SO LONG, UTAH!

Here are some more pictures that show the diversity of the scenery we are driving through every day.


MARCH 26, 2008

So……….I misdated yesterday’s blog………yesterday was March 26 but I was describing March 25!!! Anyone catch me?

In any case, we left Tropic later than we had intended. The service in Clark’s restaurant was slow………..the waitress said they were waiting for the water to boil for Connie’s soft-boiled egg!!! It IS harder to boil water at a high altitude but that was a pretty lame excuse! Our first excursion of the day was a trip back into Bryce Canyon; although the entrance fee is $25, we could afford to enter two days in a row since we get in FREE!!!! The hoodoos were as spectacular during the daylight as they were at sunset. The amphitheater glowed with all of the castles and gardens in salmon, red and gold. We took a short hike from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point where we could see deeper into the amphitheater. Again we were amazed at the sight of these unique sandstone formations. Peter stopped for a bit to take it all in with the binoculars and commented that this, although hard for him to say, was probably the single most awesome sight so far. Connie decided that yesterday’s drive through the national parks, along Scenic Byway 12, through several national parks and into the Bryce Canyon amphitheater was the most awesome day so far.

Leaving Bryce we continued on Scenic Byway 12 toward Zion National Park. We put the top down, drove through Red Canyon, through red stone arches along the canyon wall: red, red, red!!!! Every time we came around a corner we wanted to stop and take a picture but it’s impossible to capture what we see, especially with our inadequate camera. We turned on UT 89 and saw another convertible with its top down, probably only the third one we’ve seen with the top down…….they don’t know what they’re missing! Believe it or not, on this 65 mph two lane road we were passed by a HUGE Japanese tour bus. We’ve noticed lots of foreign tourists, mostly German and Asian. Given the state of the dollar, traveling in the US is a heck of a bargain these days.

Along this drive we passed through several small towns where the speed limit dropped from 65mph to 35mph. Sure enough, we saw the sheriff waiting at the middle of each town, looking for speeders. In a red convertible, with out of state plates, you have to be very careful to observe the speed limits.

Near the entrance to Zion we passed a herd of buffalo grazing in a field. In the park we drove through some HUGE canyons, a thousand plus feet above us, with striated and weathered walls on each side of the road. Before paying the entrance fee ($25 dollars per car, free for us!) the road changed to the same dark red color of the canyon. Peter commented that it was just as beautiful as he remembered. We pulled off the road, took our blanket, found a spot on the rocks and had our lunch while taking in all of the surroundings.

Approaching the mile-long tunnel built in the 1930s when cars were much smaller, we stopped dead! The large RVs and tour buses have to be escorted through the tunnel because of its size. We didn’t mind waiting; it gave us more time to observe the area. The tunnel is completely dark inside but every .2 mile there was a large opening on one side with a view of the canyon; the only tunnel we’ve ever been in that had windows! As we exited the tunnel we were again surrounded by canyon walls that went straight up a thousand or more feet. We parked at the visitor center to catch the shuttle because cars are not allowed in the main part of the park.

Zion was by far the most crowded national park we’ve encountered this whole trip. It was school vacation week and there were lots of families vacationing there. The double shuttle had people on and off constantly at each stop. The bus itself was fine but we missed the open convertible; it was impossible to see some of the canyon tops from the bus window. We did manage, however, to see two climbers in the second day of a three day climb (they climb about 400 feet a day). The surroundings were very spectacular but it felt crowded and busy and didn’t seem as serene. In the other parks we felt like we needed to whisper because of the natural beauty and aura. In Zion it was all hustle bustle!

We decided to knock off early and stayed in nearby Hurricane UT to do a little laundry get caught up on some chores and get to bed early. Tomorrow we're off to Sedona, Arizona.

A NATIONAL PARK BONANZA!

We have two Mimis in our family. Which Mimi is running which business in her other life?

Suz: We like your title, literally or whatever. And we DO need to watch “Cars!”
Pete M: We look forward to following your recommendations. We’ll be in WY after we leave Portland.

MARCH 26, 2008

Today, we decided early, would be a day of reflection. Little did we know that the sights we’d see would lend themselves so readily to thoughtful consideration. Connie started the day with the best latte of the trip, not at a Starbuck’s but at a local, drive-through expresso stand. Anyway, we’d run out of adjectives and superlatives about everything we’ve seen; we even thought of accessing an online thesaurus! Then we entered Canyonlands National Park, once again saving the cost of the entrance fee and once again driving through a national park with the top down on another perfect day.

