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Banana Boat Bytes
Adventures With Rich and Donna

Co-Starring The Fiberglass Banana Boat

Featuring 'Joe' and 'Willy', the Wonder Jeeps!

Where are we?  Click HERE

We're fortunate enough to be able to travel in our motorhome approximately 6-months of the year, mostly in the spring and fall.  We use this web space to share our experiences and photos with our friends and family. 

Our Current Weather

 

 

The Banana Boat

Jeeps

Campgrounds This Year

March 14, 2008 - Mr. Lincoln's Campground, Springfield IL
March 15, 2008 - Jolin KOA, Joplin, MO
March 16, 2008 - Amarillo Overnight Park, Amarillo, TX
March 17, 2008 - Little Vineyard RV Park, Deming, NM
March 18-April 10, 2008 - Mesa Spirit RV Park, Mesa, AZ
April 11-April 26, 2008 - Benson I-10 RV Park, Benson, AZ
April 27-May 3, 2008 - Distant Drummer RV Park, Camp Verde,AZ
May 4-5, 2008 - Grand Canyon Railway RV Park, Williams, AZ
May 6, 2008 - Flying J, Albuquerque, NM
May 7, 2008 - Mountain Road RV Park, Tucumcari, NM
May 8, 2008 - Elk Creek RV Park, Elk City, OK
May 9, 2008 - Flying J, Sullivan, MO
May 10-11, 2008 - Camp Lakewood, Effingham, IL
May 12-17, 2008 - Dayton Tall Timbers KOA, Brookville, OH

Photo of the Day

At the Grand Canyon

Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Good evening from Tucumcari, NM.  This was an unplanned stop this evening (Wednesday evening).  We left Albuquerque, NM this morning intending to stop in Tulsa, OK for the evening but by around 1pm the crosswinds on Interstate 40 were pretty strong and I had been fighting them pretty much all the way from Albuquerque so we decided to call it a day and continue east tomorrow.  We found a little campground here in Tucumcari and set up camp.

A lot has been going on during the past 10-days or so.  We left Camp Verde, AZ last Sunday (May 4) where we had spent a week running around Sedona, AZ and went to Williams, AZ which is about thirty-minutes west of Flagstaff, Arizona.  On Monday, May 5, we took a train trip/tour from Williams to the Grand Canyon.  I'll be posting photos of Sedona and the Grand Canyon a little later. 

We left Williams yesterday, May 6, heading for Dayton, OH and the Dayton HamVention.  While I was looking at the map and planning our trip I noticed that we were going to pass through Winslow, AZ.  Maybe you remember 'The Eagles' hit, "Take It Easy"?  "I was standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona...such a fine sight to see.  It's a girl, My Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me..."  Remember?  Well, it turns out that Winslow, AZ is a town of about 9000 people ninety-minutes west of Flagstaff on I-40.  We weren't driving a flatbed Ford (although the camper IS on a Ford chassis), we decided to slow down and take a look at Winslow.

A few years ago a committee was formed in Winslow to create a roadside attraction along US Route 66 depicting the lyric in the 'The Eagles' song, "Take It Easy" to increase tourism.  The result was a life-size statue of a male musician 'standing on the corner'.  Behind him is a 2-story mural containing the image of a girl in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at him.  One of the committee members who conceived the idea donated the use of his red flatbed Ford which is parked at the corner which lends a bit a realism to the whole thing.  The statue is facing the flatbed Ford.  There are a couple of souvenir shops on the same corner capitalizing on the song, The Eagles,  the connection to Winslow and Route 66.    Walking around downtown Winslow we saw another large mural of on the side of another building depicting the history of the railroads in Winslow.  We also had a nice lunch at a small Italian Restaurant, 'Rosa's Italian Kitchen' (highly recommended should you ever find yourself in Winslow). 

Getting to Winslow and the 'Standing on the corner' statue and memorial is really easy.  Winslow is located just off I-40.  If you're westbound take exit 257 and follow the signs for I-40 Business.  If you're eastbound on I-40 take exit 252 and follow I-40 Business.  US Route 66 is the same as I-40 Business.  The 'Standing on the Corner' statue and memorial is located at the corner of 2nd Street (US 66/I-40 Business) and North Kinsey Avenue.  Rosa's Italian Kitchen is  1-2 blocks east on US 66/I-40 Business.

