April 28th
Well, our adventure is about to end. Now we have to get back to reality and get settled in again! We are in Bend, Oregon, tonight and will be home tomorrow night. I cannot find words to tell everyone what a great time we've had! We plan to go again this next winter and hopefully our renters will want our home again. That worked out well.
Since my last posting, we stayed one night in St. George, Utah and visited friends from Great Falls. Then we spent 8 days/nights in Las Vegas and stayed at Sam's Town RV Park. It's a very large park and well taken care of. I have a cousin living there so we visited him. Donnie is from Great Falls but has lived most of his adult life in Gillette, Wyoming. He's quite the character but we sure enjoyed spending time with him! Buster has a college friend living in Vegas so met him one evening for dinner. Mostly we spent time with Buster's aunt and uncle. The 4 of us drove to Valley of Fire and also to Red Mountain. Both were very interesting places. Of course, we had to put a few dollars in the machines but we didn't win and the casinos didn't either. There sure are some beautiful casinos and always construction going on. Our 8 days went quickly and we had to leave for Reno. I have another cousin and hubby (Joanne and Marvin) moving to Vegas so next year will be more family.
Our friend, Jane, and the 2 of us went to 8th grade and part of high school together in Cascade. We had not seen her in years and years and about 6 years ago she found me. We have kept in touch since. We had a great time staying at her place and seeing sights in/around Reno area. She lives in Minden, a few miles south of Carson City high on a hill with a gorgeous view of the Sierra Nevadas. One day we drove to Lake Tahoe. One day we went to Fallon and Fernley and one day spent in Reno. Buster went to the Harrah Car Museum in Reno and Jane and I -- can you guess???? We went to a wonderful quilt shop and spent hours there!
So here we are in Bend, Oregon tonight. We went to Sisters, OR today as they have a wonderful quilt shop...."Stitching Post"...you quilters know all about Sisters! I also visited 3 shops in Bend. Bend and Redmond have both grown in leaps and bounds over the years. This is a very beautiful area. The mountains in the distance are still covered with snow but the flowers are blooming in town.
Tomorrow night we'll be home....and with a big sigh we can start getting our wits together! We have seen lots of beautiful country, some not so beautiful, visited with so many old and new friends, been to National Parks and stayed in nice State Parks. Many RV Parks are something to be desired but ok for a night. We've traveled almost 6,000 miles and been through 9 states!
The sad part of our trip is we both have to get back on our diets!! Oh well. We have enjoyed every minute, every mile, every bite of food!
FYI: Texas has great State Parks and with the State Park Pass there's many discounts. Worth the money. Texas has the cheapest gas. California has very rough riding interstates. We joined Passport America for more RV Park discounts and used Good Sam too. New Mexico had the worst directions to get anywhere. We finally found the State Capital in Santa Fe after 3 days!
I hope you've enjoyed reading this. I'm not the greatest at writing but tried to keep everyone in touch as to what we were up to. It's been a great ride!!
Susan
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Moab, Utah
April 11, 2013
Hello Everyone!
I have been busy and lazy so no blog for a month. (Mostly lazy!) I will try and bring you up to date!
We stayed a week in Georgetown, TX and spent time with our friends in Austin. Harry and Maddie are from Kalispell, MT and winter in Austin. Harry is a physician and does part time work with the Indian reservations. We spent the night with them and bummed around Austin and saw some of the music that was playing downtown. After we left Austin we headed to Dallas.
My cousin and her hubby (Joanne and Marvin Joyce) live in Dallas and we spent 3-4 days with them. What fun! Traffic was hell on the freeways getting into Dallas. We were glad to be settled in an RV park! Joanne and Marv took us to the Fort Worth Stockyards and drove us around Fort Worth and Dallas. We saw the exact spot President Kennedy was shot and the book depository where the killer (can't think of his name right now) sniped him.
After we left Dallas, next was Mineral Springs, a short drive from Fort Worth. Here we stayed a few nights in a very nice State Park. We visited with a couple we'd met a number of years ago while at meetings in New Jersey. The men both worked for BMS and we had not seen them since this time in NJ. We really enjoyed them and plan to see them again.
We headed towards Amarillo as was going to the Palo Dura State Park. Had motorhome problems so had to stay in Lubbock one night. Got Ethel fixed and off we went. The State Park was, by far, one of the most interesting places in Texas. Canyons 800-1000 feet deep and roads going clear to the bottom. We camped down there for 4 nights with no internet, TV or phone. Just like living in the olden days! We hiked, biked and even went on a guided horse-back ride! Me raised on a horse and PAY to ride one? It was fun tho. This State Park is one for all of you to put in your MUST SEE list. It is truly a beautiful park.
