It is hot,hotter, hottest..certainly not the time of the year to be in Las Vegas,the temperature in triple digits ,very dry and very uncomfortable.....but that said,
there is still no place on the planet like it.
It is so cosmopolitan. Many languages heard all around you. Sit in any lobby of the strip hotels and witness literally the world passing by. The enormity of the city is obvious. Dozens of hotels, hundreds of rooms to fill, thousands of gaming machines to man....so much money invested in it all. Amazing.
The hotels are the stars....the decors, the themes, the shows. the lights, the spectacles each evening all vying for attention...and the creativity of it all.
Amazing.
I understand pure oxygen is pumped into the casinos for a feeling of euphoria and if true the ambiance of each also adds to the atmosphere of wonder and unreality.
We all spent time in the fabulous hotels and enjoyed the beauty of them all and we have plenty of photos to remember each by.
The girls splurged on a night out at "O", the most fabulous of the Cirque du Soleil shows I have ever seen. The technology and the creativity are unmatched and the sheer entertainment was a once in a lifetime treat. The 90 minutes go by so quickly and one is hard pressed to keep breathing with thrill after thrill coming so quickly. We felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to see it.
Hoover Dam was also a venue we all visited. Some of us took the tour and went down into the inner workings of the complex and some of us , just drove to the areas accessible by car. Either way it was awesome and quite an achievement for man. Built in the early thirties,it is an engineering miracle.
We also enjoyed the swimming pool and made daily trips to take advantage of the heat and to thaw out after a month of traveling in the high altitude of the cold mountain, but by the end of the week it had turned into a very warm spa when the temps climbed ever higher.
So we have enjoyed Las Vegas with eight days of rest,swimming, and sleeping late. We are now three hours behind our home and adjusting to that difference has been hard to get used to. My poor loved ones keep getting calls from me after they have been sleeping for awhile.
We leave for Utah and two weeks visiting the three national parks of Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the Arches. We are looking for a more moderate climate and to seeing the wonderful vistas we have heard are second to none.
The journey continues and so does the excitement.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Trying to catch up
PREFACE: I am trying to catch up after being ill for several days with a cold. We all are suffering from the effects of the altitude and add in some colds and sinus problems and you have old tired people feeling badly.
We are taking lots of "stuff" and we do keep going, because we are here, and there is much to see, and we don't want to miss a moment of our adventure, but we are all dragging and need several days of rest to recuperate. That said, let's get back to the travel tales....... we can catch up in Vegas.
COLORADO..just a memory. We left last Sunday and as the mountains faded in the rear view mirrors, I felt I had had an experience I would never forget.
One of the last days we were there, we drove the San Juan Skyway, 230 miles round trip , up on the high mountain road connecting Teluride, Ouray, Silverton,Durango and back to Cortez. We had spectacular views of snow, waterfalls, mining towns, and vistas so fantastically beautiful, it is no wonder it is called the Switzerland of America.
We left for Gallop, N.M. and an overnight stay on Route 66. The campgrounds now are all gravel, no grass, flat, no trees, easy pull throughs, but barren and the winds are so strong, we dare not put out our awnings. The winds have been, since Albuquerque, gusting from 20 up to 50 mph. The motorhome shakes from side to side and you wonder what will blow past you.
Clouds of sand can be seen on the horizon and holding the rig on the road becomes very difficult and there is alot of concentration needed to keep going in strong cross winds. But the people here all seem to take it in stride and it doesn't seem to bother them. Floridians would be headed for shelters.
Monday, we crossed the Arizona border and drove through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Park. Our senior pass has come in handy and
it is the best $10.00 investment we ever made, because it is good for life and for any national park. We have already used it often and will use it many more times before this trip is over.
Now we are in Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and enjoying exploring this area of Arizona. It is an old railroad town and home to the Grand Canyon Railroad, which makes many runs daily to the eastern rim of the canyon.
The old hotel here was built by the Sante Fe Railroad and run by Fred Harvey and his famous Harvey Girls. One of my favorite Judy Garland movies was "The Harvey Girls" and told about the ladies who came from the East and brought civilization to the raucus Western railroad towns. In their starched black dresses and white aprons, they served food to the passengers at the railroad stops along the way and were paid a $17.00 monthly wage as well as room and board.
Many an uncouth cowboy or minor was tamed by these ladies and towns, churches, schools, marriages, children, and civilization followed changing the wild west forever, because of a hot meal served on linen table clothes, by ladies from the East.