Some photos from Winslow are attached here and on the website.  Click HERE for the photos.
More about Sedona and the Grand Canyon a little later.  Take care.



Previous Blog Entries

 

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Trip Photos - Spring 2008

Cubs Spring Training at HoHoKam Park (March 19-27, 2008)
Go Cubs Go!  Go Cubs Go!  Hey Chicago, whadda ya say, the Cubs are gonna win today!  Well, we made it to spring training 2008.  We scored tickets to 4-games at HoHoHam Park (read more)

Fergie & Friends All-Star Carity Baseball Game (March 28, 2008)
Feguson Jenkins, Jody Davis, Billy Williams, Rollie Fingers, Juan Marachal, JR Richard, Willie Wilson, Al Dowling, George Foster, Gary Bell, Ron Robinson, John Mayberry, Steve Trout (read more)

The Apache Trail (April 1, 2008)
The Apache Trail is an historic, scenic route running through the Superstition Mountains and the Tonto National Forest between Apache Junction, AZ and Globe, AZ  Much, most, of this route is through beautiful desert country.  Beautiful desert?  You betcha.  The desert was in full bloom.  All sorts of yellow, purple, (read more)

The Superstition Mountains (April 7, 2008)
The Superstition Mountains just east of Phoenix, rise to a height of approximately 3000-feet above the valley floor.  According to one online source, the name was coined by area farmers in the 1860's.  They heard stories from local Pima Indians about how they feared the mountains.  (read more)

The Titan II Missile Museum (April 15, 2008)

The Titan II Missile Museum is one of only two remaining Titan II Missile silos in the world (the other is at Vandenberg AFB in California.  At one time, there were 54 Titan II misses deployed in groups of 18 around Little Rock, AR., Wichita, KS. (read more)

Bisbee, Arizona (April 19, 2008)

We spent the day in Bisbee, Arizona, about 45 miles south of our base in Benson.  Bisbee is an old Arizona mining town that dates back to 1880.  At one time Bisbee was the second largest city west of the Rocky Mountains (the first being San Francisco).  (read more)

309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARG)
(April 17, 2008)

Otherwise known as The 'Boneyard'.  Click HERE to view the slides

Pima Air & Space Museum (April 17, 2008)

Click HERE to view a slide show of the museum

Tombstone, AZ (April 21, 2008)

I'd always wanted to go to Tombstone...'The Town Too Tough To Die'.  Founded in 1879 the name was taken from a mining claim of very rich silver discovered in 1877 by Ed Schieffelin.  Prior to striking out to find his fortune he was warned (read more)

Mission San Xavier del Bac (April 22, 2008)

Located south of downtown Tucson, Arizona off of Interstate 19, Mission San Xavier del Bac is a most beautiful church.  It was founded in 1699 by Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit missionary.  The church that we visited was actually constructed (read more)

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (April 24, 2008)

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is located west of downtown Tucson, Arizona in Tucson Mountain Park.  Part zoo, part natural history museum, part garden, the Desert Museum is said to be the most visited attraction in Tucson.  (read more)

Saguaro National Park (April 25, 2008)

The giant Saguaro (soh-WARE-oh) cactus is one of the symbols of the west.  They grow in a fairly narrow range of climatic conditions and their numbers are not as great as they were 50-years ago, mostly from disease, urban sprawl and thefts.    (read more)

Sky Island Scenic Byway (April 26, 2008)

When we were visiting the Saguaro National Park Donna was speaking with one of the park rangers asking about other 'do-not-miss' places for us to see.  He suggested we take a ride up the Sky Island Scenic Byway to the top of Mt. Lemmon.  (read more)

Winslow, Arizona (May 6, 2008)

Maybe you remember 'The Eagles' hit, "Take It Easy"?  "I was standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona...such a fine sight to see.  It's a girl, My Lord, in a flatbed Ford, slowing down to take a look at me..."  Remember?  Well, it turns out that (read more)

 

RV Park Reviews

Benson I-10 RV Park (April 11-25, 2008)

This is a high-desert RV park and thus there is no shade. Not many amenities, either. No pool, hayrides, extensive game/rec room, C-Store, etc. There is a small, very clean laundromat (read more)