We made it over to Santa Fe, NM, Taos and Los Alamos the following week for another stay. We shopped, visited art galleries, pueblos and looked over the entire area. We have friends in Los Alamos we met in Los Algondonas this past January so had a dinner date with them. Los Alamos is where the atomic bomb was developed in WWII and still secret things are going on. We had to show ID to get into town! It is part of the Dept.of Defense/Energy. Very interesting. The town is also very interesting -- spread out among "fingers" on top of a mesa at 7800 ft. We also spent the afternoon at Bandelero, part of the National Park System. There were cliff dwelling we climbed up into. Some of them were high enough we had to climb ladders. Bandelero is near Los Alamos.
After leaving NM, we drove over to Durango, CO and took the ride of our lives over Hwy 550 to Ouray. We were up/down, up/down over the curvy mountain highway for over 100 miles at elevations over 11,000 ft. We crossed two passes. I had to drive the car as the m.home was grunting and groaning. This was definitely a hiway we will never drive again! It is ten times worse than Going to the Sun Hwy and Beartooth Hwy in Montana. Scary. Steep. Curvy, narrow highway, Snowy but Beautiful.
Montrose, Colorado. Our next stop for a few days. Buster has a friend living who he'd gone to pilot training with way back when. Leonard has a crop-spraying business and nine airplanes -- 5 of which are used for crop spraying. Two of them are helicopters. What a set-up he has! We so enjoyed being there with him as we hadn't seen him in 40 years. He took us for a plane ride up over the mountains and down into the canyons. What fun!
Then to Grand Junction, Colorado. Again, Buster has a friend there he had worked with for a number of years. We had such a good time -- the guys reminisced for 2 1/2 days, laughed and drank too much whiskey! Buster and I went to the Colorado National Monument (National Park) and what a drive! We were up over 11,000 ft. and it was a gorgeous drive. At the top we had stopped to take pictures. We were returning to our car met up with a couple from Cascade, Montana!!! All of us were very surprised and had a nice 30 minutes visit! Small world!!
We are now in Moab, Utah. Yesterday we visited Canyonlands Natl. Park. It is awesome! We drove along the top of the mesas, looking over the deep, deep canyon walls. At the bottom is the Colorado River and Green River winding their way through the canyons. Truly a beautiful Park. Today we visited Arches National Park. Again, it was beautiful. It is so different than Canyonlands. This time we looked UP at the rock arches, spires and "fins". We hiked in both Parks (short hikes) to take pictures and see what was beyond the highway.
Tomorrow we leave. We are heading to Las Vegas. We will be there at least a week and then on to Reno to see a friend that Buster and I went to 8th grade with. Then home. We will be home May 1.
That's is in a nutshell! I have almost 2,000 picture that I've taken. I wish I had learned to post them here but you can follow me on Facebook with most places and pictures where we've traveled.
Until the next blog, enjoy each day!!! We sure are!!!
Hello Everyone!
I have been busy and lazy so no blog for a month. (Mostly lazy!) I will try and bring you up to date!
We stayed a week in Georgetown, TX and spent time with our friends in Austin. Harry and Maddie are from Kalispell, MT and winter in Austin. Harry is a physician and does part time work with the Indian reservations. We spent the night with them and bummed around Austin and saw some of the music that was playing downtown. After we left Austin we headed to Dallas.
My cousin and her hubby (Joanne and Marvin Joyce) live in Dallas and we spent 3-4 days with them. What fun! Traffic was hell on the freeways getting into Dallas. We were glad to be settled in an RV park! Joanne and Marv took us to the Fort Worth Stockyards and drove us around Fort Worth and Dallas. We saw the exact spot President Kennedy was shot and the book depository where the killer (can't think of his name right now) sniped him.
After we left Dallas, next was Mineral Springs, a short drive from Fort Worth. Here we stayed a few nights in a very nice State Park. We visited with a couple we'd met a number of years ago while at meetings in New Jersey. The men both worked for BMS and we had not seen them since this time in NJ. We really enjoyed them and plan to see them again.
We headed towards Amarillo as was going to the Palo Dura State Park. Had motorhome problems so had to stay in Lubbock one night. Got Ethel fixed and off we went. The State Park was, by far, one of the most interesting places in Texas. Canyons 800-1000 feet deep and roads going clear to the bottom. We camped down there for 4 nights with no internet, TV or phone. Just like living in the olden days! We hiked, biked and even went on a guided horse-back ride! Me raised on a horse and PAY to ride one? It was fun tho. This State Park is one for all of you to put in your MUST SEE list. It is truly a beautiful park.
