Coast Z Coast with John & Lynn

Home at Last

2011-11-06T04:13:00.000-08:00

Wednesday, November 2

In our usual fashion, we left Virginia at 5:00 am enabling us to miss the DC morning rush hour.
It took us seven hours to make the trip which was very foggy for the first several hours but cleared in time for us to make one last stop ~ the high road overlooking Canandaigua Lake.

We traveled almost 12,000 miles through 23 states, 2 Provinces, 18 National or State Parks and came home to equally beautiful scenery right in our own back yard.

This was truly the trip of a lifetime and as we have said before, we are extremely thankful for having had the opportunity to take it.

We are also very happy to be home and thankful for the family and friends we were able to visit along the way, and family and friends here to welcome us home.

Everyone asks 'what was your favorite part?' Well, that's difficult to answer because each thing we did was different in some way than any of the others. So we have to answer, the best part about the trip ~ was having the time with each other.

Jean and John

After a short stop at the Legacy to see Jean,

we arrived back home eight weeks and two days after our departure.

Justin and Grandpa

On Thursday we had the unexpected pleasure
of spending the afternoon with Justin. It was a
great opportunity to have some time with
him and see the rest of the family when we took
him home.

Dylan and Grandpa

Glen, Jean, Lynn, John

On Saturday we were back to the usual breakfast with Jean at Fishers

Diane, Glen, Jennifer, Stace, Melanie, Todd, Jerry, Sue, Jean

and invited the family over for a homecoming get together.

and Dylan

Allyssa, Justin, Allayna

You would think we were sick of being in the car for so long ~ but not so ~ we are ready to plan the next adventure.

Thanks for traveling along with us!

THE END ~ phew!

Virginia

2011-11-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 30

We arrived in Alexandria, Virginia Thursday night in time for the end of soccer practice.

all ready for Halloween

Carl and Sandy were going away for an overnight to celebrate their tenth anniversary on Friday (where has the time gone?) so we were able to have some fun with the kids. . .

and on the playground

Brendan at school

baseball with gramps

skeleton man ~ they sure know their bones

I got to go to Zachary's kindergarten class for 'rotations.' Halloween projects were the activity of the day ~ right up my alley.

spider cookies

pumpkin decorating with Ryan's dad

new Jr. Ranger hat


two skeletons

Zachary wearing his Junior Ranger hat, and with one of his best friends, Cassidy.

Caitlin, the second grader wearing her Junior Ranger hat when we picked her up for the walk home from school.

And then on to the Halloween Fun Night at School. And what fun it was. . .

Caitlin the Good Witch

Zachary the Ninja

Brendan aka Yoda

There were lots of fun games to play and everyone wins a prize at each game ~ we came home with our pockets full but thankfully no one was a winner at the cake walk.

bean bag toss

fishing

Brendan getting his tattoo

Saturday, we got the snow that was predicted and all six of the soccer games (two each) we were hoping to watch were cancelled.

Sandy is a real bargain shopper at garage sales and the annual preschool/church sale and Caitlin couldn't wait to try on her favorite item from the half price day purchases. There was time for fun with Grandpa and lots of games to play and books to read.

watch out for that stinger

oh no

Trouble (i mean the game)

Backbeard~that's a funny one

Z checking stats

A typical Sunday means, Zachary checking the football games, times and standings, Caitlin creating and Carl cooking breakfast. Of course Sandy can never get away from being mom/doctor extraordinaire.

Carl cooking breakfast

Caitlin

Sandy checking Brendan's tooth

It was a beautiful day so after church we had some outside fun tearing down the old fort and playing some b-ball before watching the Bills beat the Red Skins.

Caitlin was at a birthday party but the other spectators did a great job directing the work crew.

Zman and the Bubster

Zach with a fake to the right


go Bubba

Z putting his moves on Grandpa

Brendan putting his moves on Dad

After the birthday party, Cakes had her last lacrosse clinic and got her participation medal.

Thank goodness it was a 4:00 football game because there was a lot to do ~ like carving pumpkins ~

family fun

Bubs and Gramps

Zach and Dad

Miss Caitlin creating her own

And then the actual BIG DAY ~ Halloween

Trick or Treat

Each year a neighbor of Carl and Sandy's has a phenomenal display of pumpkins they have created and carved. They start carving around 40 pumpkins two days before Halloween. They can't be carved too much before that or they will spoil. So the carvers work very long hours for a couple of days to put this display on for all of us to enjoy. The details are amazing!

Statue of Liberty


Halloween Night

Eye

Steve Jobs from Apple

characters from The Office

Yoda got tired so he stayed home with Grammy and Grandpa to hand out the candy.

And the next day we had to resort the candy and graph which kind was the most. (sound familiar all you teachers?)

Caitlin graphed her candy also but no one had the camera.

We had a great weekend but eventually had to pack up ~ one last time ~ and head home.

Great Smokey Mountain National Park

2011-10-30T04:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 26

Yesterday we started our eighth and final week. We have traveled 10, 500 miles so far (but we’re not done yet) and are on our way to Alex and Andria, Virginia. As we traveled across Tennessee we started to see the colors in the trees that we are more accustomed to and we have traveled back into the Eastern Time Zone ~ all signs that we are nearing home.

Before leaving Tennessee we visited the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The road around the park wound through the beautifully colored hard wood trees of the east coast.

At higher elevations where it is colder, the leaves were already gone but along the lower elevations there was still considerable color; certainly more than anywhere we have been.

The leaf peepers were out if full regimen today. It was a gorgeous fall day and we expected it might be busy but not to the level that we encountered. It almost rivaled Letchworth State Park on Columbus Day weekend.

