SNOW

Yes....this is snow....again!!

We are in southern New Mexico! Yes...we are at the foothills of the Mogollon Mountains and at the Continental Divide! But still.....

And we left Michigan because????

Gila Cliff Dwellings, New Mexico

North of Silver City, New Mexico is this National Monument near the Gila River. There are seven natural cavities indented into the face of a cliff some 175 feet above the canyon floor. Five of these hollows contain rooms constructed during the 13 th century by people of the Mogollon culture. Although archaeological evidence suggests that many different groups of people have inhabited this are over thousands of years. They do think these dwellings were built between 1270 and 1300. When the Mogollon left, no one has appeared to have lived in this area for over 100 years. Apaches migrated to the upper Gila River about 1500. Actually the legendary leader Geronimo was born here and the Apaches left behind artifacts. There is also many pictographs painted on rocks located in the caves and the surrounding areas, illustrating history of their life.

To get to the dwellings we hiked a total of 3 miles along a steep and rocky trail, about a 225 feet climb. But this is after a two hour drive up a twisting and winding mountain road called the Trail of the Mountain Spirits, through much snow, remoteness, solitude and a stunning canyon vista. No side rails, no shoulders, no lane dividers.

Later in the afternoon we stopped by Fort Bayard, a US Army post dating back to 1863; it also is a National Historic Landmark. The first all-black regular army units made up of enlisted personnel, referred to as Buffalo Soldiers. They were formed to protect the settlers and miners from the Apaches and participated in the chase for Geronimo. The fort was then transformed to a US Army General Hospital to fight against tuberculosis. Today, Fort Bayard continues its long service with the treatment of geriatrics and substance abuse.

Very educational and enlightening day. What's interesting about traveling this time of year to these sites, there are no crowds! We continue to meet great people, also traveling by RV's.

White Sands Nat'l Park, New Mexico

No...this is not snow! This is White Sands National Park.

At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain-ringed valley, the Tularosa Basin. And rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world's great natural wonders-the glistening white sands of New Mexico. There are great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand that engulfs 275 square miles and has created the largest gypsum dune field in the world. Gypsum is used in the making of dry wall, plaster of paris, beer, chocolate and toothpaste. These snow-white dunes rise up 60 feet above the Tularosa Basin floor and there are many trails to hike and sand hills to "sled" done.

Surrounding these dunes is the White Sands Missile Range, the first man-made atomic explosion site. In the 1960's, this area proved ideal for testing the lunar module engines that propelled Apollo astronauts off the moon's surface. Today, the US Army conducts laser, radar and flight research here. As a matter of fact, the National Park is closed on February 26 due to missile testing.

We took at evening hike with a Park Ranger and watched a beautiful double sunset. As the sun sets over the Sacrament Mountains, then you see the reflection a few minutes later over the San Andres Mountains on the other side of the Tularosa Basin. But it was real windy out in that open area and quite cold.

Carlsbad, New Mexico

We have arrived in New Mexico. This is our 36th state in the last seven-and-half months of our travels. And a third time zone in the past week.

We visited the Carlsbad Caverns. Unlike most limestone caves that form when surface water flows through the cracks in the rock, these passageways in the Guadalupe Mountains are the rare product of sulfuric acid. Oil deposits mixed with the water table to create an aggressive chemical that dissolved holes in the subterranean limestone. As the mountains rose over a period of 20 million years, the caves dried out, revealing the wonders of Carlsbad.

This cavern has more than 30 miles of corridors and great chambers with massive stalagmites, stalactites and columns. We really wanted to go into the Bat Cave that serves as a summer home for the Mexican free-tailed bats, but these bats have migrated for the winter back to Mexico. In the summer months, there is a spectacular flight as these mammals fluttering out of the natural cave entrance as a thick whirlwind spiral of the mass of thousands of bats. This happens at dusk and can last 20 minutes to 2 1/2 hours. Then at dawn, they reenter in the same remarkable fashion.
The cave we did explore for two hours was the BIG ROOM, located 750 feet under ground. This cave is 600,000 square feet, the size of 14 football fields. It was very impressive and really breathtaking. It has a constant temperature of 56 degrees. As we toured the mile-and-a-quarter route, it became evident why Carlsbad Caverns is the prettiest of all caverns. It is a unique underground world.

