Actually this is late 25th anniversary travel planning. Azucena couldn't take off from school to take a discounted Carnival Cruise along the west coast to Alaska, so this turns out the next best thing. (Any pictures you see on this trip are the ones I took with my DroidX. Azucena took picutures but they are not included here.)
We are going on a sightseeing cruise of our own. Our tour starts in Round Rock. Next destination is Amarillo where we will visit Palo Duro canyon and take on a "musical" of Texas.
After Amarillo, we'll travel west along the historic Route 66 through Albuquerque, New Mexico. The travel time is about 1/2 the time it took to get from Round Rock to Amarillo. But as I like to say, once you get to the border of Texas, you are halfway there (more on the Albuquerque leg later).
Outside of stopping for gas or lunch at a rest area, we made pretty good time. Our goal is not to see how fast we can get there, but see how much sights we can get in. Anyway, I digress. We took the convertable but left the top up. Just too darn hot to go topless. We really didn't do much sighting on the way up except for a few long trains, gas prices and oil derricks. We didn't really have any places we wanted to see on the way here, although we've got about 3 places on our map that will cause us to stick around for another day or two.
We are staying at a Luxury Inn just inside Amarillo. The price is good, internet is free and Azucena is playing Dark Cloud, so all is good in the world at this moment.
We started our late morning by heading to Palo Duro near Canyon, TX. Oh man. I know how Canyon, TX got it's name. This place reminds me of the Grand Canyon, but just a bit smaller. The lookouts have a great vista.
We took a trip down to the bottom of the canyon (in low gear to keep from flying off the edge). There are a lot of camping and picnic spots. We chose a spot that was close to hike we wanted to take. (Note to self, no hiking when the temp is over 90, in a canyon. AND take a FULL bottle of water.) The hike was 1 mile (2 mile round trip) and took about 1 1/2 hours. Great hike, but that means we be stinky the rest of the day.
After the hike, we took lunch, then travelled around the rest of the canyon. Finally drove back up the steep mountainside and picked up a few souvenirs.
We then left for Cadillac Ranch and was a bit dismayed at seeing the decay the vehicles are in. Every inch is spray painted and seats and such are missing, but since I've never been there before, I wouldn't know if this was the norm or what. But, we got over the dismayed part because we picked up a not so empty can of orange paint and put our initials with 25 (25th anniversary) on the hood of one of the cars.
We stopped at the midpoint of Route 66 (exact center from Chicago to Santa Monica). We thought we'd do lunch, but alas, it was closed.
Right now we are in Tucumcari getting ready for dinner. On the way here, we took as much as the historic route 66 as we could and in a sense, the whole way is route 66, just some of it is IH 40. The strangest part was going from Glenrio to Bard on a dirt historic route 66 road.
We stopped at the Blue Swallow motel to see about a room, but they were booked because of a automobile show that was one stop ahead of us on their way to Albuquerque. The owners were real nice and we chatted for awhile. Picked up a few souvenirs including Route 66 soda bottles. Wa also talked about how CARS used parts of their motel to create the motel in the movie. Refrigerated Air definately made it.
We woke up bright and early and decided to have breakfast at Kix on 66 (yeah I know, Get your Kicks on Route 66). After breakfast we went back to the Blue Swallow to get more souvenirs and head out towards Albuquerque.
One of the stops was in Santa Rosa to go to a car museum. I'd give it a 7 out of 10. They had the usual souvenir stuff and a museum with about 20 or so cars that were dated from the mid 20's through 60's. Some were in most excellent shape (overhauled) and one was from a kit. Saw a few interesting vehicles including one that was about the length of a Semi (I think it was 1935), another that was overhauled with gas shocks (had to climb up). And one or two that had parts sitting on the bench seats.
We left and missed our Montoya visit (Texas exit signs say Historic Route 66, NM doesn't). Anyway, Montoya has an old fashion gas pump, although I'm sure it's not still working. Guess we'll have to see the one in Shamrock on our way back home.
So, we eventually took the Moriarity exit where they have some sort of air exhibit (no one was there). But we accidently found another car "museum". More a graveyard for cars to come die. The place is Lewis Antique (etc). On the inside of the huge garage are about 15 - 20 antique cars (dating from the mid 50's to as early as 1905). He's been refurbishing cars for over 50 years. Some are in maculate condition, others range from good to great. Most of the cars he rebuilds, he finds the parts he needs, buys the cars and then sabatoges the parts for the car he is working on. This is where the graveyard part comes in. Outside covering about 10 acres (could be 20) are so many cars of varying stages of missing parts, that you can't count. In one section he has busses. Another trucks. Another has station wagons. Another has cars from the mid 1910's to probably 70's.