At the southern end of the park, along the Oconaluftee River, was the Oconaluftee Mountain Farm Museum. The museum consisted of original mountain buildings from this area that had been moved to the park to create the museum. It is meant to replicate a typical early 19th century farm.

As we were leaving the park, we decided to go to one more viewing area (it must have been fate). As we arrived we noticed a large number of people gathered in one area. Earlier in our trip we would have thought there must be wildlife, but here we just thought it was the foliage. When we got out of the car someone told us there was a bear. A BEAR~ our trip was now complete. John has been waiting to see a bear since our Alaskan excursion last year. We saw two on the mountain side in Glacier but John didn't consider them close enough to count however THIS was a legitimate sighting.

what are all you people lookin at?

I'm just enjoying my grass snack

We ended our day with dinner and a walk around Gatlinburg. What a busy place. The parking attendant said it wasn’t bad ~ wait until Halloween weekend! The town was beautifully decorated for fall in preparation for the leaf peepers and the big Halloween crowds.

This seems to be a huge resort area with the National Park, Dolly Wood and ski areas all near by. There are three towns in succession along rt 441; Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, and one is busier than the other. At least Gatlinburg is an actual little village. The others are just rows of restaurants, hotels and attractions along the highway ~ such a drastic difference to the natural beauty of the National Park.

No longer are we the distant license plate in the parking lot and after the scenery we have seen today we really feel like we are heading home. The last leg of our trip is Virginia.

On Thursday we continued our drive to Alexandria via the Skyline Drive through the beautiful Shenandoah National Park and Valley arriving just in time to catch the end of soccer practice. It was a cloudy day but at least it didn't rain.

Nashville, Tennessee

2011-10-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

We drove three and a half hours to Nashville last night, the home of Country Music, also the home of Ken Yanicky. Ken is from Pittsford and was John’s good buddy and partner in crime at Xerox before John retired and Ken left Xerox for greener pastures.

Ellie, Andrea, Tex,Tyler, Ken & Ruby (in front)

We were able to stop at Ken and Andrea’s house, meet their two beautiful daughters, Tyler and Ellie and of course Tex and Ruby, the dogs. We caught up with current news and John and Kenny shared laughs reminiscing about ‘the good old days’ (Ken is all of 34 years old). We had a great visit.

We weren’t able to see a show at the grand Ole Opry but we did the next best thing ~ we went to the famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

Tootsie’s has been a landmark in Nashville since the early days of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. The history is that Tootsie’s is located right behind the Ryman Auditorium so many of the famous performers from the Opry would come into Tootsies before or after their performance. Even today it’s not uncommon for Country Stars to show up unannounced. We didn’t notice any stars but I’m not sure we would have recognized anyone because it was so crowded ~ even on a Tuesday night.

Tootsie’s is located on Broadway, better known as Honky Tonk Highway, where you can just stand on the street and hear the country music pouring out from every doorway. This area reminded us of Beale Street in Memphis but on this particular night it was much more lively and of course the music was country, not blues.

Playing at the Grand Ole Opry that night, among others, was Keith Urban.

I was disappointed not to be able to see him and even more disappointed when Andrea told me that she sees him with his wife Nicole (that’s Nicole Kidman) at Starbucks, down the street from her house, every week!

Memphis, Tennessee

2011-10-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 24

We left Chickasha, Oklahoma this morning and headed to Memphis, Tennessee. After the eight hour drive we were ready for some Beale Street Blues.

Beale Street

We walked up and down the streets, got some jambalaya, had a beer and listened to some music. Being a Monday night we were surprised at how many people were out and about. We can only imagine what a weekend must be like.

The roads were barricaded for two city blocks and music poured into the streets from each establishment. Young guys tumbled down the streets hoping for a tip. Everyone seemed to have a drink in their hand and a bounce in their step as they meandered from place to place.

the carriage awaits you

busy Beale Street

Tuesday morning we headed to see the King!

We took the audio tour of Graceland and were surprised that it wasn’t quite as large or outlandish as we had expected. It is however, quite a production.

living room & music room

parents bedroom

dining room

Priscilla & Lisa Marie

TV room

game room

Lisa Marie's favorite chair in the jungle room

Lisa Marie's swing set

The Sun Label years

trophy corridor

After walking through the recording studio at the house and strolling down the ‘trophy’ corridor we had to be in awe of the accomplishments of this young entertainer. Several videos of his performances were running continuously throughout the tour along with interviews with him and family members.

awards from the later years

Elvis Aron Presley

The meditation pool where Elvis, his mother, father, and grandmother are buried along with a marker for his twin brother, Jesse Garon.

Elvis' gift to Priscilla

Elvis' favorite car

We paid the extra four dollars that allowed us to also see his car collection and airplane.

his famous pink Cadillac which was his mother's favorite


the Lisa Marie

Next we drove over to the old Sun Recording Studio, the ‘Birthplace of Rock ‘N Roll’ where it all began.

This was a great tour and we really enjoyed it even more that Graceland. Our guide was humorous and enthusiastic about the information he conveyed to us which really made the tour enjoyable.

This is the place where Elvis strolled in one day and asked if he could record a song for his mother’s birthday. So, for three dollars he made his first recording.

Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips wasn’t there that day and wasn't impressed when his secretary played it for him. In fact it took almost a year before Phillips got a ‘sound’ he liked out of Elvis. And then, the rest is history.

Other famous artists who also got their start at Sun Records include; Carl Perkins- Blue Suede Shoes, Jerry Lee Lewis- Great Balls of Fire, Roy Orbison- Ooby Dooby, and Johnny Cash,- I walk the Line.

