{"id":7288,"date":"2016-05-15T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T17:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/?p=7288"},"modified":"2023-06-29T21:38:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T01:38:51","slug":"welcome-to-our-world-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/7288","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Our World Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

So many of our friends, family and even strange acquaintances (you know who you are) questioned our state of mind when 3 years ago we bought an RV, packed everything we could into it, sold or gave away EVERYTHING that would not fit (including our sticks-n-bricks home), and drove off for adventures unknown.<\/p>\n

This year our friends (from left to right) Suzanne and Paul, and Andy and Candy, took to the road in their own rigs. They thought, well if we can do it, so can they.<\/p>\n

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Paul and Suzanne went South then West through New Mexico, North up through Colorado and back East across the Northern states to PA. Andy and Candy did basically the same trip but counter clockwise.<\/p>\n

Their timing couldn\u2019t have been better. They crossed paths with us, and each other, in the fine state of AZ. We met all of them in Flagstaff at the Black Bart RV park.<\/p>\n

Look at us all lined up like for school pictures: small (far left, Paul and Suzanne), medium (middle, Andy and Candy) and large (far right, John and me).<\/p>\n

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If you are ever traveling through the Flagstaff, AZ in your own RV be sure to stop here for a night or just for dinner. The wait-staff are all musicians and put on musical skits all through dinner. They will take your order and the next thing you know they will break out in song or do a little skit. It was cool. We were concerned that dinner might take a while or be slow to arrive. Nope, service was top notch.<\/p>\n

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Since we only had a day or so with our friends, we wanted to make sure we took them on at least one site-seeing tour. Off to Sadona!<\/p>\n

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So many Easterners ask us what do you like about the Southwest? Isn\u2019t it all dry sandy deserts? What about trees, do they have any? Sure they do, their \u201cmountains\u201d just happen to be real mountains. Bigness!<\/p>\n

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Because of the lack of rainfall, the mountains are not covered in trees, grass, and heavy underbrush like the coastal areas. Actually makes for much nicer hiking.<\/p>\n

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Both couples did make the observation that though there are trees, the variety of types is small, and the trees do not get terribly tall. But, that makes for some fantastic views.<\/p>\n

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As we explored the Sadona area, the beauty of the desert in spring was evident all around us. The cacti were blooming.<\/p>\n

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Most bushes in the desert flower as well. This flower matches the gorgeous \u201cred rocks\u201d of this area as well.<\/p>\n

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One thing about desert plants that still amazes me is how tough they are. Any little crack, crevice, or divot that can collect a few grains of dirt and a drop of water or two can support a plant.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the day, while we were enjoying dinner and a spectacular view out the restaurant\u2019s many windows, our friends admitted, finally, to thinking we were crazy when we hit the road 3 years ago.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_20160519_161449282_HDR\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, after spending weeks and months on the road, traveling the USA themselves, seeing the country, meeting new people\u2026.they get it\u2026they get us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So many of our friends, family and even strange acquaintances (you know who you are) questioned our state of mind when 3 years ago we bought an RV, packed everything we could into it, sold or gave away EVERYTHING that would not fit (including our sticks-n-bricks home), and drove off for adventures unknown. This year […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[879,215,670,250,1009],"class_list":["post-7288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-andy-and-candy","tag-arizona","tag-black-barts","tag-flagstaff","tag-paul-and-suzzie"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/DSCN1855_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3hvz5-1Ty","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14442,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/14442","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":0},"title":"Helping out a Friend","author":"Wendy","date":"May 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Anyone who owns a vehicle knows the engines need regular maintenance, and diesel engines on RV\u2019s are pretty finicky. 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Our good friends Candy Watts and Andy Bloom tied the knot. The wedding was in a historical church\u00a0just outside\u00a0Watsontown. There is no electricity and that meant no air conditioning and no fans. The organ was operated by pedals that the organist had to keep pumping in order\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/DSCN1949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/DSCN1949.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/DSCN1949.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5396,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/5396","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":2},"title":"Outdoor World, Williamsburg, VA","author":"Wendy","date":"May 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We left Rutledge lake Wednesday morning April 22 and arrived at our new campground late that afternoon. Once we were snuggled in our spot we propped our feet up and relaxed. John had been working really hard everyday at Rutledge and just wanted to do nothing for a while. We\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/category\/general"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_6032_thumb.jpg?fit=580%2C436&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9474,"url":"https:\/\/www.2dogsbarkin.com\/blog\/archives\/9474","url_meta":{"origin":7288,"position":3},"title":"Mexico","author":"Wendy","date":"January 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"John and I, unlike a lot of our other RV friends, have never made the crossing into Mexico at Yuma, Arizona, a VERY popular place to do so. This year we decided to go with Andy and Candy. 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Okay, it\u2019s not as depressing as it sounds. I have lots of activities that keep me busy and Andy and Candy are right next door for company. The park we are staying in, Windhaven, is not the best campground. 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