This park is the compilation of everything we’ve seen already in the Southwest. We drove through the high desert where cows were grazing on the grasslands right next to the road and where we could see snow-capped mountains a hundred miles on the horizon in all directions. There was the Colorado Plateau, river-carved red rock canyons, immense mesas, and sandstone buttes. Help! We need the thesaurus NOW!!! Canyonlands also includes the Colorado River to the east and the Green River to the west; the two rivers meet in the middle of the park at one of the greatest river confluences in the Southwest. One guidebook describes the park as “mesmerizing and nearly incomprehensible in its extent and complexity.” How can we compete with that description! Most of the park has to be explored in four wheel drive vehicles; there are over a hundred miles of back country dirt roads so we’ll have to return with our Jeep. We had thought it might be more of the same but little did we imagine that it would be more of EVERYTHING!

Throughout our trip we’ve seen contrails of jets flying at 30,000 feet some even crisscrossing each other. How many times we’ve seen America from one of those jets!!! It’s such a totally different perspective and so much more interesting to drive through all of the areas we’ve only seen from 30,000 feet. And we’re not even seeing anywhere near all it. We’ve also noticed lots of cyclists on the roads in the national parks. It looks like these would be great bike rides but, given the hills, pretty tough. Yesterday we followed one cyclist coming down a long hill as we left Arches. We were doing 45 mph and he was staying well ahead of us even in the hair-pin turns. It was his reward for having climbed that hill earlier in the day.

Another good way to see these parks would be on motorcycles. At the hotel this morning we met a group of motorcyclists from Canada—all men and all our age who were doing a 4000 mile tour of the Southwest. They had done many of these trips before and looked like they were good old buddies! We thought packing and unpacking our car every day was a chore until we witnessed how carefully each cyclist had to pack his gear. Peter especially liked them because they complimented him on his car and said that next to a motorcycle, a convertible would be the next best way to see the world.

Would you believe that the scenery completely changed again several times as we headed toward Bryce Canyon National Park on UT 24 to Utah 12? UT 24 was long, straight and pretty much lonely……..there were few vehicles and no towns!!! At one point Connie’s hat blew onto the road; Peter did a U turn, picked it up, did another U turn and continued on……….no one saw us and we saw no one for miles! The speed limit was 65 mph and as we came around a corner just after Hanksville (pretty grim), there were 5 or 6 big bulls walking down the road! We almost came to a full stop before they sauntered over to the side of the road! Between the rocks, the wildlife, the tumbleweeds and the cattle you really have to watch yourself on these high speed back roads. Every time we came around a curve we saw sheer rock canyons, mesas, buttes and sandstone rock formations. It turns out that Butch Cassidy and his gang hid in these canyons; it’s not hard to see why he hid here because without this road, it would be very hard to find anyone or anything. The road has sheer canyon walls on each side which we could see very well with the top down.

We approached Canyon Reef National Park and saw fruit groves that had been planted by the early Mormon settlers. We stopped to see the crude but interesting drawings that had been carved into the canyon walls by early Native Americans. Next to a carving of a big horn sheep, “Marie” had carved her name………more graffiti!!! We passed the remnants of the early Mormon settlement, everything fairly well preserved, and stopped at a historic farm where an ancestor of the original Mormon settler sold us some home made ice cream.

In Torrey we turned onto UT 12, aka Highway 12 Scenic Byway, one of 27 nationally designated All-American Roads. It starts at the entrance to Capitol Reef National Park, winds through the Dixie National Forest, over Boulder Mountain, through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and finally ending at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had both read about this road and had decided to do it regardless of its rigor. At the funky Flute Shop in Torrey, Peter told the proprietress we were “taking our time” on our trip. She said that was obvious, “You wouldn’t be on this road if you were in a hurry!” Again, we met a very nice young couple who had been canoeing and fishing at Lake Powell and we enjoyed exchanging travel stories. The vista where we had our chat was unbelievable……..8000 feet, snow around us and a view over the cliffs and canyons “to die for!” Traveling further, we reached 10,000 feet and saw snow covered meadows.


The most amazing sight in the Grand Escalante-Staircase National Monument was the road across the ridge at the very top of the canyons on both sides. It was very narrow and, once again, no guard rails. The wind was howling as we stood on the ridge on either side of the road looking down at least 1000 feet. Apparently as I took Peter’s picture, a raven was hovering about 2 feet above my shoulder………..good thing I didn’t know! Is that a sign of something? Further on, Peter spied a golden eagle feeding on some road kill at the side of the road. We stopped to get a picture, the eagle flew to a fence post as if he was posing and, as Peter was readying the camera, another car drove by and scared the eagle away. A school bus drove by and we wondered how far kids who live out here have to travel to get to school.