The 'Million Dollar Quartet' ~ Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley

During our presentation, the tour guide explained how Johnny Cash got a unique sound out of his guitar by wrapping paper around the neck, under the strings. To demonstrate this technique our guide chose Johnny George to strum the guitar as everyone sang along to; I Walk the Line.

It was great and John got to keep the pick he strummed with.

Then we went to see the National Civil Rights Museum but it was closed on Tuesdays. Bummer. Anyway, the museum is located in the Lorraine Motel, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was interesting to see the site, familiar to so many. Guess for now we’ll have to put that on the list for our next trip.

So we moved on to the Pink Palace. The Pink Palace was supposed to be the pretentious home of the owner of the Piggly Wigley supermarket chain.

However, before its completion Mr. Saunders lost his fortune to the stock market and the house was left to the city. The city completed it and over the years has used it in various capacities ~ today it houses a mix of natural history and cultural history exhibits. It wasn’t quite as ‘pink’ as I expected ~ maybe the sun was too bright.

On to Nashville.

Dinner at the McDoniel's

2011-10-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 23

the McDoniel house

Margie and Bill graciously hosted Sunday dinner at their house where we met more of the cousins. Again, it was great to be part of the family interactions and we were flattered that they traveled from all points to be part of the dinner and to meet us or maybe it was for the delicious roast that Margie and Bill prepared but either way it was lots of fun.

Ava, Krista, Melissa, Wyatt, Mica

Mike, Bill, Julie, Mark, Terri, Louise

We met Julie and Mark's sister, Jan at OU the other day but she wasn't able to come for dinner.

Ava & Lynn

Everyone was full and in need of a nap.

Terri, Ava, John in fraidy hole

Terri showed John the 'fraidy hole' at Margie and Bill's that is used during a tornado.

Terri, Mark, Mike, Julie, John

Lynn, Krista, Mica, Terri, Mike, Ava, John, Melissa, Wyatt

Group picture time ~

Lynn, Terri, Mark, Mike, Julie, John

Margie, Terri, Mark, Mike, Bill, Julie, John

Last one ~

Terri in her classroom

After dinner we took a quick trip over to the High School

Swim Coaches in Terri's Office

ummm good

Since we ate Sunday dinner at 2:00 we decided Sunday evening was a good time to visit Braum's
Ice Cream Shop.

Sadly, on Sunday evening we began loading the car for our departure. Mike eagerly assisted trying to mask his sadness at our leaving. We had a wonderful time and will be missing them all until their visit in June.

Scooter Day

2011-10-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 22 we all went our separate ways.

Terri had a meeting at church, Krista, Mica and I went to a huge craft sale in Oklahoma City and Mike and John went to a car show. Mike was the emcee for the event and he entered his motor scooter in the show.

By now Mike and John were BFFs ~ can't you tell by the big smiles.

Mike even got John a Ross Hardware cap!

After the craft show we stopped at Krista's house. I got the tour and met 'the boys.' Krista and Jared have three dogs ~ well, one is half horse, but little Auto still runs the roost.

Krista's house

Coach Krista & Coach Terri

Next it was on to meet Coach Terri at swim team practice.

on your mark . . .

. . . go

just part of the team

getting pointers from the 'stroke coach'

We all met back at the house for a ‘typical’ Saturday night at the Gallaways. The crock pot was full of Terri’s chili, friends started dropping by, family gathered and the scooters came out. Everyone had a great time riding the scooters and eating chili, chili dogs or frito chili pies ~ a new one for us but one that we will bring home to share with family and friends.

Mike making the final adjustments

test run

and let the fun begin . . . EVERYONE took a turn

Terri

Melissa

John

Krista

Michael

Jared

Joann

Drew

Terri and Lynn giving the parade wave

Wyatt making a few minor adjustments

Wyatt's turn with Pop

hugs from Lolly

and all of that makes for a busy day ~

watching all of the fun ~ Louise, Terri, Melissa, Auto

Lynn, Ava, John and Terri's friend Ginny

things got crazy

the house was filled with family and friends ~

Michael Henry & Rachael


Patti, Mike, John

Wyatt, Lynn, Ava

Ava & Mica

Terri & Wyatt

Mike and his friend Brad

We had a GREAT day hangin' out in Chickasha.

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial

2011-10-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 21st took us to Oklahoma City where we went to the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. What an amazing place.

The exhibits included, western art, western attire, American Firearms, The Bowie Knife, The American Rodeo, The American Cowboy , and one of our favorites, TV and movie cowboys.
John finally found his ‘western town’ in one of the

exhibits complete with a sheriff’s office, jail cell
and saloon.

guess he spent a little too much time at the saloon ~
and he met some shady folks

'cause he ended up in jail

and when I came to break him loose they threw me in too!

Terri, Mica, Lynn, Louise

That rowdy bunch of women ~ had their hands out at the bank ~ tried to get more than was comin' to em'.

John was sentenced to community service at the local church where he gave a sermon on the evils of associating with shady characters

and Lynn had to do time at the school house.

We could have spent days there but we were ready to move on to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

the Gates of Time: 9:01 and the innocence of the city before the attack

I’m not sure we can describe what we felt there. Seeing the memorial was such a moving experience. At the site where the building stood, are 168 individually manufactured chairs representing the 168 people killed that day. No two chairs are exactly the same, just as no two people were the same. Large chairs representing the adults and small chairs representing the children were engraved with each victim’s name.

To one side and behind the chairs, stood the remaining broken wall of the building and on that wall are listed the names of the survivors.

granite walkway

Pieces of granite from the building form the walkway around the chairs and to the other side stands the one surviving tree.

The Reflecting Pool; gently flowing water helps to soothe the wounds

~ and the second Gate of Time: 9:03; forever after

the Survivor Tree

The inscription on the wall surrounding the Survivor Tree reads: The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us.