We made it over to Santa Fe, NM, Taos and Los Alamos the following week for another stay. We shopped, visited art galleries, pueblos and looked over the entire area. We have friends in Los Alamos we met in Los Algondonas this past January so had a dinner date with them. Los Alamos is where the atomic bomb was developed in WWII and still secret things are going on. We had to show ID to get into town! It is part of the Dept.of Defense/Energy. Very interesting. The town is also very interesting -- spread out among "fingers" on top of a mesa at 7800 ft. We also spent the afternoon at Bandelero, part of the National Park System. There were cliff dwelling we climbed up into. Some of them were high enough we had to climb ladders. Bandelero is near Los Alamos.
After leaving NM, we drove over to Durango, CO and took the ride of our lives over Hwy 550 to Ouray. We were up/down, up/down over the curvy mountain highway for over 100 miles at elevations over 11,000 ft. We crossed two passes. I had to drive the car as the m.home was grunting and groaning. This was definitely a hiway we will never drive again! It is ten times worse than Going to the Sun Hwy and Beartooth Hwy in Montana. Scary. Steep. Curvy, narrow highway, Snowy but Beautiful.
Montrose, Colorado. Our next stop for a few days. Buster has a friend living who he'd gone to pilot training with way back when. Leonard has a crop-spraying business and nine airplanes -- 5 of which are used for crop spraying. Two of them are helicopters. What a set-up he has! We so enjoyed being there with him as we hadn't seen him in 40 years. He took us for a plane ride up over the mountains and down into the canyons. What fun!
Then to Grand Junction, Colorado. Again, Buster has a friend there he had worked with for a number of years. We had such a good time -- the guys reminisced for 2 1/2 days, laughed and drank too much whiskey! Buster and I went to the Colorado National Monument (National Park) and what a drive! We were up over 11,000 ft. and it was a gorgeous drive. At the top we had stopped to take pictures. We were returning to our car met up with a couple from Cascade, Montana!!! All of us were very surprised and had a nice 30 minutes visit! Small world!!
We are now in Moab, Utah. Yesterday we visited Canyonlands Natl. Park. It is awesome! We drove along the top of the mesas, looking over the deep, deep canyon walls. At the bottom is the Colorado River and Green River winding their way through the canyons. Truly a beautiful Park. Today we visited Arches National Park. Again, it was beautiful. It is so different than Canyonlands. This time we looked UP at the rock arches, spires and "fins". We hiked in both Parks (short hikes) to take pictures and see what was beyond the highway.
Tomorrow we leave. We are heading to Las Vegas. We will be there at least a week and then on to Reno to see a friend that Buster and I went to 8th grade with. Then home. We will be home May 1.
That's is in a nutshell! I have almost 2,000 picture that I've taken. I wish I had learned to post them here but you can follow me on Facebook with most places and pictures where we've traveled.
Until the next blog, enjoy each day!!! We sure are!!!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Catch up time!
March 9th
It's been a whirlwind since I last posted! Monday, February 25 we moved from the Mustang State Park to Port Aransas (Port "A") into a nice RV park within walking distance of the beach and a couple miles from town. Moving day was horrible wind. We thought we'd get blown to China! We had a couple more days of the terrible winds and sand blowing but all-in-all the weather did improve daily. We picked up Jeff from the airport on Wednesday and Gene and Charlene Thompson also arrived to spend time with us again.
We visited the King Ranch on Thursday. The ranch sprawls across 825,000 acres of South Texas land. It is a working ranch with 60,000 head of cattle and 300 quarter horses. A 1 1/2 hour bus tour took us through parts of the ranch and we even saw newborn colt born the day before. The home where the family lived "only" has 17 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms! Google "King Ranch" as there's alot of information on the history and present day. The ranch also has its own museum, located in Kingsville.
Friday Jeff and Buster toured the USS Lexington, docked in Corpus Christi. It is over 3 football fields long, 19 stories tall and weighs 33,000 tons. The guys spent at least 5 hours looking through the ship so I am very glad I didn't go with them! They both really enjoyed seeing this huge aircraft carrier. It was nice they could enjoy a "man day" together.
Julie and her family and Rob (Thompson) came for the weekend. Everyone had a great time -- walking on the beach, flying kites (and sacks?), drinking a few cocktails each day, shopping the local tourist shops and eating! Time went by too quickly, everyone left us by Monday and Jeff left on Tuesday. Yesterday, Friday, we had to leave as Spring Break is starting and every nook and cranny on the island is booked solid.
Buster did not do any fishing while on Mustang Island, mostly due to windy days. He did go with two neighbor guys this week but didn't fish. The other two didn't catch any fish but another fisherman gave them two large Redfish. We had a potluck and the fish was delicious. They also gave us a Sheepshead fish, which we cooked one evening, and it was also very good. What an odd name for a fish, huh?!
We are now in Fredericksburg, west of Austin. What an interesting area! We will be here for a week. Today we went downtown and started looking through the local shops. There's enough shopping here for a month! Many buildings retain the traditional German and frontier styles with more than 700 historical structures. It is also the birthplace of Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet during WWII. There is a large museum, which Buster will visit this week.