As we were leaving, a couple pulled up in a green Hudson Hornet. The one car we wanted to see since we started this trip was the Hudson Hornet. And cause we dilly-dallied, we finally got to see one in immaculate condition.
We stopped at two places that were souviner shops the size of Garden Ridge. Didn't get too much, but it was interesting to see all the stuff available.
We finally made Albuquerque and found a place to park our bodies for awhile. But before we crashed for the day, we drove into "old town" and took a Ghost Hunting tour. It was about 2 hours long and not only did they show us some ghost spots, we also learned some history in this section of Albuquerque.
Alright, now I'm tired. We'll sleep in a bit late tomorrow before Azucena heads to church. Then we may do Sandia Peak. More on this later. Time to relax.
Oh, did I say we found Mater? He was at the Santa Rosa car museum.
Still in Albuquerque. Being Sunday, we did the church thing, then ate lunch at the ghostly hot spot. Not much activity unless you count the fact that they were busy. Didn't do much of anything else until later in the day when we went to Sandia Peak to take the longest Tram in the US.
Ride takes 15 minutes. We took a 1 1/2 mile hike to a cabin called Kiwanis Cabin that was built in the 30's. When we were almost back from this 3 mile round trip, the clouds came in and started to rain on us. Then it started to lightning. Because it was lightning, that meant the tram rides would be stopped until they deemed it safe. So including the rain delay, we spent about 4 hours at the top. Not really all that bad, but it did get a bit chilly after awhile.
They finally decided to let us leave even though it was lightning. The trip down was pretty uneventful, but we did get our money's worth with the lightning storm we witnessed. At least 3 times the lightning blew out what could be transformers. A puff of light after the strike.
Once we got back into town, we can only describe the scene as 6th street. Cars were lined up both sides with music going and several low riders either low in the front or back, or in one case, on the right side with the left front tire about 2 feet off the ground.
We are wiped out, but Azucena is getting some game time in with Dark Cloud. I'll probably pass out shortly.
Found out today that when you are a military brat, you can almost never go home (unless you join the military). But it hits home even worse when the home you lived in for 4 years was razed. The whole neighborhood was razed about 5 years ago.
To fill you in, we were in Albuquerque earlier today and before we left, we visited Kirtland Elementary School which is just outside the base. We lived a stones throw from the school. Every morning we'd walk to the "Salute" gate and cross the road to the school.
There was some change in the school, like a new wing for classes, a gymnasium, a school mascot, playscapes and portable buildings. What is gone are the swings, tetherball and old basketball court. Oh well, I guess you can go back, sort of.
Ok, we are finishing our day in Santa Fe. We visited the Loretto Chapel which has the famous Mysterious Staircase. After she got done taking pictures and visiting the souvenir shop, we tried to visit the state capitol, but it closed just before we got there. So we worked our way around to the Old Town Square where we listed to music and had a fajita or hambuger with chili's. Great food, fantastic music and an overall nice place to visit.
We are wiped out with all the rain that's been following us around and the travel. We need a good nights sleep before we head to Colorado tomorrow.
Ok, this is the morning of Day 7. We are at Leroy's house in Carbondale Colorado (Azucena's cousin).
Yesterday on our way out of Santa Fe, we went back to Old Town Square to see a few more sites. One was the oldest house in the US. Another place was the oldest church. We stopped by the Governors mansion to walk around, but we sort of ran out of time.
We left Santa Fe and made a stop at the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos. A very interesting place to visit. They had a few science projects going on as well as exhibits on the evolution of the computer and of course you can't leave out the Manhattan Project.
Our next stop was at the top of Independece Pass and Continental Divide. Very lovely drive, but you don't want to be driving if you are afraid of heights. No shoulder, no guard rail, narrow roads (here's a picture of us about 2 feet from the drop off. You don't know how much it took for me to stand that close and take our picture). I don't want to say I drove with white nuckles, but I tried to stay in the middle of the road and keep my eyes on the dotted line. Yes, Azucena volunteered to drive, but I wanted her taking pictures. At the summit we stopped for more pictures (and 48 degree temp - a bit chilly with t-shirts and shorts). Coming down on the other side had it's own challenges; narrow one lane roads at some points.