Tuesday, we drove the gorgeous Oak Creek Canyon on our way to Sedona.What a spectacular drive. The chalky white canyon walls high above us suddenly became pink and then deep red and it was something to see. A magical 23 miles of trees and red rocks and blue skies.
Crossing a trestle bridge, you are suddenly in Sedona, red rocks everywhere, a bustling downtown of galleries, restaurants, and souvernir shops. The beautiful hills were ringed by high red mesas and covered in gorgeous very large homes,
with glass walls and balconies to see the fabulous views .
Thursday, we all made the long awaited trip to the Grand Canyon. It did not disappoint but no descriptive narrative, painting, or photo can capture the immense size, the scope, or the majesty of this incredible natural wonder.
We were bundled up because the evening temperatures had been in the 30's and on our early morning tour it had only warmed up to low 50's. This entire
trip in the mountains it has been very windy and cool, but we are not complaining when we know how hot it is back in Florida.
On Friday, some of us went to the Verde Valley train, some shopped in Sedona,and some of us went to historic Jerome, a ghost town come to life, in the high mountains.
Jerome, once a thriving copper mining town of 15,000 and called the Wickest Town in the West, was turned into a ghost town of 50 residents after the mine stopped operations.
Sitting on the side of a mountian at 6000 feet, it is now a thriving tourist town of hotels, B&B's, artist galleries, and restaurants. The streets are narrow and steep
and the buildings are all listed on the National Historic Register.
The views are awesome and the ambience is unique, stepping back to the time of saloons, brothels, and boarding houses. Now reborn as a tourist meca, the chamber has renamed it "the town that would not die". It was a fascinating day and made another scrapbook page for my ever growing book.
Leaving for Vegas, but what we do in Vegas won't stay there....we will pass on the details to you in our very next blog. Until then, we have to start getting ready to pull our tomorrow.
We are taking lots of "stuff" and we do keep going, because we are here, and there is much to see, and we don't want to miss a moment of our adventure, but we are all dragging and need several days of rest to recuperate. That said, let's get back to the travel tales....... we can catch up in Vegas.
COLORADO..just a memory. We left last Sunday and as the mountains faded in the rear view mirrors, I felt I had had an experience I would never forget.
One of the last days we were there, we drove the San Juan Skyway, 230 miles round trip , up on the high mountain road connecting Teluride, Ouray, Silverton,Durango and back to Cortez. We had spectacular views of snow, waterfalls, mining towns, and vistas so fantastically beautiful, it is no wonder it is called the Switzerland of America.
We left for Gallop, N.M. and an overnight stay on Route 66. The campgrounds now are all gravel, no grass, flat, no trees, easy pull throughs, but barren and the winds are so strong, we dare not put out our awnings. The winds have been, since Albuquerque, gusting from 20 up to 50 mph. The motorhome shakes from side to side and you wonder what will blow past you.
Clouds of sand can be seen on the horizon and holding the rig on the road becomes very difficult and there is alot of concentration needed to keep going in strong cross winds. But the people here all seem to take it in stride and it doesn't seem to bother them. Floridians would be headed for shelters.
Monday, we crossed the Arizona border and drove through the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest National Park. Our senior pass has come in handy and
it is the best $10.00 investment we ever made, because it is good for life and for any national park. We have already used it often and will use it many more times before this trip is over.
Now we are in Williams, the gateway to the Grand Canyon, and enjoying exploring this area of Arizona. It is an old railroad town and home to the Grand Canyon Railroad, which makes many runs daily to the eastern rim of the canyon.
The old hotel here was built by the Sante Fe Railroad and run by Fred Harvey and his famous Harvey Girls. One of my favorite Judy Garland movies was "The Harvey Girls" and told about the ladies who came from the East and brought civilization to the raucus Western railroad towns. In their starched black dresses and white aprons, they served food to the passengers at the railroad stops along the way and were paid a $17.00 monthly wage as well as room and board.
Many an uncouth cowboy or minor was tamed by these ladies and towns, churches, schools, marriages, children, and civilization followed changing the wild west forever, because of a hot meal served on linen table clothes, by ladies from the East.
Tuesday, we drove the gorgeous Oak Creek Canyon on our way to Sedona.What a spectacular drive. The chalky white canyon walls high above us suddenly became pink and then deep red and it was something to see. A magical 23 miles of trees and red rocks and blue skies.