The symbolism everywhere was overwhelming and as if that wasn’t enough we then entered the museum that was so moving it is difficult to describe. All we can say is, if you ever get to Oklahoma City ~ don’t miss this memorial. The museum simply takes you through that day, a day that started like any other day and then . . .

In the weeks after the bombing, paper cranes began arriving in Oklahoma. After several weeks, more than 10,000 paper cranes had arrived and no one understood the significance of this gesture until someone told the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes.
These thousand golden cranes represent Sadako's cranes and those sent to Oklahoma City.

Thousands of ceramic tiles were also sent to Oklahoma City in 1995
from children around the country. Many were used to
create this wall.

The original chain link fence was erected to protect the area but it remains today filled personal expressions of sympathy and hope.

The rectory of the church located behind the Murrah Building was also destroyed and was replaced with this statue of Christ weeping in the ashes.

For a change of pace after the museum we headed to the area of the city called Bricktown.

Jackie and Mica ~ BFF

This area includes restaurants, shops, and the Mickey Mantle Ball Park.


this area reminded us of 'the River Walk' in San Antonio

After looking around for a while we all decided we really needed a margarita and headed to Chelino’s. Terri’s brother, Drew and his wife, Joann met us there and we all had a great visit.

We ended our day with a wild game of 'Wahooo' with Krista and Jared.

Chickasha, Oklahoma

2011-10-25T04:48:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Chickasha, Oklahoma on Wednesday evening, just in time for dinner. Everyone was waiting for us to arrive and we all enjoyed Mexican enchiladas.

The Gallaway House

Meet the Family

Ava and John

Krista and Mica

Melissa and Nick

Terri

Bill and Margie

John and Mike

Jared and Krista

Mike and two of his girls

On Thursday morning, October 20th Mike and Terri took us on a tour of Chickasha. One of the stops included the home of Patti and John Rogstad. Patti works at the bank and also has a side business where she designs and manufactures metal objects including benches, wine racks and shaped Christmas light designs. John has several business ventures including landscaping, property management and who knows what else. Mike is a jack of all trades and works for John. Mike can do anything and everything. One of the projects they undertake is the annual Festival of Lights display in the Chickasha town park. This display is renowned in the area and draws visitors and media attention from all

over the country. We saw the work shop and several of the

light designs ready for the holiday display.

Another stop was at the shop of Mike’s friend, Paul who

builds engines for race car frames.

Somewhere along the way we drove past the replica of Thomas Jefferson's Monticello house. (look on the back of a nickle)

Next we drove through the Chickasha High School campus. We were very impressed and wondered how much people pay in school taxes because the facilities were amazing for a high school. There was a separate building or field with light,s for every sport.

From there we drove on to Norman, home of Oklahoma University. Our first stop was the Sam Nobel Museum of Natural History, one of the finest university based natural history museums in the world. The interactive displays were amazing and included some one of a kind exhibits.

Then it was on to meet Terri’s cousin, Jan Ross, assistant coach of the Oklahoma University Women’s Basketball Team.

We were able to watch the team practice and meet head coach, Sheri Coale.

practice court

checking the view from Terri's season seats

Then Jan gave us a VIP tour of the entire facility

from the game court, practice court, locker room
training room and trophy room to the player's lounge, coach's lounge and offices.

We met a few of the players and another of the assistant coaches, before being chauffeured across campus to the football stadium where Jan subtly used her influence to get us in to quickly view the ‘closed practice’ and the 90, 000 seat stadium that was very impressive.

Then we sat in the VIP suites and viewed the

stadium from a different perspective. We continued
through the weight room and the trophy room as well as the Heisman trophy room. When Jan drove us back to our car she pointed out the various buildings on campus, filling us in with a little background information. It was a very impressive look around campus and we think we’ll be encouraging our grand children to take a serious look at OU when making college decisions. (Maybe they could go live with Mike and Terri for a year to establish residency ~ what do you think, Mike?)

We felt very privileged to get such personalized tour of the whole campus and we really enjoyed meeting Jan. It was fun to see the interaction with cousins and it was obvious what a committed person she is.

We headed back to Terri’s where the rest of the family were waiting for our return and Terri’s famous chicken fried steak. We have been hearing about this chicken fried steak for three years now and John and I have never had chicken fried anything so we were anxious to indulge. Indulge we did. It was delicious and we would have to agree, Terri makes it best!

Gettin' Our Kicks on Route 66

2011-10-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 19

We left Canyon, Texas this morning and continued our drive along old Route 66. What a fun time. When we left Canyon, we checked our navigation and it indicated four and a half hours to Chickasha, Oklahoma, our destination. After being on the road for 4 hours we checked the navigation again and it said three and a half hours to Chickasha! Do the math ~ it doesn’t add up! There was just so much to see along old Route 66 that we didn’t seem to be making much progress.

Old Route 66 parallels Interstate 40 through most of the Texas Panhandle and into Oklahoma. At the Texas Visitor Center we were given information on many sites to see along the route. Unfortunately after the development of Interstate 40 many of the small towns along Route 66 went under. In its hay day Route 66 was the most famous east - west highway in the United States maybe even the world.

Cruise along with us on old Route 66 from Amarillo, Texas to the Oklahoma state line ~

In Groom Texas we saw
the second largest cross in the Northern Hemisphere

A man named Steve Thomas said he was inspired by the Lord to do something ~ his wife Bobby came up with the idea of a cross.

It has grown over the years now and more has been added.