Big Bend Nat'l Park and The Rio Grande

Big Bend was named for the great curve in the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande runs the boarder between Texas and Mexico and lies at the south end of the park. This national park has enormous vistas, shadowy canyons, desert landscape and the Chisos Mountains. Most of the landscape is very rocky, so our hiking poles really came in handy. Some of the boulders were lose making us unsure of our footing. We hiked in two different areas. The first hike was about three miles, mostly up hill, to the Balanced Rock. The paths were marked well with signs, so we knew it was worth the climb! What a view from the top! When we started out in the morning, the temperature was only 34 degrees. But by noon, it was 77 degrees and the long jeans only made that climb harder. We took a long rest and ate lunch under the Balanced Rock.

Our next hike to the Rio Grande canyon was about one-and-a-half miles, again a rocky climb but well worth the view. The other side of the river is Mexico. We saw many Mexican men paddling canoes over to the US shore. It appeared they had set up different areas along our hiking paths with hand made hiking sticks and painted stones that were for sale. Next to the items was a glass jar for your money. It was "on your honor" so to speak. I did buy two hand painted walking sticks for our grand children. It was amazing to see a lot of dollar bills stuffed in those jars. Since 2002, there is no longer a legal border crossing in the park. But on the way out of the park, about 60 miles north, there is a Border Crossing station which we were required to stop at and were asked questions. Interestingly, the guard was from Romeo, Michigan!

Not much wild life; actually, disappointing. We saw many white tailed deer, jumping every which way. But we did see 3 or 4 roadrunners. Small little critters. They have running speeds up to 20 mph and pursues lizards and small rattlesnakes. They peck them to death with stunning blows of their beak.

Fort Stockton, Texas

Man is Texas windy and flat. And big and empty.

This was the worse driving conditions we have encountered with high head winds up to 30 miles an hour. Andy found truckers to draft behind but couldn't keep up with them. We probably only got 7 miles to the gallon!

Fort Stockton is about 250 miles east of El Paso.....we are almost completely through the state! This is also the gateway to Big Bend National Park. We have dropped the RV and are planning on a day trip to the park tomorrow. Doing some hiking through the Chisos Mountains and the Rio Grande.

The picture above is "hay art". Its how the Texans decorate their fields.

In Between Nowhere and Nothing

We left San Antonio and headed west on I-10 towards El Paso, Texas. There is nothing out there. Yes, we saw electrical poles and wires, leading to no where. Some exit ramps, leading to no where. Very few cars on the road. Now this is the main Interstate going west to California....you would think there would be cars. What vehicles we saw were semi trucks or RVs.

The speed limit is posted 80 mph. Now that says it all. But the crosswinds were heavy today, swaying the camper back and forth, no way this thing will make it to 80! Actually that rocking motion puts me right to sleep. Poor Andy. At times it seems he is on this car ride alone. But his past time is trying to find a "friend" to draft behind to help with our gas mileage. He had found one for about 75 miles today, but apparently that trucker was over come by the same boredom as me and had to pull off to close his eyes. As we passed him on the side of the road, his head was already slumping over. Hope he makes it to his destination.

On this leg of our journey, we have decided to only drive between 150-200 miles a day. It keeps us within our gas budget and helps to have a more relaxing trip. We start around 10:30 am and are at our camp site around 3:00pm. It gives us some time to see the sites. But not today...there were no sites to be seen!