Crossing a trestle bridge, you are suddenly in Sedona, red rocks everywhere, a bustling downtown of galleries, restaurants, and souvernir shops. The beautiful hills were ringed by high red mesas and covered in gorgeous very large homes,
with glass walls and balconies to see the fabulous views .
Thursday, we all made the long awaited trip to the Grand Canyon. It did not disappoint but no descriptive narrative, painting, or photo can capture the immense size, the scope, or the majesty of this incredible natural wonder.
We were bundled up because the evening temperatures had been in the 30's and on our early morning tour it had only warmed up to low 50's. This entire
trip in the mountains it has been very windy and cool, but we are not complaining when we know how hot it is back in Florida.
On Friday, some of us went to the Verde Valley train, some shopped in Sedona,and some of us went to historic Jerome, a ghost town come to life, in the high mountains.
Jerome, once a thriving copper mining town of 15,000 and called the Wickest Town in the West, was turned into a ghost town of 50 residents after the mine stopped operations.
Sitting on the side of a mountian at 6000 feet, it is now a thriving tourist town of hotels, B&B's, artist galleries, and restaurants. The streets are narrow and steep
and the buildings are all listed on the National Historic Register.
The views are awesome and the ambience is unique, stepping back to the time of saloons, brothels, and boarding houses. Now reborn as a tourist meca, the chamber has renamed it "the town that would not die". It was a fascinating day and made another scrapbook page for my ever growing book.
Leaving for Vegas, but what we do in Vegas won't stay there....we will pass on the details to you in our very next blog. Until then, we have to start getting ready to pull our tomorrow.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
COLORADO......beautiful
Every day, we keep saying that this is the most beautiful scene we have ever seen. We said it driving into New Mexico. We said it in the Valley of Acoma. We said it on top of Sandia Peak. We said it driving into Durango.
Then we went to Mesa Verde and when we reached the 7000 ft. Mancos overlook ,we knew we had reached as close to Heaven as we could get. It was spectacular with the snow capped mountain ranges stretching out before us on three sides across a valley of green.
The day at Mesa Verde was a revelation to me in the ancient life styles of the cliff dwellers and their creations, which have survived untold centuries. Imagine the amazement of the explorer who discovered them in the 1800's and from that day to this the volumes of legends they have been able to tell us with relics found and paintings on the walls depicting life as it was a thousand years ago.
Many of the ruins can be seen from the road and driving around and seeing them is fairly easy, but our brave quartet of Joan, Helen, Tom, and Mary were not
going to stop for "easy", they actually took a tour of Cliff Palace with a group and had to descend on stone paths to the ruins for a first hand look at life on the side of a mesa.
The ranger told them many amazing things about every day life and survival of the ancient ones. What a great experience for them and even though they have aching muscles and sore legs, they all said they would do it again.
The realization that we were standing and looking into 1200 A.D. is a mind bending thought. How fortunate that they have been discovered and preserved for future generations and are recognized all over the world for their importance to the history of mankind.
The pueblos are considered hallowed ground by most of the Southwestern Indian tribes for it is from here they believe their ancestors migrated to their present homes, hundreds of years ago.
Our time there was so meaningful and the day was a very special experience which will be with all of us for years to come.
The very next day, not fully recovered from a very strenuous climb, we were off at 7 am to Durango, 45 miles east, to board the Durango Silverton Narrow Gage railroad for our trip through some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery ever,
the San Juan National Forest and gorge.
We were climbing, climbing to over 7000 feet on an old steam engine train with wooden antique cars and black smoke pouring from the funnel. It was rolling and clicking and clacking and the whistle was blowing at every opportunity.
When we reached the top of the gorge, running so high over the river, the water rushing over rocks below and a sheer drop off straight down.....you could not help but feel you would suddenly fall off the track into the rocks and trees below.
The safety of my seat was not much of a help with the train lurching and straining to reach the top of the grade as it inched around a solid rock wall on one side and the drop off on the other. It was certainly better than any thrill ride Disney has to offer.
What a wonderful three hours to Silverton. Snow capped peaks were towering above us, bright green sunlit trees were swaying in the breeze, the tracks ran along a rushing river and patches of snow lay on the sides of high canyon walls on both sides of us. Sensory overload. Could there have been a more gorgeous day?
The little town of Silverton is much like it was a 100 years ago when GOLD was the reason for being there. It is on the National Historic Register because of the Victorian buildings and in fact is the largest historic community in the nation.