This week we plan to visit the LBJ Ranch and take a self-guided tour with a CD and also go to Luchenbach (population THREE!). Luchenbach has one unpainted general store that serves as a beer tavern, a traditional rural dance hall, a sometimes used blacksmith shop and Sunday afternoons is live music. Maybe we will see Willie Nelson?? Johnson City and Stonewall also have attractions. There's something to see and do every day!
Yesterday I visited a quilt shop, spent a few dollars and got my "fix" taken care of! There's two shops in town and one sells pies! Today we had a piece of chocolate cream pie and coffee for lunch. The shop makes 17 pies each morning from scratch and sells out by the end of the day. A whole pie costs $25.95!
We plan to visit friends in Austin but will not go there for another week or two. There is a huge music festival in Austin until March 20 with over 2,000 bands. We've heard traffic is horrendous so we will stay away! We could not get an RV space in Austin so will stay in Georgetown instead.
May 1st, our target date to be home, is coming much too quickly. This adventure needs to never come to an end! Time to go RV'ing FULL TIME?? YES!!!
It's been a whirlwind since I last posted! Monday, February 25 we moved from the Mustang State Park to Port Aransas (Port "A") into a nice RV park within walking distance of the beach and a couple miles from town. Moving day was horrible wind. We thought we'd get blown to China! We had a couple more days of the terrible winds and sand blowing but all-in-all the weather did improve daily. We picked up Jeff from the airport on Wednesday and Gene and Charlene Thompson also arrived to spend time with us again.
We visited the King Ranch on Thursday. The ranch sprawls across 825,000 acres of South Texas land. It is a working ranch with 60,000 head of cattle and 300 quarter horses. A 1 1/2 hour bus tour took us through parts of the ranch and we even saw newborn colt born the day before. The home where the family lived "only" has 17 bedrooms and 19 bathrooms! Google "King Ranch" as there's alot of information on the history and present day. The ranch also has its own museum, located in Kingsville.
Friday Jeff and Buster toured the USS Lexington, docked in Corpus Christi. It is over 3 football fields long, 19 stories tall and weighs 33,000 tons. The guys spent at least 5 hours looking through the ship so I am very glad I didn't go with them! They both really enjoyed seeing this huge aircraft carrier. It was nice they could enjoy a "man day" together.
Julie and her family and Rob (Thompson) came for the weekend. Everyone had a great time -- walking on the beach, flying kites (and sacks?), drinking a few cocktails each day, shopping the local tourist shops and eating! Time went by too quickly, everyone left us by Monday and Jeff left on Tuesday. Yesterday, Friday, we had to leave as Spring Break is starting and every nook and cranny on the island is booked solid.
Buster did not do any fishing while on Mustang Island, mostly due to windy days. He did go with two neighbor guys this week but didn't fish. The other two didn't catch any fish but another fisherman gave them two large Redfish. We had a potluck and the fish was delicious. They also gave us a Sheepshead fish, which we cooked one evening, and it was also very good. What an odd name for a fish, huh?!
We are now in Fredericksburg, west of Austin. What an interesting area! We will be here for a week. Today we went downtown and started looking through the local shops. There's enough shopping here for a month! Many buildings retain the traditional German and frontier styles with more than 700 historical structures. It is also the birthplace of Fleet Adm. Chester W. Nimitz, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Fleet during WWII. There is a large museum, which Buster will visit this week.
This week we plan to visit the LBJ Ranch and take a self-guided tour with a CD and also go to Luchenbach (population THREE!). Luchenbach has one unpainted general store that serves as a beer tavern, a traditional rural dance hall, a sometimes used blacksmith shop and Sunday afternoons is live music. Maybe we will see Willie Nelson?? Johnson City and Stonewall also have attractions. There's something to see and do every day!
Yesterday I visited a quilt shop, spent a few dollars and got my "fix" taken care of! There's two shops in town and one sells pies! Today we had a piece of chocolate cream pie and coffee for lunch. The shop makes 17 pies each morning from scratch and sells out by the end of the day. A whole pie costs $25.95!
We plan to visit friends in Austin but will not go there for another week or two. There is a huge music festival in Austin until March 20 with over 2,000 bands. We've heard traffic is horrendous so we will stay away! We could not get an RV space in Austin so will stay in Georgetown instead.
May 1st, our target date to be home, is coming much too quickly. This adventure needs to never come to an end! Time to go RV'ing FULL TIME?? YES!!!
Friday, February 22, 2013
El Paso to San Antonio to Corpus Christi....
It's been awhile since I posted anything.