San Antonio River Walk and Missions

Long before the US won its independence, the area known as San Antonio began to attract European settlers. The Catholic Church, working with the Spanish Government, established five missions (The Alamo is one of these) along a nine-mile stretch of the scenic San Antonio River. Protected by high walls, the goal was the education of the region's Native Americans and offer sanctuary from their enemies. These Spanish missions helped form the foundation for the city of San Antonio. The four we visited were Mission Concepcion, Mission Sam Jose, Mission San Juan, and Mission Espada. The missions flourished between 1747 and 1775. It is amazing after all these years that they are still standing but the modern San Antonio community recognized early their significance and have worked hard to preserve them. These four are all run by the US National Park Service and are active Roman Catholic parishes serving the surrounding communities still today.

One of this cities premiere assets is the 2.5 mile tree-lined River Walk or Paseo del Rio, runs through the heart of the business district. It is a few steps below the city streets and provides a pleasant stroll with shops and galleries with landscaped riverbanks bordering nightspots and restaurants. This area is operated by the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. This is the San Antonio River that flows for 131 miles and empties into the Guadalupe River. From the earliest days, this river flooded repeatedly whenever there were heavy rains. Actually in 1921 a flood caused tremendous destruction of property and loss of life. There was serious talk at one time of paving over the river and turning it into an underground storm drain. Luckily, a visionary architect, Robert Hugman, saved the river with his creative idea of this River Walk.

Our whole experience here has been great! This is a clean, uncrowded, friendly city. After four days here, we hate to leave.

Remember the Alamo

San Antonio and the Alamo.

Originally named Mision San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as home to missionaries and their Indian converts for nearly seventy years. This historic site played a critical role in the Texas Revolution.

People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against overwhelming odds-a place where 189 defenders made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas have been entrusted by the Texas State Legislature since 1905 with the care and maintenance of The Alamo. According to Texas law, it is preserved as a historic site "as a sacred memorial to the heroes". With no monetary help from local, state, or federal government, this site depends solely on money from donations and proceeds from the gift shop. Well, I helped out there at the gift shop.The highly photographed chapel and the Long Barrack are all that remain of the original fort. This certainly was a history lesson for both of us. We were amazed that it is located right in the middle of downtown!

San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo

Andy and I went to the San Antonio Rodeo, a world class professional rodeo with real cowboys getting paid real money. Over a million dollars in prize money is given. This rodeo is only one of two in the country that has this million dollar prize pool. This week was the quarter finals for nationals. The rodeo consists of seven events, as well as a Grand Entry, Mutton Bustin' & Calf Scramble. The events occur in the following order: Grand Entry, Bareback, Steer Wrestling, Mutton Bustin', Tie-Down Roping, Calf Scramble, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc Riding, Barrel Racing & Bullriding
The Mutton Bustin' is a fun-filled competition where a few lucky children climb on the back of a dashing sheep and hold on for 6 exciting seconds! The audience goes wild as these young rodeo contestants make thrilling rides and fun-filled dismounts. Participation is limited to boys and girls between the ages of 4-7 and weighing less than 55 lbs., at the time of competition.

The Calf Scramble, a crowd favorite event, takes place during each rodeo performances. In the Calf Scramble event, twenty four determined 4-H members, compete with one another to catch, halter and coax across the winner's line, one of only twelve calves to choose from. The twelve successful scramblers receive an $800 certificate to purchase a breeding animal to be raised and brought back to the Stock Show the following year.

After the rodeo, nationally recognized entertainers perform. Last night we saw Alan Jackson, a true legend with 20 years in the country music industry. It was a great show! All in all, it was a great date night. We even had dinner out; hot dogs, popcorn and warm salted peanuts.
We also walked through the livestock yard to see the huge cows and pigs on display for blue ribbon judging. Many of these owners were spending the night with their cattle, right there in the stalls.

