TUCSON, TIRES & TESTICLES

Feb 17 - AMADO, AZ
We are staying a week at the De Anza RV Resort located in Amado AZ, just south of Tucson and 20 miles north of the Mexico border.  Green Valley, AZ is just up the road from us and we are  looking forward to seeing our friends Steve and Contessa Marine, and Rey and Mary Johnson.  Steve and Contessa are renting a house for a month in Green Valley, and Rey and Mary have made Green Valley their home.  The mountains are beautiful and the U.S. Border Patrol are ever present.

I hope this isn't one of those Jumping Catus!

Feb. 18 - KARTCHNER CAVERNS
Kartchner Caverns, one of the top 10 caves in the world, is located 49 miles west of Tucson.  Not only is this cave beautiful, the story of its discovery and preservation is remarkable.  In 1974, a couple of local amateur cavers discovered a small opening in a well known sinkhole.  As they crawled through this small opening they found passages that led them to magnificent formations that had been forming for 50 million years, and up until then, had been unseen and untouched.  From past experience, they knew that when word got out about this living cave, its formations would be destroyed by vandals and souvenir hunters.  They kept their discovery a secret for 14 years while they continued to explore the caverns and take time to decide the best way to preserve the caves.  They secretly worked with the landowners, Jim and Lois Kartchner, and the Arizona State Parks Department to make it into a cave tour attraction.

Kartchner Caverns discovery was made public in 1988, when the family sold the area to the State to made it into a State Park.  Special care and technology were used to prepare the caves for tours while maintaining its unspoiled condition.

Entering the cave through special air lock doors and misting machines, the Park Ranger guided our small group through the Rotunda Room and Throne Room.  No pictures are allowed inside the caves and touching formations is forbidden as the oil from our skin will destroy the continuing growth of the formations.  Our guide turned on lights for the path and to highlight the spectacular formations, and as we left an area the lights were turned off as a means to keep this natural living cave as pristine as possible.

Entrance into one of the new AZ State Parks

Under those two mounds lay the beautiful Kartchner Caverns
 

Feb. 19 - TOO MANY SNOWBIRDS, NOT ENOUGH FREEZER SPACE
Steve and Jim golfed today, which was a challenge in the wind.  Every time they would tee up the ball, the wind would blow it off the tee.  Contessa and I went shopping and had lunch in the cute historic town of Tubac, where a local lady told me that "the reason it's so cold is because all the damn snowbirds bring the cold weather with them; they should just stay home where they belong!"  All righty then, nice to meet you too.  We met back up with the boys at the Marine's hacienda, played cards and had a delicious dinner.

Contessa, Steve and Jim at the Marine's beautiful hacienda

Feb. 20 - IT'S JUST PLAIN WRONG!
Rain and SNOW today.  Those poor cacti and palm trees didn't know what was going on...neither did we.  Global warming?  Not here.  Our water hose has frozen twice during the night, but it thaws when the sun comes out.

Feb. 22 - IS IT 9:00 YET?
Our RV Park has a restaurant open on the weekends as well as dancing Friday and Saturday nights.  Contessa, Steve, Mary, Rey, Ralph and Joanie came to our park for a wild night of dinner and dancing.  We had 6:00 dinner reservation; the band started playing at 6:30.  Dancing to great 50's and 60's music, with a few Country Line Dances, and Texas 2 Steps thrown in, the fun was over at 9:30.  Yes, it's sad but true, old people go to bed early.

CeCe, Mary, Contessa...discussing books at the dance

IF IT HAS TIRES OR TESTICLES, IT'S GOING TO BE TROUBLE
Our tire issues on the RV seem to be resolved. Since we left Kansas City, the tires have remained inflated, but are a constant worry.

Double Trouble...need I say more?

Big trouble!  No more said.

 

LAS CRUCES, NM

Feb. 14 - 16

Leaving Carlsbad on our way to Las Cruces, the road took us back into Texas through the Guadalupe Mountains National Park.  We stopped at the Visitor's Center, had a quick look around and continued the drive through these picturesque mountains.