We left El Paso, traveled across west Texas for two days. Finally on 3rd day we saw a tree and hills and a couple cows with nothing to eat but dirt! Gene and Charlene Thompson, from Cascade MT, are in Castroville, west of San Antonio about 5 miles. They winter there with their daughter (Julie) and family. It is a very pretty area and part of the "Hill Country" of Texas. We had so much fun with all of them......truly miss them as the neighbors we had for almost 30 years.
The four of us went into San Antonio and visited the Mexican Market and, of course, had to eat Mexican food. Then Gene drove us around the area of rolling hills and small towns. George Strait's roping arena is in Leon Springs and it is bigger than HUGE! We wondered where he lives....did not see him anywhere! :(
A couple days later Buster and I went back to San Antonio and took the boat ride along the Riverwalk. It is a beautiful area with alot of small shops and restaurants. We again had to eat ..... Buster was hungry for a hamburger so we shared a double Texas burger. Each half was almost more than we could eat! Texas definitely has the biggest!
We so enjoyed our visit with all of them and sure do appreciate their hospitality. After being there for almost a week we loaded up Ethel, hooked up Hilda the Honda, and headed to Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi is a big city! We were so surprised to read that the population is over 350,000 and the metropolitan area is over 600,000. We expected a smaller town, maybe 50,000. Since being here we have found out this area is windier than Chicago. In fact, windier than Great Falls, MT! Is that possible? YES. We are parked out in the middle of nowhere (again) on Mustang Island in the State Park. The water (Gulf of Mexico) is very close but with the wind being so strong we haven't spent much time on the beach. One evening we rode our bicycles to the beach looking for the fishing pier and I tipped over in the sand. End of ride. We came home. Buster hasn't gotten to fish yet.....one of the reasons we came here. This island is divided by a small waterway.....Padre Island to the south and Mustang Island the north. The folks who winter here are called "Winter Texans", not "Snowbirds".
Yesterday we went to a boat show in Corpus. It was not nearly as large as our Seattle or Tacoma shows but we did see plenty of gorgeous boats. I think that's next on our list .... a new boat....Buster has the itch!We will be moving to an RV Park in Port Aransas on Monday, about 10 miles north. It is located at north end of Mustang Island. Across the ferry is Aransas Pass. Both towns are small but have all the amenities of a larger area. Hopefully Buster can fish next week.
On Wednesday,the 25th Jeff (our son) will be arriving from Great Falls. He will be with us a week. We are looking forward to him coming. Thompson's are planning to also join us for a few days and hopefully Julie, Scott and girls and son Rob can be here too. We will have our own "Spring Break". College spring break starts here the next week! We can whoop it up early and be long-gone by the time the 400,000+ college students arrive! Oh my, to be young again!!
Tomorrow Buster and I are going to another town (Fulton) to a large Winter Flea Market. There is always something to do, no matter where we are! We have met other RV'ers here and also in Castroville.
Not much excitement in our lives right now....just enjoying doing nothing. Soon it'll be time to head towards home....we have stops ahead in Austin, Dallas, Mineral Wells and Las Vegas to visit friends/relatives. Time is flying by much too quickly!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
El Paso --- Texas
Saturday night in ole El Paso!
We arrived here Friday afternoon, got settled in our RV park and left to sightsee the area. El Paso has a population of about 800,000. Even with a wonderful freeway system we managed to be get lost many times, even with our smartphone navigation. Actually, I wonder if it was the navigation or was it the "director" -- ME? We shopped at El Paso Saddleblanket, which is 2 acres of Mexican and Indian handweavings, pottery, blankets, oriental and Persian rugs, sterling silver and turqoise jewelry, artifacts, saddles, ropes.....oh everything western. Then there was another building with 1 acre of home furnishings. I doubt if anyone living outside of Texas would want this furniture! There even was caskets to buy.... lined with cowhide!
After finally finding the Visitors Center, we picked up some interesting reading material and ideas as to what to do, where to go. We knew we wanted to have Mexican dinner at Rose's Catina, which we fnally found after wandering around again. Remember Rose's? It's the cantina Marty Robbins sang about in his song, "El Paso". His records are on the wall, the jukebox has his songs and it is a very lively place! Three Mexican troubadours came through singing their music and playing their instruments. We paid $5 per song. It was worth it! The food was great and the atmosphere fun. Buster had a Lonestar beer, which he hasn't drank since 1965! (Think he was barely 21 then! Or was he??). The building itsef is an old rock, small building and is definitely a hole-in-the-wall along a desolate street near the Mexican border. After dinner we tried to take a different route home, ended up off the beaten track in the dark. The GPS gave us directions and we'd end up at a detour or dead end. Finally wandered around Ft. Bliss and the Airport and got back on track and made it back to our RV, scratching our heads wondering why the GPS would change from miles to kilometers. Found out that depending on where you are, it can change -- we were evidently too close to Mexican border.