The Lone Star State...Texas

Arrived in Texas. It is huge. Impressive land area, over 800 miles from the eastern state line to the far western line in El Paso. Beaumont was the first large city we hit. In 1901 one of the first great Texas oil well blew here. Currently, this area has one of the largest concentrations of petroleum refineries in the nation. You can see these oil pumps drilling all over the landscape.

We spent most of our afternoon down on the Gulf coast. This is another area that was badly hit by hurricanes...this time it was Ike in 2008. Significant damage was inflicted along the eastern coast from Galveston up to Houston. As you can see in the picture of the gulf shore line, the road is still torn up. Yes, that is the road we were driving on. There is some new housing construction just beginning to renew the area. These new homes are being built with concrete reinforced pillars and the homes appear to be higher off the ground. At the present time, much of the coast here is still empty but with evidence of former buildings here in the past.

Texas is diverse enough that it should appeal to all kinds of people. They have mountains, white sandy beaches, deserts with tumbleweeds, plains with real cowboys, and history in old abandoned forts, old missions and battlefields. We hope to see it all! We definitely will try some Texan chili. It is said to "blow holes in the toes of your socks".

Katrina's Mess

Each Each side of Beach Blvd/Highway 90 between Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi was flattened during the 2005 hurricane season. We saw vacant land after vacant land. Many with FOR SALE signs, all with driveways going to the property where only concrete foundations remain. Some homes and businesses have been rebuilt, some are still boarded up with the damage of Katrina leaving its mark. Remains of restaurant signs on the empty spot where it once stood. The vast destruction is still so evident.

The positive in all of this is that these communities have the opportunity to rebuild and reorganize the layout of these coastal resort towns. A new shopping mall just opened, high rise condos and casinos and hotels offer unobstructed view of the Gulf shore and white sandy beach. Its all new. No trash. No run down buildings. No slums. This area is inviting with southern hospitality and friendly people.

On to Louisiana. We are bypassing New Orleans for now. We will stop there on our way back to Florida in April. The weather should be warmer. Today it is only in the mid 40's. Also this is Mardis Gras week. We called several RV parks with going rates of $40-$80 a night-just to camp! So we are taking I-12 to the north of Lake Pontchartrain thru Baton Rouge. We crossed the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge which is actually two parallel bridges between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The length of the bridge is 18.2 miles long. It is the tenth longest bridge in the world. It travels over the largest swamp in the USA which is filled with wetlands, bayous, bald cypress swamp and marshes.

Spending the night in Lafayette. The Live Oak Society has its headquarters here. This group was organized to preserve the live oak, an evergreen shade tree. Annual membership dues are 25 acorns. Thinking about joining!

Hoping to arrive near Beaumont, Texas tomorrow.

We spent the night outside of Pensacola, Florida with temperatures dipping down to 27 degrees! Yes, below freezing! We avoided hooking up any water, afraid it might freeze the lines. Scrapped off ice from the windshield, frost covered the ground, and the furnace ran all night. We heard that 49 states had snow on Friday. So, we have changed our itinerary and are headed to that one state with no snow....Hawaii. Trying to figure out how to get the RV there????

The goal today was to zip thru the rest of the Florida panhandle, thru Alabama and into Mississippi. Stopped early in Biloxi, around 11:00am (central time) to be able to set up the camper and TV to watch the Daytona 500. We could have made it to New Orleans, only another 80 miles, just in time for Mardi Gras celebration!

The Deep South doesn't get any deeper than Alabama. This is where cotton was king and the Confederacy was born. The heart of Dixie beats strong here in addition to the antebellum homes and moss-draped oaks. Mississippi has sugar-white sand along the Gulf coast with the surrounding countryside know as the Delta, where once rang with woeful tunes of African slaves in the cotton fields; this soulful music is known as the Delta blues. Without the blues there would be no rock 'n' roll, and without Mississippi there would be no "King of Rock 'n' Roll". Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, in the northern part of the state.