Groom: the leaning tower

Alanreed: oldest church

Alanreed: oldest cemetery

McLean: Red River Steak House

McLean: Devil's Rope Museum; A Tribute to Barbed Wire

McLean
WWII POW Camp Historical Marker

McLean: First Phillips 66 Station built in Texas

McLean: First and only Ten Commandments Monument

McLean:   Texaco ~ "trust your car to the man who wears the star"



           McLean: The Avalon Theater

Shamrock: the U Drop Inn

We stopped at the Old Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma

always wanted to ride in a pink cadillac

John cruisin'

at the drive-in

After being on the road for eight hours we arrived at John’s cousins in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

and the gang was all there to meet us ~ Ava, Mica, Terri, Wyatt, Auto & Krista

Yee hah!

Palo Duro Canyon State Park

2011-10-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, October 18

Today we went to Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, Texas. Before we left on our trip two different people told us to be sure to see this park so we added it to our itinerary. One of the interesting things about this park is that as you approach the area you are driving along on a flat Texas road looking at the flat Texas terrain

when all of a sudden the land drops off into this beautiful canyon and you’re thinking ‘where did that come from?’

Palo Duro Canyon has a lot of history for Texans and each summer they produce a Musical Drama called Texas. This program is performed in an outdoor amphitheater with the canyon as a backdrop. We would love to have seen it but it only runs through August. The Palo Duro Canyon area was home to several Native American tribes until the Red River Wars of 1874 in which Col Mackenzie and the 4^th Calvary drove them out and onto the reservation in the Oklahoma Territory. This is the story told in the production.

amphitheatre

Palo Duro is called the Grand Canyon of Texas and is the second largest canyon in the United States. The canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep. The geological evidence of the different periods of evolution could be seen in the many layers and colors of the mountains as we drove down into the canyon.

We checked out the camping areas and really liked them however we were thankful that we were not camping last night with the temperatures in the low 30’s.

Most of the campsites we've seen have these shelters over the table area because of the extreme sun ~ guess in our area we could use protection from the rain. In the futrue we'll have to get warmer gear because these places look like fun places to camp and really experience the park (on second thought ~ maybe not).

Today the sun was shining brightly and it felt warmer but the thermometer never got over 60. One of the workers in the cabin area asked if we wanted to take a look. These stone cabins were similar inside to the wooden ones we have seen in other parks but the stone looked really cool against the red hills.

stone cabin

We had a picnic lunch and then hit the trail.

We hiked the two mile Sunflower trail but didn’t want to loop back over the area we had already come on, so we explored a little on our own and after a couple of hours we ended up back at the trailhead. It was fun to climb up on the lower cliffs and be able to see across the canyon. We didn’t want the hike to end because we were feeling a little nostalgic with this being the last park visit on our trip. What a great way to end this part of our journey.

someone getting ready for Halloween on the trail

looking across the canyon

Tomorrow we are heading to Oklahoma and will be staying with John’s cousins for a few days. They are a wild and crazy group also so one only knows what we’ll be up to there.

As we were leaving Palo Duro, we actually saw some

Texas Longhorns ~ in the park. Nami was correct ~

we were told earlier at the visitor center that there really

are no longhorns left in west Texas but the state maintains

a herd just to keep some around. The herd grew quite

large so it was separated and sent to several of the state parks

throughout Texas. This guy looks a little larger than

the one we saw in New Mexico.

After leaving the park we traveled west to the town of Adrian and the Midway Café along old Route 66. The café marks the half way point on old Route 66 between LA and Chicago.

Unfortunately when we arrived they were closing for the day and we weren't able to get a piece of their famous 'ugly crust pie.'

a step back in time

We continued to cruise along the section between Adrian and Amarillo. One of the highlights was the Cadillac Ranch where ten old caddies are buried nose down into the ground with their tail fins visible ~ a real sight to see.

And the empty spray cans that were used to decorate the cars.

Tourists bring their paint and add new designs daily.

We hope to continue our cruise along the old Route 66 as we head on to Oklahoma tomorrow.

Leaving the Dust Bowl

2011-10-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 17

I guess we were one step ahead of the dust bowl today. After watching the evening news we realized we left Lubbock, Texas just in time. A serious wind storm blew through the pan handle today picking up dust causing zero visibility at times. We experienced some of this as we arrived in Canyon, Texas later in the afternoon. We were rather excited to see actual tumble weeds blowing around ~ little did we know the reason.

We intended to visit the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock this morning but when we arrived it wasn't open. The publications we were given had the wrong information, so we moved on toward Canyon.

Directly in our path was Plainview home of Nami, Joe's grandma, so of course we had to stop to say hello. We had a lovely visit but could only stay for a couple of hours because SHE had to go back to work! Go Nami!

Francis

John, Lynn, Francis

She is a wonderful lady and we really enjoyed our visit and tour. She felt badly that we didn't get to see the Heritage Museum in Lubbock so she said she would take us on a tour of her museum (house). What a treasure. Through our discussions we discovered that Francis was from Brownfield ~ the town we stayed in two nights before ~ interesting.

which way to Texas?

After our visit we drove on to Canyon, Texas for the night. We had expected to see some Texas Longhorns on our travels through this state but we have been here for three days now and haven't seen a' one. We actually saw one when we were in New Mexico and took its picture. We thought we would save the picture just in case we needed it ~ we weren't supposed to see 'long horns' in New Mexico ~ only Texas. After our visit with Nami today we figured we couldn't fake it and say we saw some long horns traveling through Texas today because she informed us that there are no long horns in west Texas ~ they even have to rent them for the Plainview fair. Imagine that!

We did actually see many fields of cotton that have also been affected by the drought. We have been told that normally the plants would be larger by this time.