This morning we drove the "Border Highway". It follows alongside the Rio Grande and the big fancy fence separating Jaurez, Mexico from the U.S. The Mexican flag flew proudly in the breeze and we could see many modern buildings and manufacturing aeas through the fence. We knew we didn't dare cross the border. The border crossings are very large and modern.
We stopped by a Justin western boot outlet store. It was fun to look at all the fancy boots, belts, purses, etc. We asked for a good BBQ place for lunch so then went to State Line BBQ. We ordered one plate, shared it and still had enough for dinner tonight! Texans like to eat! It was delicious. Buster was commenting that last night his Lonestar was $1.50 at Rose's and today it was $4.00 at the BBQ place!
We tried to find a good Mexican flea market. Never did locate one. So we drove over the Woodrow Bean/Transmountain Road, which took us over the mountains alongside the city. We were up over a mile in elevation. Other than those mountains, it is flatter than a pancake throughout the area.
There was a huge dust storm today and we couldn't see the city from the top of thoses mountain. So we came back to town, explored the area around the beautiful Univ. of Texas El Paso campus and came home. Visibility was poor and we were ready for some R&R.
End of our day. Came home and did nothing. Watched the eastern snowstorm on tv and glad we aren't back there! We will be outta Dodge in the morning and head east. We hope to be in San Antonio area in 2 days.
We've heard so many stories of how dangerous El Paso is. We did not have any problems, other than getting lost. Everyone was very friendly everywhere we went. Don't think either of us care if we ever return, it's a "been there, done that" city.
Susan
We arrived here Friday afternoon, got settled in our RV park and left to sightsee the area. El Paso has a population of about 800,000. Even with a wonderful freeway system we managed to be get lost many times, even with our smartphone navigation. Actually, I wonder if it was the navigation or was it the "director" -- ME? We shopped at El Paso Saddleblanket, which is 2 acres of Mexican and Indian handweavings, pottery, blankets, oriental and Persian rugs, sterling silver and turqoise jewelry, artifacts, saddles, ropes.....oh everything western. Then there was another building with 1 acre of home furnishings. I doubt if anyone living outside of Texas would want this furniture! There even was caskets to buy.... lined with cowhide!
After finally finding the Visitors Center, we picked up some interesting reading material and ideas as to what to do, where to go. We knew we wanted to have Mexican dinner at Rose's Catina, which we fnally found after wandering around again. Remember Rose's? It's the cantina Marty Robbins sang about in his song, "El Paso". His records are on the wall, the jukebox has his songs and it is a very lively place! Three Mexican troubadours came through singing their music and playing their instruments. We paid $5 per song. It was worth it! The food was great and the atmosphere fun. Buster had a Lonestar beer, which he hasn't drank since 1965! (Think he was barely 21 then! Or was he??). The building itsef is an old rock, small building and is definitely a hole-in-the-wall along a desolate street near the Mexican border. After dinner we tried to take a different route home, ended up off the beaten track in the dark. The GPS gave us directions and we'd end up at a detour or dead end. Finally wandered around Ft. Bliss and the Airport and got back on track and made it back to our RV, scratching our heads wondering why the GPS would change from miles to kilometers. Found out that depending on where you are, it can change -- we were evidently too close to Mexican border.
This morning we drove the "Border Highway". It follows alongside the Rio Grande and the big fancy fence separating Jaurez, Mexico from the U.S. The Mexican flag flew proudly in the breeze and we could see many modern buildings and manufacturing aeas through the fence. We knew we didn't dare cross the border. The border crossings are very large and modern.
We stopped by a Justin western boot outlet store. It was fun to look at all the fancy boots, belts, purses, etc. We asked for a good BBQ place for lunch so then went to State Line BBQ. We ordered one plate, shared it and still had enough for dinner tonight! Texans like to eat! It was delicious. Buster was commenting that last night his Lonestar was $1.50 at Rose's and today it was $4.00 at the BBQ place!
We tried to find a good Mexican flea market. Never did locate one. So we drove over the Woodrow Bean/Transmountain Road, which took us over the mountains alongside the city. We were up over a mile in elevation. Other than those mountains, it is flatter than a pancake throughout the area.
There was a huge dust storm today and we couldn't see the city from the top of thoses mountain. So we came back to town, explored the area around the beautiful Univ. of Texas El Paso campus and came home. Visibility was poor and we were ready for some R&R.
End of our day. Came home and did nothing. Watched the eastern snowstorm on tv and glad we aren't back there! We will be outta Dodge in the morning and head east. We hope to be in San Antonio area in 2 days.
We've heard so many stories of how dangerous El Paso is. We did not have any problems, other than getting lost. Everyone was very friendly everywhere we went. Don't think either of us care if we ever return, it's a "been there, done that" city.
