East Coast Family Reunion - Day 2 - June 8, 2021

 Well today was interesting in a “drive over country” sort of way.  If you have ever driven I-80 across country you can relate to the variety of driving experiences you encounter along the way.

We left Elko around 8:30 am after refueling (Gas $3.35/gal) and headed east.  We were expecting wind from the south (moderate w/gusts to maybe 45mph).  Not a good wind forecast when you are heading east.  Sure enough, 50 miles out of Wendover the winds arrived.  From there to Salt Lake City it was two hands on the wheel and reduced speed. Oh, and we had some blowing dust across the dry part of the salt flats.  In a car all that is not so bad or likewise in a big heavy semi.  In a relatively light, high profile RV towing it can be a challenge in a crosswind.

There are lots of “ups-and-downs” across Nevada.  Many people who have never traveled there picture it as all flat desert.  There is a lot of that, but traveling east/west you cross a lot of ridges and several small mountain passes (6,000-7,000 ft variety}.

After a late lunch and refueling at a Flying J Truck stop in Tooele, UT, it was Salt Lake City and up the Wasatch Range to Park City and eastward. Gratefully, the winds mostly died down and we arrived in Ft. Bridger, WY around 4:30 MT.  We lost an hour entering the Mountain Time Zone.

Enroute, we saw a cowboy (Actually probably a Basque sheepherder/rancher on horseback checking on his sheep).  Entering Wyoming the first thing we saw were the snow fences although the entry town of Evanston where they close I-80 for weather in the winter seemed busy.  There were lots of Fireworks shops (Utah business?)

We are staying at a “Mom and Pop “ RV park in Fort Bridger, WY.  (6950 ft elevation). We have stayed here before and it is a convenient east/west overnight stop along the way.  It is adjacent to the Fort Bridger State Historical Park, a reconstructed replica of the original trading post started by Jim Bridger and a compadre in 1843 on the Oregon California Trail as a fur trading post to trade with the Mormons and other emigrants on their way west.  It subsequently became a Federal fort in support of westward expansion.  The state has done a great job with the restoration and it is worth a visit.  Alas, again we leave in the morning and will not be able to do an in-depth tour.  Maybe on the way back.

We had a lite dinner in the RV and early to bed.  It will be  major dose of Wyoming tomorrow then Kimball, NE in the NE panhandle east of Cheyenne, WY tomorrow night.

Ft. Bridger RV Park

East Coast Family Reunion - Day 1 - June 7, 2021

 We left home at 9:00 am and headed east on 20/80.

The trip to Elko (379 miles) was pretty routine.  We had a little cross wind wind here-and-there but nothing significant.  

Not a lot of interesting scenery enroute but every now and then we saw some interesting signs.  One was a billboard coming into Winnemucca advertising an upcoming festival this summer.  It is a a motorcycle and music festival called the Runa- a- Mucca Biker and Music Festival.  Don't bring the kids.  One other sign we saw several times was "Please report people shooting from the road".  In some areas, I guess a reminder is needed.

We  are staying at an RV park (Iron Horse RV Resort) in Elko where we have stayed before.  Easy on, Easy off for an overnight stay.  Fort Bridger, WY tomorrow.

East Coast Family Reunion 2021 - Day 0 - June 6, 2021

 A busy day today getting everything ready.  We are ready for a 9:00 am departure tomorrow.  I even had time to wash the RV.  The weather looks good enroute - hot and dry at least most of the way to the east coast.

Elko tomorrow night - one day at a time.

Panama Canal Cruise - Day 17, February 2, 2020

We docked in Miami at 7:00 am and disembarked in increments.  After retrieving our baggage and clearing customs, we took a cab to Miami International Airport, rented a car and drove to the Tampa Bay area where the RV was parked.  

We then drove to the Tampa Airport, turned in the rental car and retrieved our pickup truck in Airport parking.  The truck was towed by Kevin behind the RV on the trip east and parked at the airport before flying back to Sacramento a few days earlier.  After returning to the RV we drove it over to the RV park where we will be staying for the remainder of our time here.

Pictures Day 17 - Miami

Panama Canal Cruise - Day 15 & 16, January 31 and February 1, 2020

The next two days were spent at sea, relaxing and getting ready for our arrival on Sunday in Miami.

Day 15 and 16 Pictures - At Sea

Panama Canal Cruise - Day 14, January 30, 2020

We docked at Cartagena, Columbia early in the morning.  We had signed up for a city tour, but Judy wasn’t feeling well, so I went on the tour by myself.