"That'll be the Day"

2011-10-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 16

Being in Texas Tech Country, we wanted to go check out the campus. Since yesterday was homecoming weekend we decided to save the campus tour until today. Some of our travels yesterday took us in the area of the stadium and, oh boy, things were hoppin’. It felt like Game Day at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Fans were tailgating, throwing footballs and having a great time.

The campus was quiet today, especially since TT lost last night so we were able to tour the campus with no difficulty. Some of the workers actually let us in to see the field.

It was a beautiful day so we walked around campus and then headed to the Buddy Holly Center.

Interestingly the center is located on Crickets Ave, one block from Buddy Holly Ave ( for you younger folks, the Crickets were Buddy Holly’s band.)

We watched a short video explaining the life of Buddy Holly and toured the center containing many artifacts of his childhood and his very short but impressive career.

Across the street was the West Texas Walk of Fame honoring West Texans who have contributed to the music industry. Buddy Holly was front and center.

Following our visit at the center, we drove to the City of Lubbock Cemetery to view Buddy Holly's grave site.

From there we moved on to the Silent Wings Museum, the only museum in the word dedicated to telling the story of the WWII military glider program.

Again we watched a short video explaining the role gliders played in WWII. Several gliders used in this operation and many military artifacts from this period were on display. We learned how gliders were used to transport troops and equipment to the front lines and how the gliders were retrieved after the completed missions. Many of the glider pilots were interviewed and their stories were included in interactive video displays. Neither of us knew that gliders were used in this capacity so it was very educational for us.

WWII Glider

interior

On to Lubbock, Texas

2011-10-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 15

We left Brownfield, Texas and headed to Lubbock where we got a campsite at a KOA just outside of town. We set up out tent and headed out to see the American Wind Power Center which is an exhibit of American Style water pumping windmills. There were over 150 windmills of different styles and shapes on display. We learned a little about windmills and their many functions including the new huge power generating windmills we have seen all across our country.

Next we were headed to see the National Ranching Heritage Center but we were passing by MacKenzie park and it looked so inviting on this hot Texas day we couldn’t resist. We spread a blanket and relaxed in the shade. We could see the center on Monday.

All of a sudden John was hit in the foot with a Frisbee. He got up and made an attempt at throwing it back. About five minutes later another couple of guys came along in the same area throwing a Frisbee. We began to wonder what this was. When the next group came along we asked what was going on. They briefly explained that they were throwing the Frisbee toward a basket?? Oh well, didn’t understand that but along came another group so we inquired again, these two were very forthcoming with information and explained there was an actual name for this ~ disc/Frisbee golf. Oh, yeah, heard about that, but how is it played? These guys were great ~ explained the whole game, showed us their bag of discs ~ just like a golf bag ~ it contained driving discs, short distance and long distance discs and whatever else was in there. They have leagues and National tournaments. Really?

disc golf 'hole'

It is very popular with the Texas Tech students obviously. As we were picking up our blanket, along came another couple of guys and one of them offered John a try ~ not much better than the first attempt, however after all of this we realized, oops, guess he shouldn’t have thrown the Frisbee back to the first guy ~ he was heading the other direction. Later in the day we read the Lubbock pamphlet they gave us at the KOA, and realized that MacKenzie park was home to a ‘world-class disc golf course’ ~ guess we should have read the pamphlet earlier.

So then we wondered about this sport in Rochester. Wouldn’t you know ~ there are six courses in our area AND there is a Rochester Disc Golf Club AND The 2011 Amatuer Disc Golf Championship was held in Rochester July 24-30.Who knew??

Another feature of the park was, Prarie Dog Town. A local couple donated the first pair of prarie dogs to the town in the 1930’s and now there are hundreds of these funny little fellows running, begging and burrowing in their own designated area.

We’re not sure what keeps them in that specific area but they were fun to watch.

What a great afternoon.

We went back to the campsite, had some dinner and then since it gets dark early and there is nothing to do on a dark campsite with no lights, and no fire, we went to see a movie.

Carlsbad Caverns

2011-10-18T06:28:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 14

After our good night’s sleep we headed to Carlsbad Cavern National Park. We took a self guided audio tour of this fantastic underground world. I had thoughts of feeling claustrophobic but the “big room’, as they call it, was huge. It was like being in a domed football stadium only fourteen times that size filled with stalagmites, stalactites, columns, popcorn and huge rock formations. Our tour took us on a mile and a half foot path that wound throughout the cave. We can’t even try to explain the processes occurring that continue to create the wonders below.

Pictures were difficult to take, flash, no flash, but we took a few that we will share.

This was a surreal experience and due to the formations we saw we sometimes felt we were in outer space, other times on a Disney ride and others in a fanciful fairyland ~ very cool.

our dark path into the unknown

through the tunnel

into the amazing underworld

the lion's tail


Giant Dome

Fairyland ~ popcorn

Temple of Sun

Mirror Lake ~ ripples from water droplets

The decomposing reddish brown deposits of

bat roost

bat guano on this rock indicate that a

bat colony roosted on the ceiling in this

area long ago.

the underworld

Next we continued a few miles down the road to the Guadalupe Mountain National Park in Texas. Actually, Carlsbad Caverns are in the Guadalupe Mountain Range. We were told at Carlsbad that this range is like a sponge, just filled with holes and caves.

McKittrick Canyon, in the Guadalupe Mountains is home to maple, walnut, ash and oak trees so we were expecting to see some beautiful fall colors. Unfortunately, we were a little too early for this part of the country. The leaves don’t peak here until late October or early November. This is a wilderness park designed mostly for hiking, backpacking and walking through the mountains. We had hoped to camp here but they were full and since it was 93 degrees in the shade we elected to forgo the hike. So we walked around a little, checked out the campsites, saw ‘the big one’ (there is an El Capitan mountain here also as in Yosemite) and then headed on toward Lubbock, Texas. We met a great couple that overheard us tell the ranger we were heading to Lubbock. “We’re from Lubbock,” they said and proceeded to tell us about lots of things to see there and where to stay. So we were all set.