Bud (Jim's cousin) and his wife, Gretha Nelson, have escaped the cold winters from Stoughton, WI to the warmer climate of Las Cruces, NM for the past 6 years.  This year, they are renting a house for a month with their friends, Arne and Ada from New York.  We stayed in an RV Park about 6 miles from them and enjoyed their company,a lot of laughs and stories, good cooking, and tour services during our stay.

Jim, Gretha, and Bud at the La Cruces Saturday Market.  Coffee and Kettle Corn...yum.

One highlight of our time in Las Cruces was a hike in the beautiful Organ Mountains to Dripping Springs.  We hiked about 1 1/2 miles from the Visitor's Center to the ruins of the Desert Springs Resort which was a popular destination around the turn of the century.  It had 16 rooms, a large dining room and concert hall.  After the resort went bankrupt, a wealthy doctor bought it and converted it into a sanatorium after his wife had contracted tuberculosis.  As late as 1946, the Resort was still in relatively good shape, but the efforts of local preservationists failed to raise the money to buy it and the Resort was scavenged for building materials.  The property is now owned by the Bureau of Land management.

Organ Mountains

Lookie!  There's the spring!

Dripping Springs Resort

Good place to recover from TB.

Uff-da, Hard to keep up with this Norwegian!

On our way to our hike, we stopped to pick up a picnic lunch at the Deli and saw these two musicians on the street corner.

  Let's Polka!!!

CARLSBAD, NM

Feb. 12
We left Big bend National Park.  About 60 miles north of the Park entrance and 100 miles from the Mexico border, we went through U.S. Border Patrol.  We stopped and were asked a few questions like, "is there anyone else in the back of your motor home?"  I think while the nice officer was keeping us occupied asking questions, the drug sniffing dog made his rounds checking out our car and rig.  We passed inspection and were soon on our way to New Mexico.

The wind today was ridiculous!  I dont' know how people living here cope with these strong and gusty winds.

While driving past ranches, oil wells, and through gusting winds, we crossed the Texas/New Mexico border.  The topography quickly changed from flat desert, to desert with rolling hills.

Feb. 13 - CARLSBAD CAVERNS

We are staying in Carlsbad, NM.  Today we crossed another item off our bucket list when we visited Carlsbad Caverns, located in the Chihuahua Desert and Guadalupe Mountains.  The Caverns were designated a national Park in 1930 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.  This is a very special place of gigantic subterranean chambers with the most beautiful, natural, fantastic and extraordinary cave features we have ever seen!  We got a flavor of the Caverns by taking the elevator down 750 ft. to tour of the 1 mile perimeter of the Big Room.  The Big Room is the size of 6 football fields, and the paved trail as well as many of the beautiful features are well-lit.  The Big Room is just one of the many chambers of the Cavern to be explored.  Like the Grand Canyon, this is a place that needs to be seen to appreciate the enormity and beauty.

One more place to cross off the Bucket List. 
 

Beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.

Holy Crap, look at the size of those stalagmites!

These formations are enormous and it looks like a Fairy Land.

Delicate "soda straw" stalactites.

A few words about the famous Bat Flight; this phenomenon only occurs between May and October because the bats winter in Mexico (even they become Snowbirds!). I think if I had seen hundreds of thousands of bats, I may have been traumatized for the rest of my life.

Before leaving the Park, we took a 9 1/2 mile scenic drive through Walnut Canyon.

Didn't run into any rattlers.

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK

Feb. 9

Big Bend National Park was established in 1944; it's the largest, least visited, and most remote National Park in the lower 48 of the U.S.  It's located in southwest Texas where the Rio Grand River makes a U-turn and defines the border between Mexico the United States.  After driving 60 miles from Marathon, TX we reached the Park entrance; we drove another 40 miles to the campground.  The Chihuahuan desert and rugged Chisos Mountains contain beautiful volcanic rock formations and canyons, and are home to 1,200 plant species -- some found nowhere else.  It takes some tough and determined people to survive on this harsh weather-beaten desert!

This afternoon we drove to Boquilles Canyon Overlook and hiked down to the Rio Grand River.  Apparently, the villagers from Boquillas, Mexico come across the Rio Grande and set up self-serve/honor system craft "booths".  There are signs in the Park warning that it's illegal to purchase items from Mexican Nationals.