After meandering in and out of the Dixie National Forest and passing through the town of Tropic, we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park. We had read that this park is particularly spectacular at sunset so, instead of finding a motel for the night, we entered the park and drove to Sunset Point. What we saw was an amphitheater carved into the face of a plateau and filled with hoodoos, “fancifully eroded pillars of rock.” They were every shade of red, pink, orange; it looked like a fairyland full of castles. Many people were sitting on top of rocks, meditating; we felt like we had to whisper! WOW!! So much to see and so much to say!

Back in Tropic we stayed America’s Best Value Inn and Suites, next to Clark’s Market, Clark’s Restaurant and Clark’s Gas………….we think Clark owned the motel, too. In any case it was great from dinner to the room to breakfast. Thanks, Clark!

March 24th

These photos give an overview of the varied landscapes we’ve seen so far on our trip. Amazing, isn’t it?

MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008

We got a fairly early start out of Durango in 29 degree weather and another gorgeous day. Drove on Rt. 550 north up into the San Juan Mountains toward Silverton and the Million Dollar Highway. Throughout the trip we’ve been having great difficulty describing the unbelievable vistas and scenery we drive through; today proved to be even more difficult. After climbing to 10,000 feet on a winding road surrounded by snow-covered mountains (the snow at the side of the road was as high as a car!) we descended into the valley where the town of Silverton is located. Silverton is an old mining town with one paved street, the main street, and snow everywhere; people were hardly even shoveled out! Today the town is mostly for skiers who go to the nearby Silverton Ski Resort.

We continued on Rt. 550 out of Silverton and climbed to 11,000 feet at Red Mountain Pass. As we drove we could see many back-country ski tracks and snowmobile tracks. It was a smooth road with many switchbacks but hardly any guard rails. We descended down through the Uncompahgre Gorge. The road hugged the mountainside and the views were incredible. We again had to be careful of rock slides because, apparently in the spring, when the ice on the canyon walls melts, it dislodges the rocks which then fall onto the road. We went through a couple of tunnels and descended into the town of Ouray, a bigger, better laid out town than Silverton. Actually there was less snow here and all of the streets were plowed! We stopped at Box Canyon Waterfalls but the falls were completely frozen with icicles, drove through town, and stopped at the hot springs and were disappointed because of the commercialism. This was the end of the Million Dollar Highway but we thought it was worth a billion!

Still on Rt. 550, we left Ouray, climbed up to a plateau where there was much less snow, with lots of ranches with cattle and horses. The scenery changes often and dramatically. Next it was rugged, red, rocky mountains. We turned onto Rt. 62 and then Rt. 145 as we drove along the San Miguel River up into the San Miguel Gorge and stopped for a picnic lunch; it had warmed to about 55 degrees so we put on our jackets and put the top down! We had to stop twice while road crews cleared rocks from the road. The road climbed up to the Uncompahgre Plateau, meandering through the sleepy towns of Norwood, Redvale, Naturita and Bedrock (we didn’t stop to see Wilma and Fred!). We crossed into Utah on Rt. 46 and immediately the landscape was much more arid. Still spectacular views! Once again we were headed toward snow-capped mountains in the distance on a road that was straight as far as the eye could see. Arrived in Moab, got a motel room for the night and headed for Arches National Park

Arches was different from everything we’d already visited. Magnificent red rock structures of all shapes and heights, pointed pinnacles, 2000 natural arches, one of the greatest concentrations of these structures anywhere on earth. The arches stand amid a high desert that ranges from 4000-6000 feet in elevation. Peter named one group of pinnacles “The Three Wise Men!” We took a couple of short hikes and stood beneath one of the larger arches to try to get some sense of the scale of all of these structures. The weather was now 80 degrees in the sun but with the cool dessert breeze. As we drove through the park we commented to each other that it was next to impossible to take it all in!!! We read in a guide book that Arches was given a 5+ rating and we completely agree.

The combination of our drive through the mountains and our tour of Arches National Park made for another spectacular day! We keep saying this; it’s a can’t miss trip!!

EASTER WEEKEND IN DURANGO

This is a photo we took at White Sands and we think it needs to be titled. Do you have any suggestions?