El Capitan

It was getting late and we passed through another time zone, losing an hour so we stopped for the night in Brownfield, Texas.

White Sands

2011-10-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 13

Today we visited the New Mexico Museum of Space History. It was interesting to see the many models and displays showing the history of space exploration and the direction it has taken today. There were outside exhibits as well as a four level indoor display. The hall of fame is a tribute to key players in space exploration and due to its consistent climate and flat terrain, New Mexico has been a key location in the space program.

Little Joe II

F1 Rocket Engine


Nike Ajax

John landing the shuttle

model they used to test body movement in space

Next we went to White Sands National Monument

At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies the Tularosa Basin and rising from the basin is one of the natural wonders of the world ~ the glistening white sands of New Mexico. The dunes at White Sands are unique in that they are gypsum. When the water, in the form of rain and snow, comes down the San Andres Mountains it washes the gypsum onto the ground. Normally it would then be washed out to the sea, but in the Tularosa Basin there are no rivers to drain it. The gypsum is trapped in the basin and it settles and hardens there but is still fragile. When the strong winds come from the south they break the crystallized gypsum into small pieces. As it continues to be tossed about, the gypsum is ground into this beautiful snow white sand. Of course this process has occurred over thousands of years.

gypsum roads

Speaking of snow white; that is
exactly what it looked like~mounds of snow. We even saw the front loader plowing the sand and people sledding down the dunes ~ reminded us of home. The black topped road only goes for a mile or so and then the road becomes packed gypsum and it looks like
our snow covered roads.

The windswept ripples in the sand were beautiful but we felt like we were on another planet as we sat in the vast whiteness and had our lunch. All we could see for miles was white.

We learned that the dunes are easier to hike from the side; there they are hard. The face is soft and difficult to climb ~ but great fun to slide down! We had fun

walking bare foot through the cool sand. It isn’t hot like other sand.

gypsum plant stand

Gypsum is also absorbent. Even on the tallest dunes, if you
dig down about four to six inches it will be moist. For that
reason plant seeds that are scattered by the winds will start
to grow and are fed by the moisture in the sand. Some plants
grow this way for many years and their roots hold the sand
around them until the sand actually becomes a ‘plant stand.’

collapsed plant

As the strong winds continue to blow the sand away, the plant is left without its stand and it collapses with its own weight.

parabolic dunes

As we drove through the park we observed the different kind of dunes present here. The first part of the park passes through parabolic dunes where the plants anchor the sand and the center of the dune is pushed forward by the wind creating a U shape.

Then we passed through the brachan dunes where the strong winds actually form crescent shapes and finally transverse dunes which are created when brachen dunes join in long ridges.

brachen dunes

transverse dunes

This park was really different than anything we had seen and very interesting ~ we learned a lot and had a great time.

That night we tried to stay in another cabin but it didn’t work out ~ long story.

Rubbin' Elbows with Billy the Kid

2011-10-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday,, October 12

Today we are off in pursuit of John’s western town complete with wooden board walks, sheriff’s office, saloon, hotel and blacksmith shop. Is there such a place? We’ll let you know. We are heading to Lincoln, home of Billy the Kid.

Our first stop was in Capitan, New Mexico, home of Smokey the Bear.

Yes, Smokey was a real bear. He was a five pound, two month old bear cub with burned

paws when they found him after the Capitan

Gap Fire in 1950.

He was given the name Smokey and added as the mascot to the National Fire Prevention program.

Smokey was transferred to the National Zoo in Washington DC where he lived for 26 years. Upon his death, he was returned to Capitan, New Mexico where he was buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

Our next stop of the day brought us as close as we are going to get to an old western town. According to the ranger at the site, Lincoln is considered by many historians to be the most authentic old west town remaining in the United States. Lincoln, New Mexico’s claim to fame is that it was the home of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot and killed the notorious outlaw.

Lincoln had quite a history of violence all stemming from two business men who each owned a mercantile store. Each wanting to monopolize the business, they hired gunslingers to fight each other. This led to the Lincoln County War from 1878 – 1881. Billy the Kid was hired by one of the men and became part of a group called ‘The Regulators.’ Billy was captured and held at the Lincoln Courthouse until he escaped and in the process killed his two guards. Sheriff Pat Garrett caught up with him two months later and in a shoot out, killed Billy the Kid.

one of the deputies Billy shot during his escape

The legendary bullet hole in the courthouse wall from Billy's gun.

So we toured the small town of Lincoln and many of the original buildings from this historic time.

San Juan mission

town

school house

One of the most impressive was the courthouse (which was originally one of the mercantile stores) where Billy was held and escaped.

courthouse/mercantile

Just as we were about to leave town ~ the sheriff and his posse arrived!

just keepin' Lincoln safe

This is a group of guys from all over the country that are just passionate about the Old West. They travel to different historic sites and play the role. We just happened to be lucky enough to see them which really added to the authenticity of the town for John.

We drove on to Alamogordo and tried something new, a cabin. Rather than set up the tent we rented this cabin at the RV park. We had electric and didn't have to set it up or take it down and it was only $15 more than a tent site.

Santa Fe and Albuquerque

2011-10-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, October 11

Today starts our sixth week. We have traveled 7,900 miles through seventeen states and two Canadian provinces visiting twelve national parks and two Canadian national parks, but we’re not done yet. John has been filling up his National Parks Passport Book with stickers and stamps along the way.

We left Alamosa, Colorado this morning heading for New Mexico. We only saw a small portion of southern Colorado but from that experience we have to admit that Colorado is a beautiful state.