Having a two hour layover there before the trip home did not really give you an opportunity to explore all the dusty dirt streets and mines and stories which surely abound.
Looking up at the mountain peaks which ring the town, you had to think how isolated these people have been for many wintry decades. Once the snow closes in and stops the daily trains from arriving and the only road with access to the outside world, Silverton becomes a little world all it's own.
The whistle blew and we climbed aboard and started the three hour trip home.
It gave us an opportunity to come back to the real world and resurface into the present. So much for escaping into the past. It was dinner time and where is the nearest McD's?
Then we went to Mesa Verde and when we reached the 7000 ft. Mancos overlook ,we knew we had reached as close to Heaven as we could get. It was spectacular with the snow capped mountain ranges stretching out before us on three sides across a valley of green.
The day at Mesa Verde was a revelation to me in the ancient life styles of the cliff dwellers and their creations, which have survived untold centuries. Imagine the amazement of the explorer who discovered them in the 1800's and from that day to this the volumes of legends they have been able to tell us with relics found and paintings on the walls depicting life as it was a thousand years ago.
Many of the ruins can be seen from the road and driving around and seeing them is fairly easy, but our brave quartet of Joan, Helen, Tom, and Mary were not
going to stop for "easy", they actually took a tour of Cliff Palace with a group and had to descend on stone paths to the ruins for a first hand look at life on the side of a mesa.
The ranger told them many amazing things about every day life and survival of the ancient ones. What a great experience for them and even though they have aching muscles and sore legs, they all said they would do it again.
The realization that we were standing and looking into 1200 A.D. is a mind bending thought. How fortunate that they have been discovered and preserved for future generations and are recognized all over the world for their importance to the history of mankind.
The pueblos are considered hallowed ground by most of the Southwestern Indian tribes for it is from here they believe their ancestors migrated to their present homes, hundreds of years ago.
Our time there was so meaningful and the day was a very special experience which will be with all of us for years to come.
The very next day, not fully recovered from a very strenuous climb, we were off at 7 am to Durango, 45 miles east, to board the Durango Silverton Narrow Gage railroad for our trip through some of the most gorgeous mountain scenery ever,
the San Juan National Forest and gorge.
We were climbing, climbing to over 7000 feet on an old steam engine train with wooden antique cars and black smoke pouring from the funnel. It was rolling and clicking and clacking and the whistle was blowing at every opportunity.
When we reached the top of the gorge, running so high over the river, the water rushing over rocks below and a sheer drop off straight down.....you could not help but feel you would suddenly fall off the track into the rocks and trees below.
The safety of my seat was not much of a help with the train lurching and straining to reach the top of the grade as it inched around a solid rock wall on one side and the drop off on the other. It was certainly better than any thrill ride Disney has to offer.
What a wonderful three hours to Silverton. Snow capped peaks were towering above us, bright green sunlit trees were swaying in the breeze, the tracks ran along a rushing river and patches of snow lay on the sides of high canyon walls on both sides of us. Sensory overload. Could there have been a more gorgeous day?
The little town of Silverton is much like it was a 100 years ago when GOLD was the reason for being there. It is on the National Historic Register because of the Victorian buildings and in fact is the largest historic community in the nation.
Having a two hour layover there before the trip home did not really give you an opportunity to explore all the dusty dirt streets and mines and stories which surely abound.
Looking up at the mountain peaks which ring the town, you had to think how isolated these people have been for many wintry decades. Once the snow closes in and stops the daily trains from arriving and the only road with access to the outside world, Silverton becomes a little world all it's own.
The whistle blew and we climbed aboard and started the three hour trip home.
It gave us an opportunity to come back to the real world and resurface into the present. So much for escaping into the past. It was dinner time and where is the nearest McD's?
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Leaving for Durango/Cortez
After three days of terrible weather, we finally got two days of OK weather and we took advantage of it with a trip to Acoma, Sky City. It is the ancient spiritual home of the Acoma people. They have lived on the top of a 300 foot mesa for 1000 years and still live there.
It was the most unbelievable experience. The valley ringed with mesas and snow capped mountains and buttes jutting up from the floor of the valley was beyond awesome. It is a view I will remember to the day I die.
Can you imagine living in this wilderness and fighting the Spanish invaders, other tribes, and modern civilization which is now even more of a threat than they have faced before.....all this and they have survived and thrived. Quite an inspiring saga of man's believe in his God and himself.
