14 DAYS / 14 STATES / 4000 MILES

The above photo is only one example of places that made us wonder how many of our friends and family are perhaps leading a double life. More examples in the days to come!


Congrats to Mike for correctly guessing yesterday’s photo: JFKs assassination site. Sorry, Pete, you were second……..you weren’t up as early as Mike!


Uh-oh! There was a glitch with Marilyn this morning. After a drive through the cute ski resort town of Ruidoso NM and a stop at Starbuck’s (the first one we’ve seen since San Antonio), we started to drive up a very windy, steep road with no guard rails, to the Apache Ski Area, owned and operated by the Mescalero Tribe, to get a vista of the surroundings from 12,000 feet. At 7000 feet Marilyn seized up…………..interesting, that’s the highest we’ve been! Maybe she’s afraid of heights. After trying all our tricks, we turned her off to give her a rest. No snow on the way up but people were skiing on man-made snow on a few of the trails……….it’s apparently been a bad ski season. The vista was spectacular with mountains, valleys and canyons; now we were looking forested mountains again and golden meadows above the tree line.

It was short distance to White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo. Along the road, NM 70W, we continued driving through the Mescalero Reservation. There were, of course, a couple of casinos, but most of the area along the way was a collection of run-down trailers and houses and one or two very nice houses on the mountainside (Peter thinks these must belong to the tribal elders who control the casino revenues). At one point, as we started down into the valley, with still 50 miles to go to White Sands, we could actually see the white sand in the distance. We also saw more pecan groves and also some pistachio farms.

At White Sands, we followed our usual routine: stopped at the Visitor Center, bought water, put the top down and ate our lunch watching F-117 Stealth Fighters fly overhead preparing to land at Holloman A.F.B. After lunch, Peter found a small reset button (not mentioned in the manual) that brought Marilyn out of her coma….it was good to have her back! It was another perfect day……..80 degrees, constant velvety breeze and hot sun. AND, we got in free again! The drive into the dunes was a scene again impossible to describe. Think of Race Point Beach with no water! White Sands is 275 square miles of glistening white sand dunes with arid mountains in the distance. We parked and took a one mile hike into the dunes. We found ourselves completely alone and Connie took off her sandals and walked barefoot. Eleven though there was a blistering sun, the sand was cool Another entry into the “Can’t Miss” list!

Leaving White Sands we continued on 70 W through a pass in the Organ Mountains, surrounded by jagged, rugged peaks. Nearing Las Cruces there were miles of sprawling housing developments on both sides of the road. The houses are new and very nice, built close together with flat rooflines, reddish-brown stucco walls and not a tree in sight. Las Cruces looks like a boom town! Because of its proximity to Mexico, we’re guessing that this is one of the places in the country where NAFTA is a success.

We finished our day driving north on I 25 to Albuquerque. On several occasions we crossed the Rio Grande River and most of the scenery was more of the same: arid, brown with rugged mountains in the distance and still at 4000-5000 feet. Even though the highway is straight, wide and flat for hundreds of miles, we also noticed many make-shift roadside memorials, more than you usually see, and wondered if this was a particularly dangerous road. The closer we got to Albuquerque, the more prosperous the area seemed and we ended up just north of Albuquerque in Bernalillo. Tomorrow we head to Colorado.

Catching Up!!!

This photo was taken earlier in our travels. Does anyone know what spot the X marks?


MARCH 18, 2008

Got up from our great night’s sleep at Becker Vineyards and enjoyed a little more time, drinking our coffee on the front porch watching the deer We decided that since it was raining, we’d better get going…………we were worried about the dry creek bed becoming wet. So off we went to the Tasting Room to drop off the key and buy some wine before getting back on the road. It was a great way to begin the next part of our journey.

We stopped in Fredericksburg to get some kolachis. Germans and Czech immigrants settled in the area in the 1800s; a kolachi is a Czechoslovakian donut with a filling.
Our next destination was Fort Stockton, TX, a long lonely drive in intermittent heavy rain on a beautiful 80 mph interstate (Peter DIDN”T goes the speed limit). En route we passed almost 20 miles of windmills interspersed with oil wells………..otherwise lots of nothing! It was a good chance to get caught up on the blog. Upon arriving in Fort Stockton, we were greeted by an immense statue of a brightly painted road runner. We stayed in the most basic but clean room you can imagine. Most of the motels were full due to an upcoming rodeo and the discovery of two new oil fields. Since we were in Texas, we decided to treat ourselves to a steak dinner at K-Bob’s Steak House.


MARCH 19, 2008

Today we drove to Big Bend National Park about 100 miles from Fort Stockton. It’s the LEAST visited national park as opposed to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the MOST visited. The weather was beautiful and along the way we spotted an eagle sitting on a fence post on the side of the road………we knew it was going to be a good day. The road was long, perfectly straight and for many miles we were the only car in sight. During the drive we saw a full-antlered buck standing on the shoulder and lots of cattle, first herded by a helicopter and later by some cowboys on horses. Because of occasional flooding, there were many water gauge signs to measure water up to five feet but everything was bone dry!

