Where we plan to go

Here is the general plan from here:

Spring 2022 — Ottawa NWR near Toledo OH
Summer 2022 — Visit family & friends around Ohio
Aug 2022 — Alaska Cruise
Fall 2022 — Bale Grist Mill, Napa Valley, California
Winter 2022-3 — Desert Gardens RV Park
Things are pretty much up in the air after that.  We may stay a little longer at Desert Gardens in the spring.  We are talking about a trip with RVing friends to New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
Places still on our “To Do” list:

Top 25 National Wildlife Refuges for Birding

National Monuments and Parks

Summary of our travels:

We started in Cleveland on October 16, 2015, visited Charleston, SC, and St. Augustine, FL.  Then visited family and friends in Winter Haven and Destin, FL.  We stopped in Livingston, TX, where we attended the Escapee’s Boot Camp and become “Real Texans” (driver’s license & all!)

We started our volunteering career at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument as Interpretive Guides winter 2015-2016.  We then took the month of April 2016 to travel the southern California desert country.  We spent summer 2016 at Palatki Heritage Site near Sedona, AZ.  Fall of 2016 we were in southern New Mexico at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Dec. & Jan. was time for family and friends in Florida.  Feb. – April of 2017 we were near Houston, TX, at Anahauc National Wildlife Refuge.

The summer of 2017 we were at Grand Portage NM in northern Minnesota.   For the Fall of 2017, we traveled to the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mesa Verde, Canyonlands, Arches, etc.  Winter 2018 — was boondocking in southern Arizona.  The spring of 2018 was spent at Bosque del Apache NWR (this won’t be completely breaking our “no return” policy, since it will be a totally different season and totally different wildlife!)

Our summer vacation of 2018 took us to Glacier National Park, on up into Canada to Banff, Jasper, then to Washington and Oregon.  Finally we returned to Arizona to volunteer at Petrified Forest National Park for September through November 2018.

We purchased a lot (actually, a 99 year lease) at Desert Gardens RV Park.  We spent the winter of 2018-19 at this beautiful and spacious park about half way between Phoenix and Tucson.  We hope to spend the winter months there each year.

Spring of 2019 we traveled to Houston for Don’s Birthday, Taft TX to see Janelle, Destin FL for Fran, Winter Haven for Barbara, then on to Pocosin Lakes NWR and the Outer Banks.  This included excursions to Williamsburg, Durham, and Wilmington NC.

Summer 2019 was a big loop to see many friends and family we had not seen for a while.  Fairmont WV, Pittsburgh PA, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Wahoo NE, and Kanab UT were all part of the grand loop.

Fall 2019 was back to Bosque del Apache NWR, our second home!  And a return to Desert Gardens for the winter.

2020 was not  so much traveling and sight-seeing.  With the COVID-19 Virus, after we left Desert Gardens we were ‘sheltering in place’ on my son’s property in Chardon, OH, from May through Labor Day.

Fall 2020 – Winter/Spring 2021 – Portland, Oregon, helping Kajsa and family with distance learning and virus precautions.

Summer 2021 — Touring southern Oregon and Northern California, ending at our friends, Cindi & Roger’s place outside of Kanab.

Fall 2021 — Back at Bosque del Apache

Winter 2021-2 — Desert Gardens RV Park, south of Florence AZ

We have found that we (especially Judith) really like the structure that a volunteer position provides, so we will plan to continue to volunteer some each year, although we have scaled back some from previous years.  We tried the more “foot-loose” style and found “too much” freedom was not for us.  We enjoy a fair amount of flexibility when volunteering, and our “vacations” between assignments, but we also like the structure and sense of “giving back” that volunteering provides.

Our Travels – 2015 -2016  — Map on Google

2015-16 Travels

Our 2017 Travels — Map on Google

2017 Travels

Our 2018 Travels — Map on Google

2018 Travels

Our 2019 Travels — Map on Google

2019 Travels

Our 2020 Travels – Map on Google

2020 Travels

Our 2021 Travels – Map on Google

14 thoughts on “Where we plan to go

  1. Sedona!! How wonderful 🙂
    I also like the Nov – Dec visit east to see friends and fam……hoping that means us
    Continue to enjoy ur retirement and that 60 degree weather in January….

  2. Sounds like you are having quite the retirement. Glad for both of you that you can do this. Enjoy each day as time goes by too fast. We love Sedona. Just seeing the name brings back wonderful memories.
    Don’t know if you got word that Charlotte Tucker Bellamy passed away February 23. She was at her home in Phoenix. It was very sudden. Her grandson found her. They will have a memorial service at a later date in Torrence CA. That is where her husband Joe had his church and also his memorial. Happy and safe travels to both of you. Judy and Roger

  3. Loved seeing you for dinner the other night. We’ll come up to Sedona this summer and see you again! xoxo

  4. We haven’t been out of the city all summer long but hope you’ve enjoyed Sedona. I’m looking forward to reading of your new adventures around the country.

    Hugs,
    Ruthie

  5. Sounds like you both are enjoying Nature at its finest. I always enjoy reading about your travels. I think about our scouting adventures with our children and some of the challenges we faced. Keep it up and God Bless.

  6. Hi guys, we r going to houston for thanksgiving. R u going to be there by any chance. Just thought i would check with u. Enjoy all that wildlife. Nature brings the best out of us. Doing ok most of time. Had reaction to old medicine i was taking. Sometimes hard to fight these side effects, but i am a fighter. Taking care of charlie, dog, from 12-6. Love doing it. Bobbing at pool. Just keep on trucking. Always good to hear from u. Miss u. Xo

  7. Greetings from Bosque Bird Watcher’s RV Park! We just arrived a few hours ago.
    It was so fun to read your blog and see your pictures from the Balloon Fiesta.
    Wonderful memories are meant to be shared!
    We worked on the balloon, Robby, (a tribute to handicapped youths) last night and left the park at 10p. Thankfully, the buses were still running! The balloon is 13 stories high and the fabric weighs 1,000 lbs. There were 16 vents that needed to be opened and ‘burped’. It was quite a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
    It was fun being your neighbor. Hopefully, we’ll connect ‘down the road’
    Safe travels!
    Ann

    1. It was great to get to know you two! Have a great time at Bosque, it is a fantastic place. Please stay in touch and we can make sure that we will connect again.

  8. Judith and Mark,

    Carol and I will be volunteering at Bosque at the same time you guys are there. We haven’t worked there but have volunteered in NM four other times, usually in fall. Topic: screen room: would it be useful at Bosque? We’ve visited the refuge many times but never stayed overnight but it seems mosquitos were there.
    It might be too windy. That was an issue we had in Los Cruces the two times we worked down there.
    We are just working on a packing list before we leave home, NC, in 10 days. Thanks

  9. Enjoyed reading your blog. Love the pictures of the birds. You are an excellent photographer.

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