We came out of the mountains at the town of Aspen. A town that caters to the rich and famous. Fortunately it was late at night, so we didn't stop anywhere (fortunately because this is not a cheap town to visit).
We finally made Carbondale around 9:30 or so. Spent the next few hours chatting away. We'll be here for a day or two and do some hiking and who knows what else.
I wasn't sure what all we'd be doing, but it wasn't a dull day.
We started the day (after breakfast) doing a walk to the town center. There was a farmers market going on with about 2 dozen booths. We then walked around town here in Carbondale and stopped by the park to let Collette (Coco - 2 1/2 years) play on the swings. We walked around some more, then made our way back to the house. Beautiful day, not too hot, but I did get a sunburn on the back of my neck.
After we rested for awhile, we left for Leroy's workplace near Aspen. The drive up the mountains was long and winding. We then we made our way to Aspen to take the Gondola up the mountains, walk around and take a few pictures. Very picturesque.
Later this evening, we drove into town and had dinner at Russets. Their key lime pie is to die for...very good. We are now home and relaxing. Again, we are not sure what we will be doing tomorrow, but I'm sure if we do something, it won't be boring.
Realized I didn't let you in on who we are staying with. Azucena's cousin, Leroy Dampier and his wife Susan and their daughter Collette (Coco - yes, that's cocoa on her sweater).
We started the morning by having a late breakfast at the Village Smithy. Both our meals were pretty darn good. Azucena has been using FourSquare to tell everyone where she's been. I had to join FourSquare (phone app) so that we could get a free cookie (pretty good). But since I've been there 2 x, I am now listed as the "Mayor". We'll probably stop by there on the way out and have deep fried french toast (maybe I can become "Governor").
This town is about 6300 folks and the town square is really that. We can walk to the square, walk around and get back in about 2 hours.
After we got back, we chilled out for awhile. For a long while.
Later this evening, we went to the local community center and watched a bluegrass band that's been around for over 50 years - Del McCoury Band. First bluegrass concert I've been to and everyone there was bluegrassing to the music. The concert was better than I expected.
Let's see: breakfast, goodbyes, new city, attractions, hotel, sleep.
We had breakfast at the Village Smithy again. We treated Azucena's cousin Leroy this time. I had deep fried french toast. Uh, Yum. It tasted sort of like deep fried french toast. And to think we weren't at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. We said our goodbyes and left for Colorado Springs.
We went back through Independence Pass without any problems. On the way, we stopped at the Florissant Fossil Beds. It use to have a lot of petrified forest artifacts, but in the early days, trains brought people to get their fill of these artifacts. So there's not much left, but we took a trail around the area and half way through we met up with some people who were looking for us. Well, looking for the owner of the car with the bumper sticker that says "We All Use Math Every Day" and the "St. William Catholic church" bumper sticker. So they found us and it turns out both of them are math teachers from Toledo, Ohio (and Catholic). Oh, they were also celebrating their 25th anniversary.
After this we finally got to Colorado Springs and after settling in to our hotel room, we took off for Garden of the Gods. Walked around for about 2 hours, running into deer and the Siamese Twins rock formation before the night light sent us packing for the evening.
And now we are back at the hotel room writing up our little stories for the rest of the world to read.
Hope you enjoyed it. And now time for sleep.
Wow, we've been on the road for 10 days. Yikes. And we've been pretty cordial to one another the whole time!
Ok, we started the morning with another walk/hike in Garden of the Gods. Saw a few rock climbers and what may have been a newcomer to the rockclimbing. She didn't panic and felt like quitting about half way up, but with encouragement from her folks and the crowd watching, she eventually made it. We ended our tour of Garden of the Gods with a visit to the Balanced Rock. And to prove we were there...(yes, shameless display to get one more "self portait" of the lovely wife and I/me - whatever).
Our next stop was Cave of the Winds, just a few miles away. They have several cave tours (including one that is similar to Natural Caverns in Georgetown). The Lantern tour was too late for us to take if we wanted to make our 4pm reservations at the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, so we took the Discovery tour. Azucena also did the Wind Walker thingie. Let's see, how do you describe it. There was a scene in a famous tv show where Grasshopper had to walk on a narrow beam above boiling water. Ok, instead of boiling water, you have 40 feet to the ground. Yes, you are strapped in with a cable attached above, but still. Narrow beams, double beams, crooked steps, rope... all these you walk on to cross from one side to the other, about 20 - 25 feet in length about 50 feet up (I did say 40 before didn't I. We'll it seems like 30). I didn't take it because, well because. No need to go there. Azucena, after the trek across the narrow beam, decided there was nothing to be scared of, so she went all over the place, except the part overhanging beyond the canyon open space. As they say, leave everything behind because if you drop it, it's staying dropped.