When we entered the park, we used our Lifetime Senior pass for national parks; it cost us $10 at Vicksburg and we’ve already saved $20!!! What a deal! A short way into the park Peter spotted a javelina, a wild pig, grazing near the side of the road and our first road runner darted across the road in front of us. At the visitor center, we put the top down and started a 60 mile drive through the park. The scenery was spectacular: rugged mountains, dry river and creek gorges, many different kinds of cacti, one in particular is rose-colored. Big Bend is pristine…………..a definite must-see! We stopped at the Santa Elena Canyon, had lunch and then hiked about a mile into the mouth of the gorge high above the Rio Grande River. It was hard to believe that Mexico was just across the river.

Leaving the park we headed for Alpine, Marfa and our destination Van Horn where we planned to sppend the night…..can’t believe we’re STILL in Texas. Along the route we finally saw some Texas bluebells and lots of mountains on the right and left as we drove through the Chihuahua Desert still at an elevation of around 4000 feet. About a half-hour out we had to stop at a Border Patrol station where they asked us if we were citizens, where we were from and never asked for IDs. Guess they thought we looked safe! Most of the towns we’re driving through are barely alive! Marfa is one that is trying to revitalize but it has a way to go! We did, all of a sudden, in an otherwise flat, brown and uninteresting drive, happen upon miles and miles of pecan trees. We finally arrived in Van Horn, another one of those barely alive towns.


MARCH 20, 2008

This morning we headed to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico where we changed to Mountain Time. The road, Route 54 N through the Sierra Diablo Mountains, was a beautiful drive with stark scenery, rugged flat-topped mountains and the Chihuahua Desert. Entered NM on Route 62 and went through the Guadalupe Mountains. At one point a mountain lion crossed the road just ahead of us….pretty exciting!

At White City we drove into the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Our elevation, like yesterday and this morning, remained between 4000 and 5000 feet. We climbed up a windy road through canyons up to the entrance to the Caverns. Since there was hardly anyone on the road, we were surprised to see the mass of people readying to visit the Caverns. Once again our Senior Pass to the National Parks got us in free………another saving of $12! After standing in line for tickets, we took the elevator down 750 feet into the cavern. The temperature in the cavern was a steady 56 degrees, the lighting was very low and everyone spoke in whispers! The hordes had disappeared (where, we don’t know!) but we weren’t complaining. It’s impossible to describe the size, scope and grandeur of the Big Room, the largest of the caves. It’s another must-see! We followed a 1 ½ mile path that wound around the spectacular stalactites, stalagmites, massive columns, crystal pools and deep, seemingly bottomless holes. The Big Room is the size of 6 football fields and it’s hundreds of feet high. It was almost like being in a cathedral.

Time to put the top down! Ate a picnic lunch before exiting the park and then began our drive to Roswell. The road (Rt. 285N) was hot, dry and dusty. Saw our first tumbleweed and smelled before we saw our first of several huge dairy farms. Southeast NM is flat and desolate and we passed many more shabby towns. At one point on the road we saw a sign that said, “Don’t pick up hitchhikers. Prison facility nearby.” However as we approached Roswell, things picked up. Roswell is a bustling and vibrant city right at the northern most point of the Chihuahua Desert and the western most point of the Great Plains. We stopped at the Roswell Museum and Art Center and saw some local art along with some Georgia O’Keefe. We had read a very brief note about the museum in one of our books but we discovered that it is a real gem. Along with the art, there is an exhibit of Southwest “cowboy and Indian” artifacts and an exhibit of Goddard’s early rocket attempts. Roswell is, of course, famous for its UFO history and there are plenty of cheesy stores and museums that testify to that history. But this only added to the charm of the town.

We left Roswell via Rt. 380W through more desolate, flat landscape. Suddenly, as we started climbing the Capitan Mountains, the land completely changed to treed mountain passes. We’re spending the night in Ruidoso NM, a cute, bustling resort town in the mountains. Looking to forward to exploring the town tomorrow before we head off to White Sands.

Pete and Barbara: Marilyn took us through Marathon before you posted your comment!

St Patrick's Day Weekend

As you can tell from our blog, Marilyn is a vital part of our trip. Although she had a voice, thanks to Peter and Barbara Miles she now has a physical presence and distinct personality. She IS the Perfect Woman! She says things like, “It really doesn’t matter if you leave the toilet seat up…..it makes it easier to clean!” Peter’s using her to try to train me but, it’s not working. He’s VERY frustrated! Now back to our trip. Sorry for the length of this blog; we had some complaints because we haven’t blogged in a few days so we didn’t want to leave anything out.