On Saturday, we were all up early and off to the Expo flea market, a very large
gathering of vendors at the state fair gounds,to look for native bargains. We found so much of stone and turquoise and silver jewelry and all of us couldn't resist the urge to purchase.
I also found Navajo chachino dolls, each named for a hunter and signed and numbered by the native Americans who make them. Some of them had to be mine. They spoke to me.
We had planned to all come back to the R V's and have a large lunch/dinner and then leave for Old Town in the late afternoon. As the time approached we started falling out because we are all so tired.
The fatigue of going out exploring every day for three weeks had caught up with all of us, so we snuggled in and stayed put. We want to see and do and go and experience everything , but we are seniors and also need to recoup our energy from time to time.
But we know that two more months stretch out before us and we have to learn to take time to rest so we can see it all.....what a dream of a trip. It has been an education in our country, our fellow Americans,our highway system, and varied cultures. How else can you experience if you don't see it and feel it.
Off to Durango/Cortez and Mesa Verde, higher mountains,and the Silverton/Durango train. We are going to do it all.......but first to bed and some sleep and we will take an extra handful of vitamins.
It was the most unbelievable experience. The valley ringed with mesas and snow capped mountains and buttes jutting up from the floor of the valley was beyond awesome. It is a view I will remember to the day I die.
Can you imagine living in this wilderness and fighting the Spanish invaders, other tribes, and modern civilization which is now even more of a threat than they have faced before.....all this and they have survived and thrived. Quite an inspiring saga of man's believe in his God and himself.
On Saturday, we were all up early and off to the Expo flea market, a very large
gathering of vendors at the state fair gounds,to look for native bargains. We found so much of stone and turquoise and silver jewelry and all of us couldn't resist the urge to purchase.
I also found Navajo chachino dolls, each named for a hunter and signed and numbered by the native Americans who make them. Some of them had to be mine. They spoke to me.
We had planned to all come back to the R V's and have a large lunch/dinner and then leave for Old Town in the late afternoon. As the time approached we started falling out because we are all so tired.
The fatigue of going out exploring every day for three weeks had caught up with all of us, so we snuggled in and stayed put. We want to see and do and go and experience everything , but we are seniors and also need to recoup our energy from time to time.
But we know that two more months stretch out before us and we have to learn to take time to rest so we can see it all.....what a dream of a trip. It has been an education in our country, our fellow Americans,our highway system, and varied cultures. How else can you experience if you don't see it and feel it.
Off to Durango/Cortez and Mesa Verde, higher mountains,and the Silverton/Durango train. We are going to do it all.......but first to bed and some sleep and we will take an extra handful of vitamins.
Friday, May 23, 2008
The WEST...we are here
And on the 15 th day, we saw it.....the West. Leaving Amarillo and crossing the New Mexico border on Sunday morning, we were all really excited to see the first signs of the West. Coming over a hill, we were amazed to see the vistas we had been expecting suddenly appear in our large windows.
The pink and grey mesas, the snow capped mountains, the grasslands, and the open sky all there in front of us. We were here at last here. all the driving, the traffic, the hookups, the gasoline fill ups, the campgrounds, the maps and directories, the planning, the anticipation.....now a reality.
We were so excited we started calling each other on the cell phones and walkie talkies and screaming "We made it...we are here".
Now, I know how the pioneers felt when after months of hardships they finally
reached their peaceful valley. We certainly haven't suffered in our expensive motor homes with their convection ovens and flat screen T V's as those brave people did, but we were every bit as excited.
We have another two wonderful months ahead of us to experience the whole West and it's wonders and we have just begun.
Each mile, we were getting more into the scenery, in the distance the mesas and mountains were all around us and way off to the right were majestic snow capped peaks, ringed in clouds.
It was all getting closer as we approached Albuquerque, we suddenly saw stretched before us a huge city and to the right of us Sandia Peak, 10,600 feet of rocky beauty reaching for the sky.
Our campground was on the west side of the city and on a high ridge, giving us a gorgeous view of the city below as we drove out each day for our adventures
When we pulled in and realized what there was to do here, we were thrilled to know we had planned a whole week here to explore this very exciting region.
The first realization when exploring the city is that everything is BROWN, all the houses, the public buildings,the overpasses, the rocks, the grass, the ground..... Brown.
The houses are mostly square adobe and with a flat roof. There are very few trees, lots of low bushes, and no flowers to speak of. Very few pools are visible, but most back yards are fenced in. It is totally different in every way.