Arriving in Santa Fe we were surprised at how quaint and charming it was. We really knew nothing about Santa Fe so we had fun exploring. We loved the Plaza area and the artsy Canyon Road. But my favorite was the welcoming doors of Cameno De Monte Sol. Loved the entrance doors along this road! It appears the custom here is to have a wall or fence around your yard and these doors are the entrance ways.

the walled yards

And the many doors that welcomed us ~

with beautiful flowers

Which is your favorite?

artist working on Canyon road

merchants

the Plaza

After exploring we grabbed an ice cream and sat in the Plaza in the bright sun watching the people go by. The Plaza is a very busy area with vendors selling jewelry, belts, woven blankets and food while top end boutiques line the streets.

the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

Bright colors are abundant.

We sensed a strong religious dedication in both of these cities evident by churches, crosses and statues everywhere.

Then on to Albuquerque ~
We moved on to Albuquerque which has more of a larger city feel. We arrived in time to stroll around the Old Town district with shops and restaurants. There is also a central Plaza area similar to Santa Fe where vendors sell their wares.

Old Town

We spotted a restaurant that appeared to be a local favorite so we decided that was the place to be. Guess it was ~ I had the BEST Mexican meal I have ever had (Mexican is not my favorite). To a simple quesadilla with guacamole they added a crisp tortilla shell that made it delicious. THEN the waiter said he would bring sopapillas with honey. “Sopapillas?” we asked. He continued to explain that some people eat sopapillas with their meal but he was brought up eating them after the meal with honey. Great ~ why not? Sopapillas are a lightly fried dough that is hollow in the center. The waiter explained how to pull a piece off and drizzle honey over it OR pull a corner off and FILL it with honey and eat it. Delicious.

my quesadilla

our sopapilla

cheers

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

2011-10-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 10

We left Durango this morning and drove along rt 550 to The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. A portion of this highway is dubbed “the Million Dollar Highway”. Some say the name comes from the ‘million dollar view’ others say it is because there was 'ore in them thar hills.' We say the former ~ the views on this winding, switch backed road were tremendous ~ real ‘million dollar views’. It took us up over 10,000 feet of some of the most beautiful tree lined, snow covered mountains we have seen. The temperature dropped rapidly into the low 20’s but the sun was shining brightly.

Molas Pass at 10,899 ft

Along this winding 'million dollar highway'

First one way, then the other

Lean-to over the road for land slides and avalanches

On our way back down we saw the town of Ouray called the ‘Switzerland of America.' We haven’t been to Switzerland but the town was nestled into the side of the mountain as we would expect to find in Switzerland.

you can barely see the river but you can hear it

We arrived at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison around noon and began our tour. It was a small park but packed with amazing sights. Black Canyon, carved out by the Gunnison River, is one of the deepest, narrowest canyons in the United States unique in its narrow opening and almost vertical cliffs. It is so narrow that some of the canyon only receives sunlight at mid day when the sun is directly over head therefore making the canyon appear black which gives it its name. The mighty Gunnison River is still altering the canyon today. It continues to carve the canyon at a rate of one inch every hundred years.

                                  We stopped along the way for a
                                   picnic lunch at Pulpit Rock.

The Gunnison River drops an average of 34 feet per mile through the canyon making the fifth steepest mountain descent in North America. In comparison, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon only drops 7.5 feet per mile.

The Painted Wall is the tallest vertical wall in the state of Colorado with a height of 2,250 ft. The lighter lines on the ‘painted wall’ are called pegmatite dikes which is actually magma that cut vertically through the rock almost 2 million years ago.

After viewing the canyon from several perspectives and hiking for several hours on the trails along the rim we headed to Alamosa, Colorado for the night.

along the road to Alamosa

Durango Silverton Train Ride

2011-10-12T08:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 9

Today we took a seven hour ride on the

Durango & Silverton narrow gage steam railroad. The train wound its way from Durango, Colorado upward through the San Juan range of the Rocky Mountains to reach our destination of Silverton, Colorado at 9318 feet.

We chose to ride in the open

car where there were no windows so the

views were amazing. The result of the open car was that it was quite cold and a little sooty. We had a fantastic time and the views along the way were spectacular.

For much of the time we traveled along the swift moving Animas River through canyon walls so close

we could reach out and touch them. Other times we

were within a few feet of cliffs overlooking deep canyons.

As we climbed higher and higher trees dressed in their fall colors stood out brilliantly against the snow covered mountains. Icicles hung from the rocks where the water falls ran down the sides of the cliffs.

The train crossed over the river on old time wooden bridges (some newer ones too) and stopped to fill the water tender twice during our ride. The coal fed engine heats the water that creates the steam for the locomotion and throws the cinders back on the idiots sitting in the open car. Many times we had to brush the cinder's off our jackets and faces but we loved every minute and would do it all again.

There were several levels of cars to chose from, ours being the least

expensive, however many people who had paid much more than we

did wanted to come to the open car for better views and

club car with great HOT chocolate

great pictures.

We felt as though we had stepped back in time as we got off the train in Silverton among old western buildings set along the dirt streets with Kendal Mountain standing watch at over 13,000 feet. Our two hour layover gave us enough time for lunch at a western saloon, complete with a piano player and a look around town. You know it’s cold when shops advertise ‘come in ~ warn stove’ in their front windows.

complete with dirt roads

one paved road ~ the center of town

At 2:00 we boarded the train for an equally enjoyable return trip to Durango. We were able to view the other side of the canyon on the way back and as we descended the mountain the temperature increased.

stopping for water again

on our way

Back in Durango , we toured the Railroad Museum and then called it a day.