As we all know, 2020 has been a year for the books. This December 31st will be as much about leaving 2020 behind as it is about welcoming the new year.
We have done our absolute best to embrace the need for social distancing, staying out of crowds, not shopping in stores, and consistently wearing a mask when away from the RV. We have shopped exclusively using no touch, curbside pickup in an effort to minimize out risk. We highly recommend it and may never go back to grocery shopping in store.
Our recent travels have taken us around Utah and Arizona, and as I look through our pictures, I realize they are all about red rocks and canyons. Each if them is special to us, but perhaps a bit boring and repetitious for the casual reader.
Still, we have found spectacular vistas and incredible panoramas. Hiking at Goosenecks SP, Sedona, Grand Canyon and other brief stops along the way have helped us to remain distanced. I believe our closest contact was with daily visits from a couple of impressive Elk herds while at the Grand Canyon.
But it has been the plethora of hiking trails we have been able to find everywhere we have stayed that has really kept us going. Impressively they have been uncrowded with the majority of hikers wearing masks. Yeah!
By the way, our stay at the Grand Canyon was historic. Because of some knee jerk reactions on the part of the NPS, the campground was empty. They stopped all new reservations sometime during the summer and only allowed existing reservations from earlier in the year to enter. I don't believe there was ever more than 5 or 6 campers at a time, out of over three hundred sites. It was ghost town for sure... and absolutely amazing.
Encouraged by the lack of humans, we had multiple Elk herds and deer at our campsite, and even saw a bobcat just a few sites away. Amazing.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving including a full blown "turkey and everything" dinner. The homemade pies above are fully sugar free and tasted amazing! Cindy said the sugar free pecan was the best she ever had. But perhaps the best Thanksgiving dessert was the stomping the Washington Football Team handed to the Cowboys on national TV. 😁
We are currently at an Encore park outside Mesa AZ where we will be until the 28th. We are looking forward to a sunny, bright and warm Christmas here. Our next stop is the Imperial Dam LTVA (Long Term Visitors Area) for a couple of weeks of desert boondocking. We love being off on our own, but we also like having amenities. So we alternate between the two and really love our options.
With that I will close, but before I go I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
Please enjoy the holidays but stay safe. We have all suffered almost a year of isolation and worry. There is a vaccine on the horizon, and it would be a tragedy to contract the virus when we are so close. Stay strong and don't let down your guard.
Thanks for reading!
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Cindy and Terry
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