Susan
Thursday, February 7, 2013
A History Lesson -- The Gila Cliff Dwellers
February 7th.
We arrived in Silver City, NM yesterday, got settled and went to the historic downtown district. Billy the Kid was raised here. His mother ran a laundry catering mostly to houses of prostitution, of which there were many. His mother is buried here in the local cemetery. The town population is around 12,000 with everything leaning towards arts and crafts. Of course, I found a quilt store and a yarn shop! Close by the town is the Santa Rita open pit copper mine. It is the oldest continually operated copper mine in the U.S. and one of the largest pit operations. It reminded us of Butte, MT! Silver City is also the home to Western New Mexico University.
Today we drove 43 miles each way to the Gila Cliff Dwellings Monument in the Gila River Valley. The road was very curvy and we climbed over the Continental Divide, altitude 7,080. It took us two hours to drive to it and almost as long to come back. The Cliff Dwellings are something you don't want to miss if you come this direction!. We had to walk about 1/2 mile UP and 1/2 mile back but it was worth it. If I can walk it, anyone can! We carefully walked, climbed ladders and crawled along the cliffs through the rooms of the Mogollon people where they lived in the late 1200's.
Much of the following information I have taken from a brochure from the National Park Service. The people who built the cliff dwellings were part of the Mogollon culture.They combined hunting and gathering with farming and built pit houses or surface pueblos in the mountainous areas of Arizona and New Mexico. The Mogollon found abundant game and fertile soil in the Gila River valley for both native vegetation and their crops of corn, beans, and squash. They built inside the caves of Cliff Dweller Canyon with rock, mortar, and timbers from trees cut between 1276 and 1287. But by 1300 the Gila Cliff Dwellers had moved on.
Approximately 40 rooms were built inside several natural caves. Artifacts and architectural elements show that these ancient cultures traded not only materials but also ideas. They left behind macaw feather from Central America, and they built T-shaped doorways also used by other cultural groups. With culivated crops like corn came a more sedentary life. In time, the area's natural resources, already affected by drought, no longer sustained the Mogollon and they moved on. The visitor center has many artifacts and pottery from the caves, and artifacts left behind by the Apaches.
After the Mogollon left, no one appears to have lived here for over 100 years. Apaches migrated into the area of the upper Gila River about 1500. The legendary leader, Geronimo, was born near the Gila River headwaters in the early 1820's, as Mexico challenged Apache control of the area. Thirty years later, with the area under U.S. control, army posts were built to protect new Anglo settlers as area mining towns grew and ranching was established throughout the valley.
By 1870 the government began relocating the Apaches into reseravations. But not until 1886 were the last Be-don-ko-he -- as Geronimo's people were known -- led by Geronimo himself, ultimately were forced from their ancestral lands.
Tomorrow we are leaving for El Paso. Saturday we will head up north to Carlsbad Caverns.
Buster walked through the cemetery this afternoon, looking for Billy the Kid's mother's grave but did not find it. Maybe someone dug her up????? That's all the info I have for today! Susan
We arrived in Silver City, NM yesterday, got settled and went to the historic downtown district. Billy the Kid was raised here. His mother ran a laundry catering mostly to houses of prostitution, of which there were many. His mother is buried here in the local cemetery. The town population is around 12,000 with everything leaning towards arts and crafts. Of course, I found a quilt store and a yarn shop! Close by the town is the Santa Rita open pit copper mine. It is the oldest continually operated copper mine in the U.S. and one of the largest pit operations. It reminded us of Butte, MT! Silver City is also the home to Western New Mexico University.
Today we drove 43 miles each way to the Gila Cliff Dwellings Monument in the Gila River Valley. The road was very curvy and we climbed over the Continental Divide, altitude 7,080. It took us two hours to drive to it and almost as long to come back. The Cliff Dwellings are something you don't want to miss if you come this direction!. We had to walk about 1/2 mile UP and 1/2 mile back but it was worth it. If I can walk it, anyone can! We carefully walked, climbed ladders and crawled along the cliffs through the rooms of the Mogollon people where they lived in the late 1200's.
Much of the following information I have taken from a brochure from the National Park Service. The people who built the cliff dwellings were part of the Mogollon culture.They combined hunting and gathering with farming and built pit houses or surface pueblos in the mountainous areas of Arizona and New Mexico. The Mogollon found abundant game and fertile soil in the Gila River valley for both native vegetation and their crops of corn, beans, and squash. They built inside the caves of Cliff Dweller Canyon with rock, mortar, and timbers from trees cut between 1276 and 1287. But by 1300 the Gila Cliff Dwellers had moved on.