It is very dry and we are all drinking bottles of water every day. There seems to be a constant wind and with that, blowing sand. No humidity.
Monday, we went up to the top of Sandia peak and there was snow and the most gorgeous view ever. We were two miles high and we could see 11,000 square miles and below us the Rio Grande valley.
The world's longest tramway offers a ride to the top, but none of us felt that brave, so we drove up. The ride up on a twisting curvy road was worth the view which you could really only duplicate in the cockpit of a plane.
On the next day, some of us went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and then we had lunch and shopped in Old Town, a Spanish area of the city founded 300 years ago and hosting hundreds of art galleries, restaurants, and shops.
Wednesday, we all went to Santa Fe, the oldest state capitol in the nation, and a jewel of Spanish culture and Western art. A huge artist colony, it is home to some of the country's most famous painters and crafters.
We had a great day exploring the shops and watching the blossoms of the cotton wood trees gently float to the ground and cover every thing as snowflakes.
Both Santa Fe and Albuquerque have wonderful old town plazas which have preserved the Spanish architecture, historical old cathedrals, museums, and the atmosphere of the old West.
We have much to do in our last three days.....tours of museums, pueblos, and even a flea market, but the weather has turned awful and so we will find it difficult to drive in the high winds and the rain.
There was even a snow advisory west of us in Gallop. The strong winds have been up to 50 mph gusts and the RV has been rocking for three days. There is no relief in sight until Sunday when we leave, so these next three days might be spent playing cards and watching TV.
But it is a magical region of our country and one I will always remember with
awe. Durango/Cortez our next stops. The trip of a lifetime continues to be all we had hoped for.
The pink and grey mesas, the snow capped mountains, the grasslands, and the open sky all there in front of us. We were here at last here. all the driving, the traffic, the hookups, the gasoline fill ups, the campgrounds, the maps and directories, the planning, the anticipation.....now a reality.
We were so excited we started calling each other on the cell phones and walkie talkies and screaming "We made it...we are here".
Now, I know how the pioneers felt when after months of hardships they finally
reached their peaceful valley. We certainly haven't suffered in our expensive motor homes with their convection ovens and flat screen T V's as those brave people did, but we were every bit as excited.
We have another two wonderful months ahead of us to experience the whole West and it's wonders and we have just begun.
Each mile, we were getting more into the scenery, in the distance the mesas and mountains were all around us and way off to the right were majestic snow capped peaks, ringed in clouds.
It was all getting closer as we approached Albuquerque, we suddenly saw stretched before us a huge city and to the right of us Sandia Peak, 10,600 feet of rocky beauty reaching for the sky.
Our campground was on the west side of the city and on a high ridge, giving us a gorgeous view of the city below as we drove out each day for our adventures
When we pulled in and realized what there was to do here, we were thrilled to know we had planned a whole week here to explore this very exciting region.
The first realization when exploring the city is that everything is BROWN, all the houses, the public buildings,the overpasses, the rocks, the grass, the ground..... Brown.
The houses are mostly square adobe and with a flat roof. There are very few trees, lots of low bushes, and no flowers to speak of. Very few pools are visible, but most back yards are fenced in. It is totally different in every way.
It is very dry and we are all drinking bottles of water every day. There seems to be a constant wind and with that, blowing sand. No humidity.
Monday, we went up to the top of Sandia peak and there was snow and the most gorgeous view ever. We were two miles high and we could see 11,000 square miles and below us the Rio Grande valley.
The world's longest tramway offers a ride to the top, but none of us felt that brave, so we drove up. The ride up on a twisting curvy road was worth the view which you could really only duplicate in the cockpit of a plane.
On the next day, some of us went to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and then we had lunch and shopped in Old Town, a Spanish area of the city founded 300 years ago and hosting hundreds of art galleries, restaurants, and shops.
Wednesday, we all went to Santa Fe, the oldest state capitol in the nation, and a jewel of Spanish culture and Western art. A huge artist colony, it is home to some of the country's most famous painters and crafters.
We had a great day exploring the shops and watching the blossoms of the cotton wood trees gently float to the ground and cover every thing as snowflakes.
Both Santa Fe and Albuquerque have wonderful old town plazas which have preserved the Spanish architecture, historical old cathedrals, museums, and the atmosphere of the old West.
We have much to do in our last three days.....tours of museums, pueblos, and even a flea market, but the weather has turned awful and so we will find it difficult to drive in the high winds and the rain.
