thing and a bad thing. Bad in that nobody in their right mind wants to see Harvey Chevrolet, but good in that Virginia Tech was close. So, sweet as shoofly pie, I was on the phone to Addie asking him if he (AND HIS CAR) would like to have dinner together. Needless to say, it was not long before Peg and I were headed up I-81 (in Addie's Car; he's such a good boy) and Erma was patiently waiting for Fred to get out of the hospital...

Can you say, "Black Velvet..."

Feets don't fail me now. From New Mexico to Tennessee, we pounded I-40 for three straight days, but who in their right mind would pass up a chance to see the King?

Not us, for sure. "Graceland" was on our "TO DO" list.



After being out west for three straight weeks, the humidity hit us like a ton of bricks. Nevertheless, we were on a mission.

The the folks at Graceland were also on a mission...separating us from our money.



It's still worth the price of admission and something everyone should see at least once. The house sits on thirteen acres of land across the street from the Elvis campground, gift shops, car museum, airplanes, etc., etc., etc.


And yes, there is what the press calls a "jungle room" and it does have shag carpet on the ceiling, but really, it's not as stupid as it sounds. You need to see it! You will not be disappointed. It's a great house.


P.S. They say he's buried here, but I'm not so sure...I could have sworn I saw him in the laundry room at a KOA in South Dakota!

La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis

Because of Fred's "issues" in Cheyenne, we didn't have a prayer of going all the way to Santa Fe. Never-the-less, we came over the Raton Pass, did a hats off to Philmont as we passed the Cimmeron exit and plowed on to a Wal-Mart in Las Vegas (New Mexico, not Nevada).

 It was morning before we checked into the Santa Fe KOA and got a good look at where we were. First thoughts; it's fabulous - museums, galleries, shops, architecture - I'm ready to retire. 

Santa Fe is known for it's Adobe houses. Peg loved this building, which is actually not a house at all - it turned out to be a parking deck - go figure. 

Santa Fe stands at about 7000 feet. The Rocky Mountains, known locally as the Sangre de Christos Mountains, start here and go all the way to the Arctic Circle.

The city is also the home base of Georgia O'Keefe. It should be a must on your tour list, even if art is not your thing. All in all we spent two full days here and are ready to come back next week. Hopefully, we'll see you there...