Approximately 40 rooms were built inside several natural caves. Artifacts and architectural elements show that these ancient cultures traded not only materials but also ideas. They left behind macaw feather from Central America, and they built T-shaped doorways also used by other cultural groups. With culivated crops like corn came a more sedentary life. In time, the area's natural resources, already affected by drought, no longer sustained the Mogollon and they moved on. The visitor center has many artifacts and pottery from the caves, and artifacts left behind by the Apaches.
After the Mogollon left, no one appears to have lived here for over 100 years. Apaches migrated into the area of the upper Gila River about 1500. The legendary leader, Geronimo, was born near the Gila River headwaters in the early 1820's, as Mexico challenged Apache control of the area. Thirty years later, with the area under U.S. control, army posts were built to protect new Anglo settlers as area mining towns grew and ranching was established throughout the valley.
By 1870 the government began relocating the Apaches into reseravations. But not until 1886 were the last Be-don-ko-he -- as Geronimo's people were known -- led by Geronimo himself, ultimately were forced from their ancestral lands.
Tomorrow we are leaving for El Paso. Saturday we will head up north to Carlsbad Caverns.
Buster walked through the cemetery this afternoon, looking for Billy the Kid's mother's grave but did not find it. Maybe someone dug her up????? That's all the info I have for today! Susan
February 5th
Here we are in Tucson. This morning we were ready to leave and the neighbors told us I-10 was closed due to a semi wreck. Traffic was backed up all directions. So we decided to stay here another day. We had no plans to be anywhere in particular anyway.
We went to the Visitors Center to see how we could spend our day. We went to one of the 43 locations for the Gem Shows and looked at all the gorgeous rocks and stones from all over the world. There was jewelry to die for too. The tent waslarger than HUGE. The gal at Visitors Center told us this tent is about 1/10 as big as some of the others. I can't imagine.
We found good Mexican fast food for lunch -- a Sonora hot dog and a shrimp taco. We went to the Skecher's Outlet store and I bought a pair of new tennis shoes that have memory foam in the soles. I plan to wear them soon. We drove around looking at the nice neighborhoods, went to a mall and came home.
We plan to go to Silver City, NM tomorrow. We plan to go to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. There, in the 1280's, people of the Mogollon culture occupied caves, which may have been used as ceremonial centers, work areas, communal kitchens or prayer kivas. The site today is eerie and beautiful: brick barriers and catwalks are still intact. It is a mystery as to why these people lived in these cliffs and appeared to have abruptly left after about 25 years. We are able to walk through the caves.
After a month of staying in Yuma, it was time to leave. I didn't want to go. Buster said, "It's time to head East." No telling where this trip will take us! We have no plans!
We enjoyed our friends we met last year in Yuma and new friends this year. It will be fun to return next year and hopefully we can stay longer!
Last night we met up with our Olympia friends, Fred and Judy, and had dinner. Buster and Fred fish together in the ocean and Puget Sound. They are the couple who went over to Yuma and the four of us went to Los Algondonas and stayed in the hotel.
Hopefully I can write more often from now on. It was just a busy life in Yuma! Too much to see and do all the time!!
Susan
Here we are in Tucson. This morning we were ready to leave and the neighbors told us I-10 was closed due to a semi wreck. Traffic was backed up all directions. So we decided to stay here another day. We had no plans to be anywhere in particular anyway.
We went to the Visitors Center to see how we could spend our day. We went to one of the 43 locations for the Gem Shows and looked at all the gorgeous rocks and stones from all over the world. There was jewelry to die for too. The tent waslarger than HUGE. The gal at Visitors Center told us this tent is about 1/10 as big as some of the others. I can't imagine.
We found good Mexican fast food for lunch -- a Sonora hot dog and a shrimp taco. We went to the Skecher's Outlet store and I bought a pair of new tennis shoes that have memory foam in the soles. I plan to wear them soon. We drove around looking at the nice neighborhoods, went to a mall and came home.
We plan to go to Silver City, NM tomorrow. We plan to go to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. There, in the 1280's, people of the Mogollon culture occupied caves, which may have been used as ceremonial centers, work areas, communal kitchens or prayer kivas. The site today is eerie and beautiful: brick barriers and catwalks are still intact. It is a mystery as to why these people lived in these cliffs and appeared to have abruptly left after about 25 years. We are able to walk through the caves.
After a month of staying in Yuma, it was time to leave. I didn't want to go. Buster said, "It's time to head East." No telling where this trip will take us! We have no plans!
We enjoyed our friends we met last year in Yuma and new friends this year. It will be fun to return next year and hopefully we can stay longer!
Last night we met up with our Olympia friends, Fred and Judy, and had dinner. Buster and Fred fish together in the ocean and Puget Sound. They are the couple who went over to Yuma and the four of us went to Los Algondonas and stayed in the hotel.
Hopefully I can write more often from now on. It was just a busy life in Yuma! Too much to see and do all the time!!
Susan
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