MORE FOR MARCH 14, 2008

Friday evening, after we moved into our very comfortable accommodations at Chris and Covey’s, we shared a delicious dinner with Peter’s cousins Covey, Chris, Aminah, her daughter Helise, son-in-law Isom and grandson Tariq. Before dinner we toasted Sylvette’s birthday with Chris’ homemade jalapeño margaritas. It was wonderful reconnecting with family…….it seemed as though we’d always been together! We sat at the table, reminisced and eventually got to politics………….it was a spirited political discussion (Chris and Covey were disappointed when Ron Paul dropped out).


MARCH 15, 2008

After a relaxing Saturday morning, Aminah picked us up about 11 for our first venture into San Antonio. We saw a Texas version of a St. Paddy’s Day parade complete with motorcycle riders one of whom was a leprechaun wearing a Kelly green ten-gallon hat. We visited La Villita, the original city settlement now occupied with art galleries and shops. We did the River walk (the river was dyed green!) and had a great Mexican lunch serenaded by a Mariachi band. The weather has gotten pretty hot; the natives were complaining but we were totally enjoying it! It was great to be back in T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops! We saw the Alamo (pretty small!) and walked through the hotel bar where Teddy Roosevelt recruited Rough Riders. We were going to include the name of the hotel in our photo contest but we have too many Googlers; it would have been too easy!

In the evening we attended Chris’ Uncle Ed’s 80th birthday party. It was fun to visit with some of his family; it had been 40 years since Peter had seen Chris’ mother Patricia. We enjoyed talking with Uncle Ed’s wife Rosa, a specialist in the AP literature curriculum and with family friend Brian who gave us some pointers on the Big Bend National Park area.



MARCH 16, 2008

Sunday morning, after a stop at Starbucks’s, we drove with Chris and Covey to Mission National Park, still in the city limits of San Antonio…….the city is HUGE. We visited Mission Concepcion, the best preserved of the eighteenth century missions, and experienced part of a Palm Sunday mass, Mariachi band and all! Our next stop was Mission San Jose, the “queen of missions,” where Peter was impressed with the original earthen/stone ovens and wondered how a pizza would taste cooked in one of those. Over the years in our travels we’re always surprised at the amount of graffiti we see; but imagine our shock at seeing a small swastika carved into the wall of the mission church. Still a local parish, Palm Sunday mass was going on there also.

Back in downtown San Antonio, we went to El Mercado, a huge market full of locals, pottery, jewelry, blankets and entertainment (everything from kids dancing to Elvis songs to a Mexican version of Arabic belly-dancing, a youth orchestra and chorus, a Selena wannabe singer, and a Peruvian band). We had lunch at the famous Mi Tierra, one of Chris and Covey’s favorite Mexican restaurants; it’s open 24 hours a day and, in their youth, Chris and Covey had many late night and early morning meals here!

Dinner that evening was at Aminah and Rachman’s. We were bowled over by the art and sculpture we saw. Rachman showed us his outdoor sculpture studio, some of his pieces, both finished and in progress, and some of the beautiful furniture he’s made. Aminah’s art is everywhere from murals to an oil painting that we particularly loved. We especially enjoyed getting to know Rachman and were overwhelmed by the artistic talent they both possess. We talked about wood, sculpture, politics, art and life and had a wonderful meal at the Ullmers. We left with a gift from them, an Aminah Original….a beautiful hand-painted broom.


MARCH 17, 2008

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We left Chris and Covey’s with very fond memories and also with t-shirts and tiles designed by Chris. San Antonio was a trip highlight; the city is alive with art and music we would love to go back there someday. Chris and Covey’s house is full of original art by Aminah, Rachman, Chris, Chris’ family and Covey and we were impressed with all their artistic talent and our lack thereof!

Marilyn led us out of San Antonio and on to Stonewall, Texas, the home of Becker Vineyards. The Beckers are the parents of Will, a good friend of Pete III and Karen from college. Early in the 90s they purchased land in Stonewall, started a vineyard and have become very successful (the vineyard is mentioned in “1000 Places to See in the US and Canada”). After some serious wine tasting and a quick tour of neighboring Fredericksburg, another place mentioned in “1000 Places to See….,” we slowly made our way along a one-lane rocky dirt road through a dry creek bed to the Becker’s rustic stone and log cabin located in the middle of the vineyard. It was quiet and peaceful and a wonderful place to unwind. We were able to connect to the Internet, check our email and read the bad news of the day. Sitting on the Becker porch, drinking Becker wine, the world seemed so remote. We were even treated by the appearance of an armadillo who was totally disinterested in us! Saw some eagles, deer and heard owls and wild turkeys. We were asleep by 9 and slept through a Texas sized thunder storm during the night.

Today we’re off to Big Bend National Park in the far south west of Texas along the Rio Grande River on the Mexican border.

Sally: Glad you liked the photo!
Covey: The “educational” part of the blog belongs to Connie!
Pam: Thanks for the St. Paddy’s Day memories!
Carol: Glad to have you online with us.

Special kudos to Justin Kubu, friend of Suzanne and Pete. When Suzanne showed him the blog, he immediately knew that the first day’s mystery photo was from The Sopranos….he’s a great fan of the show.