Price list for Art Crafts

Craft items for sale.  The brown jar is where you put your donation.

Down by the river, entertainment was provided by an enterprising guy, "Victor The Singing Mexican", as the sign on the donation jars read.  He greeted us with "Hola, Amigos!  You like song?"  Jim gave him a buck. 

Cooling my feet in the Rio Grande!

A Mexican cowboy chasing down some illegal immigrant horses that got across the river.
You can see Victor in the blue shirt to the left.  Also notice the hazy air.

The wind started to gust turning the air brown and hazy, and sending sand and dirt into my nose, ears, mouth and eyes.  Holy Hannah, I lost my hat! We heard some of the wind gusts  were up to 70 mph.

Next we drove to the Hot Springs Historic District and walked past the abandoned store/post office and tourist motor court, then continued on the trail to the healing waters of the 105 degree natural hot springs which empty into the Rio Grande River.  The foundation of the old bath house is all that remains of this tourist attraction built in 1927; a flood took it out in 1932.

Definitely coming back with my swimsuit!

Feb. 10
Today we took a scenic drive to the east side of the Park.  we missed a turn and ended up leaving the Park.  Down the road we turned around at the town of Turlingua school.

I think this is the "naughty chair".  It was sitting across the road from the school.

Reentering the Park, we continued our drive through this scenic area, stopping along the way to admire the views and take some short hikes along the trails.

Saint Elena Canyon

The cactus should be blooming in May.

Feb. 11 - CHISOS BASIN
The road to Chisos Basin is not recommended for trailers longer than 20 feet, or RV's longer than 27 feet because of the sharp curves and steep grades.  The scenic vistas are spectacular!  The small campground at Chisos Basins is nestled in an area surrounded by grand mountains and views.  Not far from this campground is a lodge and restaurant.  There have  been several Mountain Lion sightings in the area.

Looking down to Chisos Basin Campground.

Another scenic vista!

 We stopped at the Hot Springs and had a soak on our way back to the campground.  Hallelujah!  WE ARE HEALED!  Tomorrow we leave for New Mexico.

SAN ANTONIO, TX - Feb. 5 - 8

I-35 from Fort Worth to San Antonio was under construction for what seemed liked hundreds of skinny lane miles.  Our campsite is about 5 miles from downtown and with a bus stop right across the street, we hopped on the city bus and rode to downtown San Antonio.  Some mighty interesting characters ride the bus!

The tourist area along the River Walk is a lively and busy area with both sides of the river lined with lush vegetation, sidewalk cafes, restaurants and bars, clubs, hotels, and shops.  River taxis cruise up and down the river, while music from strolling mariachi bands fill the air.  The River Walk was built as a means to control the San Antonio River from flooding downtown and is now one of San Antonio's main tourist attractions.

San Antonio River Walk.  This place really perks up at night.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO! - Feb. 6
Alamo Plaza is in the heart of San Antonio.  The iconic symbol of the Alamo church is just a small part of the original mission and fort built in 1724.  The famous battle at the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution and became a symbol of a heroic struggle over impossible odds.  We decided to take the 1 hour guided tour, as well as the audio tour.  Our tour guide, Jeff, said he was a history teacher and his tour focused more on the personalities involved in the famous battle rather than the military aspects.  Sounded good to me!  I wanted to hear all about Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie helping to defend the Alamo against the Mexican army.  Jeff's 1 hour tour lasted almost 2 hours.  After about 45 minutes of listening to blah, blah, blah, I wished I had a Bowie knife to put me out of my misery.  And, according to Jeff, the John Wayne movie version is incorrect.

Daniel Boone & Davey Crockett were here!

LBJ RANCH - Feb. 7
We took a day trip to the Hill Country to visit the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, TX.  President and Lady Bird Johnson bought this ranch in 1951 from his aunt, and in 1972 donated a portion of it to the National Park Service with the stipulation that it remain a working ranch.  While the original ranch house was added on to over the years, the home is not extravagant and is mostly furnished as it was in the 1960's while LBJ was President.  Anytime the house was updated, the furnishings were put into storage so the house could be returned to the 1960's era.  After putting in a landing strip, Lyndon B. Johnson spent about 25% of his presidency working from this Texas White House.

