Author: Tony
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Northern Nevada
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Our journey to the west coast continued today. This was the furthest west we have traveled on I-80 in Usain. Wildlife Crossings The only really unique thing observed on our journey through northern Nevada were grass-covered, tunnel-like overpasses, that at first glance, didn’t seem to serve any purpose. Lisa guessed that they might be wildlife…
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Park City, Utah
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The end of our third day on the road took us to Park City, Utah. We were here in September 2024 when we toured the Utah Olympic Park and spent a couple of nights on Wasatch Mountain. This time we stayed at a lower altitude and had a nice hike below the Olympic ski jump…
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Better Late Than Never
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We had planned to start our next adventure on Sunday, May 31, but a checkup visit to Lisa’s oncologist the week before threw a monkey wrench into our plans. A potential issue was discovered but after an MRI, ultrasound, and finally a biopsy, we didn’t get away until Thursday, June 11. Hoping for the best,…
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2026 Snowbird Trip Recap
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12/18/2025 – 03/21/2026 Our snowbird trip to the Southwest was an overwhelming success. While we missed the beaches of Texas this winter, we didn’t miss the humidity. The weather couldn’t have been better, and the unusually warmer months of February and March allowed us to venture further north in Arizona than we had originally planned.…
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Champions Landing Stop then Home
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For our final stay of our epic 2026 Snow Bird Trip, we had intended to overnight at the Strataca Salt Mine in Hutchison, Kansas after our tour there, since they are a Harvest Host. However, it was still in the upper 90’s and after running the AC in the van during our mine visit we…
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Two State Park Overnighters
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As this year’s snowbird trip is ending, we have found ourselves in the midst of record breaking high temperatures across the southwest and far up into the central states. We left Moriarty, New Mexico on Wednesday with the goal of reaching central Kansas by Friday and then home on Saturday. Ute Lake State Park We…
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Petroglyph National Monument and a Brewery
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It’s that point in our snowbird journey when it’s time to start pointing Usain toward home. Our points of interests will become fewer, not because they aren’t interesting, but rather they become more familiar as we will be overlapping past journeys (there are only so many ways to get back to Iowa). For now, though,…
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Homolovi State Park
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We stayed a couple of nights at Homolovi State Park located a couple of miles north of Winslow, Arizona. The Hopi spelling of the word is Homol’ovi, which means “place of the little hills.” Before 2011 the park was named Homolovi Ruins State Park, but the Hopi petitioned the state parks board to remove the…
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Standing on the Corner in Winslow, Arizona
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“Well, I’m a standing on a corner in Winslow, ArizonaAnd such a fine sight to seeIt’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed FordSlowin’ down to take a look at me” — second verse of the song “Take It Easy” by the Eagles It’s funny how a single verse from a song can put a…
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Grand Canyon National Park
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Lisa and I hit up the Grand Canyon for the first time back in June 2017. We were in a rental car from Tucson then. This time, though, we rolled in with Usain. The Grand Canyon wasn’t even on our radar for this snowbird trip (not that we really had an itinerary) since it’s usually…