Finally we went down the road for the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. What Cog railway means is they use the normal rail system to help keep the cars straight and cogs (think clocks) to drive the train. Anyway, they said to expect rain and thunder and we got both. This is a 1 1/2 hour trip to the top of Pikes Peak with a lot of visual effects on either side of the train. At the top, we stepped out into slush and drizzle. The drizzle went away, but the sluch didn't. Also, it was about 40-45 degrees (about 30 degrees cooler than at the base). The trip up and down was pretty cool. We saw a few deer (one stared at us from the tracks), some tore down houses and great vistas. I found a great light coat at the base and it did a great job keeping me warm. Azucena had a short sleeve t-shirt, long sleeve t-shirt and a light coat, so she kept warm also. Our phones didn't survive as well. For some reason, I started a download for my phone's system software. So that drained my battery to 0 by the time we were about 1/3 the way down (thus I don't have a whole lot of pictures at this point, sorry). Her Sony camera started to act up by saying it was low on battery. After about 1/2 down, the camera said the battery was full, so we think the atmosphere at 14,115 feet was the culprit.
We found a place to have a light dinner in Manitou Springs where Pikes Peak Cog Railway starts to end the day on a wonderful note. Now we are back at the hotel getting ready for our return trip back home.
Ok, we just had a major catastrophe. I was given the task of moving yesterday's and today's pics and movies from her camera to a USB stick. So while I was doing the copy/paste, I went back and reselected the files and hit delete. So instead of having about 140+ files, only 80 got moved over. All those other pics Azucena took got deleted. Azucena's Wind Walker pics, the Siamese Twins rock formation and other stuff. Deleted. So after panicking a bit, we found some software that allowed the recovery. All is right in the world (I hope). At least Azucena is smiling again (sort of).
We have turned around. We are on our way back to Texas !!!
We left Colorado Springs and stopped at a volcano in New Mexico. The Capulin Volcano National Monument to be exact. I thought we were done hiking, but we hiked to the center of the volcano (about 400 feet down into the crater). Then after we came back up, we hiked around the rim of the volcano (about 800 feet up). Don't take my word for the feet up or down, you'll need to check with Azucena to get the correct info, but I'm sticking with it. Anyway, the hike down wasn't too bad. A bit steep but expected. The trip around the rim was VERY steep at the beginning and VERY windy. But we had a beautiful view of how the volcano created the 15 sq. mile area surrounding this. Now imagine a very steep incline to start our walk. This was a tough walk to take. But, it would have been tougher if we were hiking DOWN this very steep incline, thus our choice of going this direction. The end of the hike wasn't as steep but since there were no trees, it seemed like you were walking on the edge of a rail.
After The Capulin Volano, we just drove till we crossed the border into Texas and are now resting in the beef capital of Texas (scuse me, the World). Hereford.
Oh, we stopped at Route 66 Vega for gas and this is the first place I've been to where the gas station has no one working there. In fact, the building has no windows, just two doors and a coke machine. Just pay with credit card, pump and go.
Follow up from yesterday's disaster. Besides the fact that I should know better than to delete files as they are being copied over (First time I've had this opportunity believe it or not), we were able to recover most of the files. Some that are so-so, she can work with, or I may have a version from my phone. Thanks to everyone who wept a tear on my behalf knowing I'd probably be sleeping on the couch, but since it was a king size bed, it could have been way at the other end.
Ok, so we are back home. We are glad to be back, but we had a great time and would do it again.
Let's see, coming home we saw a lot of wind farms, unique farming and hot weather.
We started this morning in Hereford. We worked our way through Lubbock, Abilene, and then off the beaten path through a few towns before getting home.
We had the fortunate opportunity to visit a Llano Estacado Winery just outside of Lubbock. Ooh, free wine, one ounce at a time. We went on a tour and learned a lot about wine making. We spent a bit of time tasting different wines and brought several home.
We've been home for a bit and after checking all our mail, paying our bills and feeding the animals, we are going through about 70 hours of recorded shows. Project Runway was a priority. A lot of racing to go through, most of it duplicated.
Ok, watching the weather, they say we hit a record high of 107. What a time to come home, leaving all that rain and cool weather behind. What were we thinking.
Bestest road trip EVER !!!