There was even a snow advisory west of us in Gallop. The strong winds have been up to 50 mph gusts and the RV has been rocking for three days. There is no relief in sight until Sunday when we leave, so these next three days might be spent playing cards and watching TV.
But it is a magical region of our country and one I will always remember with
awe. Durango/Cortez our next stops. The trip of a lifetime continues to be all we had hoped for.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Route 66, The Mother Road
We left Oklahoma City for Amarillo, our next stop on the way West, but now we are actually on the fringe and we know it. It looks different.
We are driving on I 40, a major truck route East/West, and we see flat grasslands, huge cattle feeding lots, and the most interesting sight ever....acres of huge concrete poles and on top white funnel blades turning in the wind.
I have seen them on TV programs about alternative power sources but to see them in person is quite amazing. Science fiction movies of the 50's would have had used them as sentinels on the asteroid of Tron or some kind of defense system to shoot down Buck Roger's rocket ship. It was a unique sight.
Route 66, the Mother Road, connecting California to the East, the original U.S. highway system, it is the source of legend and folk lore. Pictures of motor courts, drive in theaters, hamburgers and root beer floats delivered to your car by a girl on roller skates, Indian souvenir shop shaped like Tee Pees, Corvettes and campers, and motorcycles, its all there , the American Road....Route 66.
Well even tough I 40 now has the traffic and only a small amount of the original highway has survived, it is still alive and well at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma.
So we had to stop and see for ourselves... after all that is what tourists do ..and we are tourists and we have to do what tourists do....TAKE PICTURES.
We spent a very interesting two hours there and enjoyed the museum and a film and then we had lunch in their parking lot in our wonderful motor homes and on to Amarillo.
Ft. Amarillo RV Park was unique. Each site has a wooden fence on either side, a concrete patio with new table and a little patch of grass with plants for each site in a sea of gravel .
The highlight, for me, was a deluxe 3000 square foot gift shop with a waterfall inside and a recreation building with a tornado shelter underneath...How cool.
Cadillac Ranch, post cards everywhere, it must be famous and it is only a mile away, ten cars buried upright in a field, we must see this. We go...we photograph..and we all wonder WHY? We look for a meaning, for a reason for doing something so stupid. But there is none. It's a tourist thing I guess.
Two days to relax, do laundry , dinner in our first Mexican restaurant,and we are ready to leave for Albuquerque....... and a week in the "Land Of Enchantment."
We are driving on I 40, a major truck route East/West, and we see flat grasslands, huge cattle feeding lots, and the most interesting sight ever....acres of huge concrete poles and on top white funnel blades turning in the wind.
I have seen them on TV programs about alternative power sources but to see them in person is quite amazing. Science fiction movies of the 50's would have had used them as sentinels on the asteroid of Tron or some kind of defense system to shoot down Buck Roger's rocket ship. It was a unique sight.
Route 66, the Mother Road, connecting California to the East, the original U.S. highway system, it is the source of legend and folk lore. Pictures of motor courts, drive in theaters, hamburgers and root beer floats delivered to your car by a girl on roller skates, Indian souvenir shop shaped like Tee Pees, Corvettes and campers, and motorcycles, its all there , the American Road....Route 66.
Well even tough I 40 now has the traffic and only a small amount of the original highway has survived, it is still alive and well at the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma.
So we had to stop and see for ourselves... after all that is what tourists do ..and we are tourists and we have to do what tourists do....TAKE PICTURES.
We spent a very interesting two hours there and enjoyed the museum and a film and then we had lunch in their parking lot in our wonderful motor homes and on to Amarillo.
Ft. Amarillo RV Park was unique. Each site has a wooden fence on either side, a concrete patio with new table and a little patch of grass with plants for each site in a sea of gravel .
The highlight, for me, was a deluxe 3000 square foot gift shop with a waterfall inside and a recreation building with a tornado shelter underneath...How cool.
Cadillac Ranch, post cards everywhere, it must be famous and it is only a mile away, ten cars buried upright in a field, we must see this. We go...we photograph..and we all wonder WHY? We look for a meaning, for a reason for doing something so stupid. But there is none. It's a tourist thing I guess.
Two days to relax, do laundry , dinner in our first Mexican restaurant,and we are ready to leave for Albuquerque....... and a week in the "Land Of Enchantment."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Oklahoma City.....a great surprise
What a wonderful surprise to me, Oklahoma City was not what I expected. It is sparkling, and sophisticated, and sprawling, and FUN. The museums are awesome and the reclaimed downtown area is intriguing. Travel is the great educator for all who look for the new and exciting and every day of this trip I find there are so many places I need to explore to have a true idea of our great nation.