LBJ's Air Force One...Nice way to commute to work.

WINE COUNTRY
After the ranch tour we drove to historic Fredricksburg, TX, which was settled by German immigrants.  Most of the impressive main street buildings are made of local sand stone.  We stopped for lunch at a German restaurant and had the best Jagger Schnitzel ever.  This is also Texas wine country, so we stopped at a couple places to sample the local wines.  The lady pouring wine samples at the Fredricksburg Winery was...well, let me just say she had a German accent and I got scolded.

MARATHON, TX - Feb. 8
We left San Antonio today.  On our way west we made a quick stop in Kerrville to say "Howdy" to one of Jim's girlfriends :)  Jan Zenner and Jim met several years ago while both were brokers for Transamerica.  It was great catching up with this California city-girl turned Texas cowgirl.

Jan is still the crazy gal we remember.

On the road again we continued west on I-10 leaving the Hill Country, driving through the changing Texas landscapes of prairie and desert.  Among the mesas and buttes, we passed several cattle ranches and oil wells.  Early evening we arrived in the desert town of Marathon, which is about 60 miles north of Big Bend National Park...our destination tomorrow.

ESCAPING THE ARCTIC BLAST

Feb. 2, 2013 -- On The Road Again

Preparations for our trip to the Southwest started a few days ago, and not without incident.  Jim took the RV to J & R (Jesus and Ray) Tire Shop to get the tires examined because the back tires had gone flat while sitting in storage...Uff Da.  Ray tested the tires for leaks, and declared there was nothing wrong, so with Ray's tire expertise and the Divine intervention of Jesus,we are hoping the tire issues are a thing of the past.

The RV came home and sat in our driveway for 2 days while we endured -30 and -40 wind chills.  Feb. 1st we were ready to pack up, but found out the RV was frozen and wouldn't start.  An Emergency Road Service call was made before we even left the driveway.

If we stare at it long enough it might start.

The temp was -7 when we left Saturday morning.  We headed down ice covered I-35 and stayed on the freeway, hauling ass to get out of the frigid weather.  We arrived in Overland Park, KS about 5:00 where there was no snow and the temps were in the high 30's...balmy!  Georgia Ann (my cousin) and Roger Peterson's home was our stop for the night.  They served us dinner, poured various wines, and offered us a comfortable bed in their beautiful house.  We thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality.

CHEERS to cousins!

More Cheers! (Roger made the stain glass for the cabinet insert.)

Feb. 3 -  OKLAHOMA

The tires looked a little low, so when we stopped to gas up the tires got pumped up.  We arrived at our campsite in Oklahoma City, de-winterized the RV, then took the Jeep to the car wash to get off the road salt and grime.  Later, we took advantage of the RV park's indoor pool and hot tub.

Feb. 4th.  Oklahoma City National Memorial

We got up early to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  On April 19, 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City was bombed and took the lives of 168, and injured 680 people.  The blast damaged or destroyed 324 buildings in a 16 block radius.  The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on April 19, 2000 to commemorate the victims of the bombing.  The Memorial is built on the site of the Federal Building with a reflecting pool running east and west, with 2 large gates (The Gates of Time) on either end of the pool.  One gate is inscribed with the time 9:01 and the other is inscribed with 9:03 which represents the time of the blast.  On the south side of the pool, are 168 stone chairs which represent the empty chairs at the dinner tables of the victims families.  The seats of the children killed are smaller than those of the adults whose lives were lost. 

Oklahoma City National Memorial

Victims empty chairs.

Before leaving OK City, we stopped again at the car wash and cleaned up the RV.  Getting off all that salt and filth took some doing.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Staying on I-35, we crossed the border into Texas and turned on the air conditioner!  We stayed the night at a campground in the Fort Worth suburb of Arlington where my nephew Tim, and his wife Mary live.  After they got off work, they picked us up to go out to a Tex-Mex restaurant.  The chips and salsa were the BEST!

Great time with Tim & Mary!  They know how to pick a fantastic restaurant.