Biloxi, an American Indian word for "first people" has been govern by six different regions. The area was badly damaged by Katrina in 2005. Most of the coastal casinos have already been rebuilt and opened, but many vacant land remains with planning for rebuilding in the future. Our RV camp site is right across the street from the Gulf. Actually, this park was hit by the storm.

Back to Mardi Gras....

This is a Catholic holiday originated as a final farewell to food and drink before fasting of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday (this year Lent is February 17th). For two weeks prior, parties and parades take place with the peak being on Fat Tuesday. Although, this celebration isn't just in New Orleans but stretches all over the southern states. We saw gathering of RVs and tailgaters along I-10 in Mobile, Alabama. Many dressed in traditional Mardi Gras garb. There is a Mardi Gras parade today in Biloxi, too . Crazy!

On The Road Again....

We've been in Florida for 10 weeks.
Moved 9 times to different campgrounds.
It's the coldest on record for the state. Can't remember the last time we had shorts on! The pan handle even had snow yesterday. But we are going to try and miss that white stuff.
We left this morning and are going to spend the night just east of Pensacola, then zip through Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The temperature in those states will only be in the high 40's and freezing temperatures at night. Too cold. We plan to continue traveling west without slowing down until we hit southern Texas near San Antonio; straight across I-10. Hopefully it will be warmer there and then we will hit all that we missed on our way back to Florida in mid-April.
It was 42 degrees when we turned onto I-75, cloudy and windy.
Quite sad leaving our family in Tampa. Especially our grand daughter Kailey. It was good to spend all that time with them! We will be back in 62 days and she is counting down on her calender. She is using sad faces on each day until we return.
Andy and I have been trying to buy a house around the Venice area while here. We actually put offers in on three different homes. Each home had between 3-5 other offers. Most of the time, the home sold for more then the asking price. We hate this bidding war. It appears to be a sellers market on these banked owned homes. It has been frustrating, all the homes were newer and in great shape. But we'll try again in April.
It has been a while since we've been on the road traveling. A long drive today but looking forward to giving you in site on our South West tour. Feeling good to be moving again!
On the road now for seven months. Stilling liking our freedom. Still liking each other. Where else can you enjoy a hot dog on a stick, roasted over an open campfire followed by a s'more!!

Shuttle Launch of the Endeavour

We were so excited when it was announced that a shuttle launch was taking place while we were down here. We have heard many lay-offs are coming this year to the space program and this is to be the last night launch at NASA. Therefore, we decide it was something not to miss. I had this great idea we would just go on Saturday and sleep in our RV in the Walmart parking lot. The shuttle was suppose to go off at 4:39 on Sunday AM. Alyson and Kailey wanted to come too. Chris had been under the weather all week, so he stayed home. Better for him, the launch got canceled. What a disappointment! The news said it was canceled due to low cloud cover! The city of Titusville was expecting 100,000 people. And I believe that was true on Saturday. People with RVs were parked every where; on side walks, in any empty or full parking lots, right along the side of the road. We did eventually moved our RV to a JC Penney parking lot in direct line with the launch site on the other side of the inter-coastal waterway. We woke up 10 minutes before the launch was to go off, walked across the street to the sea wall and then went back to bed. Unfortunately, Alyson and Kailey needed to go to work and school on Monday and left to go back home. Andy and I stayed for the re-scheduled time on Monday at 4:14. The trade off was, we missed the Super Bowl (no TV because of no electricity. Penney's doesn't supply that). Andy tried to make friends with the big rigs next to us who had large screen TVs running on generators. No luck.

But the witnessing of the shuttle launch was unbelievable! Especially with the applause after blast-off and people yelling "God Bless the USA". Brought tears to my eyes! Truly an American moment! The night time launch has its own distinct characteristic of a bright orange glow, produced from the rocket flames. Really unable to see the shuttle itself. It is amazing how quickly it accelerates from lift-off and disappears into the darkness. Only four more launches are scheduled for this year. With luck we may be able to catch a day time launch.