Bricktown is a real jewel in the downtown center and has been restored for convention business with a large arena, a ballpark, and a canal which flows through it all and which features gorgeous bronze sculptures of the land rush with life size men and animals.
Boats carry you along the flowing canal and you are in the midst of restaurants and shops and history and wonderful fountains spilling over walls covered with paintings and mosaic art.
We are getting our first glimpse of Western culture and is it so exciting. The restored Stockyard area of downtown features restaurants and shops in what was once the largest cattle processing center of the West.
Oklahomans should be very proud of what their leaders have done to revitalize
their inner city. It was a treat for us as tourists and I am certain the residents love the ballpark and other venues this quarter has to offer.
But the highlight for me of our two day stay was our visit to The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, with it's fabulous collection of art, sculpture,and memorabilia of the American cowboy, pony soldier,scout, pioneer, and rancher.
Galleries of famous paintings and sculptures by Remington, Russell and many others
were expansive and beautifully presented. You expect this from a gallery of this caliber, but what amazed me were the rooms filled with samples of saddles, barbed wire, branding irons, chaps, hats, rodeo awards, and ropes. The finest collection of Western relics I could ever imagine.
There is a gallery dedicated to cowgirls and their gifts to the legend of this free spirited life style. Dating back to the early days, these were really liberated women and role models for today's young active women.
My favorite, by far, was the area dedicated to the Western stars of the movies with an exceptional collection of John Wayne props and clothes used in his many movies of this genre. The famous black hat and eye patch from "True Grit", the Union officer's uniform from "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and so much more.
Jimmy Stewart,Randolph Scott, Walter Brennan, Tom Selleck, Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were also featured.
How many Saturday afternoons have I spent in a darken neighborhood theater watching them fight off the ravaging Indians or lead a wagon train of pioneers through perilous mountains? It was my childhood and a part of my DNA forever.
They taught me to look for humble courage and strength in kindness in the men in my life and for adventure in my world. Yep, pilgrim, I loved these men and their movies.
We left Oklahoma City with a different idea of what she is all about and what she has become. What a great city.
Tomorrow...on to Amarillo.
Bricktown is a real jewel in the downtown center and has been restored for convention business with a large arena, a ballpark, and a canal which flows through it all and which features gorgeous bronze sculptures of the land rush with life size men and animals.
Boats carry you along the flowing canal and you are in the midst of restaurants and shops and history and wonderful fountains spilling over walls covered with paintings and mosaic art.
We are getting our first glimpse of Western culture and is it so exciting. The restored Stockyard area of downtown features restaurants and shops in what was once the largest cattle processing center of the West.
Oklahomans should be very proud of what their leaders have done to revitalize
their inner city. It was a treat for us as tourists and I am certain the residents love the ballpark and other venues this quarter has to offer.
But the highlight for me of our two day stay was our visit to The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, with it's fabulous collection of art, sculpture,and memorabilia of the American cowboy, pony soldier,scout, pioneer, and rancher.
Galleries of famous paintings and sculptures by Remington, Russell and many others
were expansive and beautifully presented. You expect this from a gallery of this caliber, but what amazed me were the rooms filled with samples of saddles, barbed wire, branding irons, chaps, hats, rodeo awards, and ropes. The finest collection of Western relics I could ever imagine.
There is a gallery dedicated to cowgirls and their gifts to the legend of this free spirited life style. Dating back to the early days, these were really liberated women and role models for today's young active women.
My favorite, by far, was the area dedicated to the Western stars of the movies with an exceptional collection of John Wayne props and clothes used in his many movies of this genre. The famous black hat and eye patch from "True Grit", the Union officer's uniform from "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and so much more.
Jimmy Stewart,Randolph Scott, Walter Brennan, Tom Selleck, Gary Cooper, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were also featured.
How many Saturday afternoons have I spent in a darken neighborhood theater watching them fight off the ravaging Indians or lead a wagon train of pioneers through perilous mountains? It was my childhood and a part of my DNA forever.
They taught me to look for humble courage and strength in kindness in the men in my life and for adventure in my world. Yep, pilgrim, I loved these men and their movies.
We left Oklahoma City with a different idea of what she is all about and what she has become. What a great city.
Tomorrow...on to Amarillo.
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