The tour was essentially a bus tour with a few stops along the way.  We first stopped for photos of the Fort of San Felipe de Barajas.  The fort was originally built in the 17^th century and the largest Spanish fort in the new world.  The tour continued through the city to the Navy Museum established in 1986.  While there, we also saw a folkloric show of native dances.  After finishing the tour of the old town part of the city, we drove through the modern residential area of Bocagrande, in contrast to the old town with modern high-rise apartment complexes, hotels and restaurants.

Day 14 Pictures - Cartagena

Panama Canal Cruise - Day 13, January 29, 2020

We arrived outside the Pacific gateway to the Panama Canal around 1:00 am in the morning and had to wait to begin the transit.  Initially, the ship has to be able to get under the first bridge, The Bridge of the Americas, just outside Panama City, the major city on Panama’s Pacific coast. This bridge, built in 1962, connects both sides of the canal on the Pacific side and is on the original route of the Pan American Highway. This bridge is barely high enough for the larger ships to sail under; we had to wait for low tide to proceed.

About 2:30 am we began our transit. Not wanting to miss the close bridge clearance, I got up early to document the passage.  We made it with what appeared to be about 50 ft. to spare.

After clearing the bridge, we then had to wait our turn to proceed through the canal.  We waited in the bay by the Port of Balboa, the primary commercial port on the Pacific side of Panama just adjacent to Panama City.  It is a very busy port and there was lots of activity going on.

After Panama achieved its independence in 1903 it entered into an agreement with the United States to construct a canal across the Isthmus of Panama.  The French had begun the effort in 1880 but failed due to financial difficulties, engineering challenges and a high worker mortality rate.

Construction began in 1904 and the canal was opened in 1914.  The project is widely considered as one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken.   

The original canal has two lanes, each with its own set of locks. An expansion project was begun in 2007 and completed in 2016, adding a third lane through the construction of lock complexes at each end of the canal. One lock complex is located on the Pacific side, southwest of the existing Miraflores Locks. The other is located east of the existing Gatun Locks. Each of these new lock complexes have three consecutive chambers designed to move vessels from sea level to 85 ft above sea level at Gatun Lake and back down again.

Each chamber has three lateral water-saving basins, for a total of nine basins per lock and 18 basins in total. Just like the original locks, the new locks and their basins are filled and emptied by gravity, without the use of pumps. The location of the new locks uses a significant portion of the area excavated by the United States in 1939 and suspended in 1942 because of World War II. The new locks are connected to the existing channel system through new navigational channels. The new lock chambers are 1,400.92 ft long, 180.45 ft wide, and 60.04 ft deep. They use rolling gates instead of miter gates, which are used by the original locks. The new locks use tugboats to position the vessels instead of electric locomotives that are used along the original canal.

After waiting our turn for entering the new locks (the ship is too large to use the original locks), we began our transit about 6:00 am into the new Cocoli Locks. After the water level was raised to the water level at Gatun Lake through the series of 3 chambers, we next passed under the Centennial Bridge.  It was built to supplement the overcrowded Bridge of the Americas and to replace it as the carrier of the Pan-American Highway. Upon its opening in 2004, it became the second permanent crossing of the canal.

The Pan-American Highway is interrupted however after the highway reaches the southern side of the canal due to the dense, impenetrable jungle terrain. If you are traveling further south on the highway you have to take a boat with your vehicle to Columbia, the next country down the highway.

We then transited the Culebra Cut, formerly called Gaillard Cut. It is an artificial valley that cuts through the Continental Divide in Panama. The cut is the entry into Gatun Lake from the Pacific side. The lake was created by the building of the Gatun Dam across the Chagres River during the initial construction of the canal. At the time it was created, Gatun Lake was the largest man-made lake in the world. Gatun Dam was also the largest of its kind.  It is additionally the major source of water for operating the locks and the freshwater supply for the surrounding area. 

Construction of the cut was one of the great engineering feats of its time; the immense effort required to complete it was justified by the great significance of the canal to shipping, and in particular, the strategic interests of the United States.

The next event was the transit of the Aqua Clara Locks lowering the ship back to sea level on the Atlantic side of the canal.  After exiting the locks we passed under the third bridge, the Atlantic Bridge at the Atlantic entrance to the canal near the port city of Colon in Limon Bay.  It was then on towards our next destination, Cartagena, Columbia.

It was an interesting and certainly worthwhile experience.  Additional information about the history and operation of the canal can be found at:  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Canal

Day 13 Pictures - Panama Canal Transit

Here a few stock photos of our ship (Norwegian Joy) transiting the Panama Canal on previous trips:

NCL Norwegian Joy Panama Canal Pictures