Pam: Thanks for the Easter greetings!
Ann: Welcome to our blog! What do you prefer……your top up or your top down?


MARCH 22, 2008

Before leaving Bernalillo NM, we restocked our food supply and left for Aztec MN on Rt. 550 N. We drove along the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest through multi-colored mesas, sparse vegetation on more arid lands, at an altitude of 7000 feet. We passed through Cuba (did Marilyn lead us astray?) NM, a small town with a busy McDonald’s but otherwise run-down. Rt. 550 is like most of the roads we’ve taken this trip…..good road, 65-70 speed limits, where you have to slow down to go through all the small towns but where you can really see rural America. The shame is that these towns, with few exceptions, seem to be dying out. The interstate roads have bypassed these towns and all of the fast-food chains and economy motel chains that are clustered along the interstates are slowly squeezing out the local businesses. That’s why we see many abandoned and dilapidated houses and buildings.

We crossed the Continental Divide and encountered moon-like lava fields and then more desert dotted with oil and gas wells. When we arrived in Aztec NM, we went to the Aztec Ruins National Park (which is a misnomer because it was not the Aztecs who built the pueblo!) which was settled as far back as 500 AD by Native Americans. It is small and not nearly as grand as the other National Parks we’ve seen but it was interesting to see how these people lived.

We crossed into Colorado, still on Rt. 550, and the scenery changed immediately. In the distance we could see snow-topped mountains and as we climbed these mountains in the Ute Reservation everything was much greener. We passed many farms and cattle ranches. We had another wild life encounter as two very husky deer crossed in front of us!

We arrived in Durango mid-afternoon, walked around the historic part of the town, liked the feel of it and decided to stay two nights so we take the single gauge railroad tour of the mountains in the morning. We booked a hotel by phone and checked the map to see what sites were nearby. It was about 60 degrees so we put the top down and headed to Mesa Verde National Park about 30 miles away. Again we were amazed as we climbed to almost 9000 feet to the top of a beautiful mesa. Along the way we saw that ubiquitous road sign, “Beware of falling rock,” came around a hair-pin turn and barely missed a three foot boulder that had just fallen. We’ll pay more attention to those signs in the future!

At the top of the mesa, all of a sudden the beautiful forest turned into miles and miles of charred dead trees as far as you could see. There was a massive forest fire in 2004 that burned half of the park. A lot of the park is closed this time of year but we wanted to see the ancient cliff side pueblos so we stopped at the lookout only to find the road closed. A few others had parked there to hike down the closed road so we decided to follow. When we encountered a couple who had hiked for half an hour and seen nothing, we decided to forego the venture. Good thing! Peter had left his wallet on the roof of the car so, obviously, we weren’t meant to go on this hike! We did drive the 6 mile loop at the top of the mesa and were ecstatic to learn that it had lookouts from which we could see the pueblos built into the crevices of the canyon walls across the gorge. It was again remarkable to see how these people lived and to imagine them climbing to the top of the mesa each day to hunt, farm and then climb back down to home. And we complain about our commutes!

Back in Durango, we checked into our room and we found a funky local pizza place, Home Slice Pizza. Peter was in his glory and I had a great toasted eggplant parmesan sandwich.


MARCH 23, 2008

Happy Easter! We treated ourselves to a day when someone else did the “driving!” Stopped at Starbuck’s for an Easter coffee and proceeded to board the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Train consisting of antique cars and an antique steam engine in remarkable condition. As we left town, all of the crossings had people there watching the train and waving. We felt like we were on a float in a parade! One of the cars was open and, because it was another beautiful but cool day, we spent quite bit of the five hour roundtrip in the open air. The train went through the outskirts of Durango along the Animus River and then climbed into the San Juan Mountains into an area where there is no other access except on the train. The railroad was originally built in the 1800s to support the gold being mined in the area. At many points along the ride, the canyon walls were only inches from the train and in other places the track ran along the edge of the canyon wall with a 400-500 foot drop down to the river. It is not a ride for the faint of heart!

As we have throughout our trip, we met an interesting couple and their 4 year old son from Albuquerque. They were fun to talk to and gave us lots of travel tips for the northwest part of our trip. We may even look them up if we’re ever in Albuquerque again. Another couple gave us a recommendation for a restaurant in Durango, Ken and Sue’s, where we enjoyed our Easter dinner. Tomorrow the Million Dollar Highway and on into Utah! Durango CO is another addition to our “Don’t Miss List!”

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.