Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mission Trail - El Paso, Texas
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
El Capitain--Texas
This was really amazing. We climbed and climbed and when we got over the top, the panorama below was breathtaking. I had to clear the lump in my throat and brush away a few tears before I could photograph -- try to photograph the most stark, mind blogging geography I have ever seen in my life. I had no idea that these mountains were in Texas! The other half of the Happy Travelers is calling me so I have to go for now but more later.
Last Day at Carlsbad RV
Monday, May 25, 2009
Carlsbad - At the top of the Mountain
I wish I could have captured the landscape for you. We were at the top of a mountain in front of the Visitors Center looking down on what they call the desert. There were lots of cacti, some in bloom, but you'll have to trust me because my photography didn't show what I saw. We went on a 9-1/2 mile drive recommended in the guide book that must have been written by a dare-devil. The road was graveled, very narrow, with cacti reaching out at every turn--no guardrails--no shoulders even and the road went up, up and up and then down, down and down, twisting and turning, turning and twisting. I was scared silly....I prayed really, really hard that God would see fit to get us out of this nightmare and He did. The drive from Highway 180 to the Visitors Center is beautiful--enough beauty to skip the 9-1/2 mile nightmare. The land changes from flat to hilly to mountainous. The mountainsides remind me of Route 64 in Virginia on the way to Roanoke--like someone cut the mountains with a big knife. This land is part of the Chihuahuan Desert, as the guidebook says, "one of this continent's four great desert regions". It has some remarkable cacti---some were blooming but in places everything looked dead from no rain---brown, black, dead! Well, Wednesday we leave for El Paso, Texas and the salt flats. More later from your happy travelers.
Carlsbad Caverns
Today, we went to the Carlsbad Caverns about 20 miles from where we have been camping. We went from flat, rocky, scrubby brush to hills to mountains---rocky mountains. The Visitors Center at the Caverns is perched on top of a mountain. You can either walk down to the main entrance or take an elevator. Since we were going on two tours that required 3+ miles of walking, we decided on the elevator. Once inside the cavern, the temperature dropped to about 56 degrees and a sweater or jacket became a necessity. We tried our hand at trying to capture some of what we saw on film but it was very dark and our pictures did not do justice to what God created.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Madrid, New Mexico
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Flowers
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Outside of Santa Fe
This is a bit of video outside of Santa Fe. If you think of a horseshoe---the mountains are the horseshoe and Santa Fe is in the center of the horseshoe on very flat land. It is really very different landscape.
Santa Fe
Today we drove to Santa Fe on the Scenic Highway 14, Turquoise Trail, that we traveled a couple of days ago. It is an absolutely beautiful drive, up into the mountains, through the mountains and then flat land.
Santa Fe is getting ready to celebrate its 400th birthday. There are so many homes and businesses that look like haceindas or Pueblo type structures. The first picture is of Kateri Tekakwitha in the yard of the St. Francis Church. She is the first Indian to become a saint. She suffered from small pox as a child and lost her family to the disease. She became a Christian and dedicated her life to teaching children to pray and helping the sick and aged. When she died, it is said that her scarred face became beautiful and she lost all her small pox scars.
The second picture is of the oldest church in the United States. Santa Fe is a real keeper. I hope we can come back and spend more time roaming around. We did get to have lunch at a cafe, outside in the warm breezes. Lovely! Stay with us and don't forget to leave us a comment or two. Best wishes from the happy travelers.
Monday, May 18, 2009
This is Alberta. She welcomes everyone coming into the Museum of Natural History. Ron and I were joined today by several classrooms of kids from the local schools. There were lots of things to do, to touch, to feel, and enjoy. It was a very kid friendly place.
Tonight we are having a bit of a storm. The folks around here are all probably doing a dance because there has been very little rain in the last 5 months. Well folks, keep in touch, leave us a comment so we know you are out there. Best wishes from the happy travelers.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Turquoise Trail - Route 14
This is scenery from Route 14, the Turquoise Trail that connects Albuquerque to Santa Fe. There is no way I could capture the beauty and the harshness of this country. Having a wonderful time. Today the weather was perfect. Loving the traveling life.
Albuquerque, New Mexico--1
I am having some problems publishing my video taping as a movie. Sorry! You get a piece of my work but nothing like the real thing. There is such a wildness, rawness, harshness to this country. It is majestic, going from very flat to mountains in such a short space. Today the weather was PERFECT. The sky was so blue and there were just a few puffy white clouds. I am really liking this wandering lifestyle. Love to you all.
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