Family Connections in Tucson, Arizona

I have a personal connection to Tucson, Arizona. My maternal grandparents are buried here in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery on Miracle Mile.

The cemetery is large and since the office was closed on Sunday, I called my older sister who remembered some details about the grave sites that helped us narrow down the location.

Bill and I walked up and down, row after row, until we finally found them, together, in a shady spot. Grandpa had retired from the railroad and had the RR insignia indicating this on his plaque.

There was only the years, not the exact date of their deaths. I took some pictures and will go back again before I leave to decorate the grave sites.

Seeing their graves reminded me of the brevity of life and the importance of leaving a legacy. Though I was very young when my grandparents passed away, I have very fond memories of both of them and am glad I was able to visit their graves.

For family members reading this, their graves are located inside the gate and left at the flag pole. They are in the section to your immediate right, 15 rows from the top and number 24 and 25 from the end.

New Mexico

We spent a wonderful week in New Mexico, seeing Cloudcroft, Ruidoso and the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
We left early in the morning and headed for the road that traveled over a mountain pass, hoping to get to the Cliff Dwellings in about two hours.

When we left Truth or Consequences
the temperature was 54 degrees. We started up the mountain and the road got more twisted and the drop offs more sheer.

The temperature was dropping quickly and the road started to ice.

Almost at the top, we lost our nerve and turned around and came back down the icy mountain and took a longer - but flatter - way to the cliff dwellings.

We were amazed at the Gila Cliff Dwellings. They were much more intricate that we had imagined they would be. The Mogollon Indians did not just live in the caves they found. They built intricate rooms for family members, for worship and for preparing and storing food.

We hiked up the mountain and then walked along the ledges and into the cave dwellings. This place was certainly worth the extra effort to get to this isolated and beautiful spot.

Thursday morning we packed up and headed for Arizona. By afternoon we had arrived at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. We plan to stay here for at least a week, perhaps longer. It is nice and we have already met some very nice people who regularly come to this base each winter.

New Mexico, Continued

The mountains at sunset in Alamogordo. It is very beautiful here. This picture was taken on our way back from El Paso, which is just a short distance south of here.

This is a picture of the house where my family lived when I graduated from high school. It looks a little different. They have added a small wall in the front of the house and have put a large garage in the back yard. The area is very congested now, but when we lived there it was only desert across the street.

But, it is still a nice looking place. I remember the picture of my father laying beside a blade of grass, happy to see that little bit of green in the desert. I am always surprised to see how much the trees have grown in 35 years.

This is the school that my brothers attended when we lived in El Paso. I am not sure if my sister attended the same school.

This is a picture, taken from the car, of the high school where I graduated. It seems different, though they still sported the picture of the trooper, their mascot, on the front of the school building.

It was interesting to visit El Paso. It is large and sprawling, and not somewhere I can imagine ever living again. But, I enjoyed making a visit to the places I remember so fondly.
This was a happy time in my life.

Petroglyphs of New Mexico

Today we ventured out to the Petroglyph site about 40 miles north of Alamogordo (which means Fat Cottonwood, FYI).

The park was desolate, a few hills in the desert, but we parked and found the park volunteer who directed us up a dirt path, onto hills of what looked like volcanic rocks.

Since we had climbed down into Carlsbad Cavern the day before, our climbing muscles were starting to feel over-worked. We whined, but managed to climb to the top of the hill and discovered many examples of the native carvings. There were pictures of rattlesnakes, big horn sheep , masks, hunters and Thunderbirds.

After the petroglyph site, we headed north for Capitan and the Smokey Bear Historic Park. Smokey was found in the Lincoln National Forest and is buried in Capitan. We walked through the visitor center and saw his gravesite and then drove to Ruidoso where we walked the streets and visited some of the quaint shops. Lots of Republican commentary in the windows so I felt safe in this town.

We drove down the mountain and on the way home stopped at a Pistachio farm. Not only do they grow pistachios, but also make their own wine. We tasted some of the wine and found it to be excellent so bought bottles of Merlot and Chardonnay (Heart of the Dessert Wine) and
some pistachios.

It was surprising to see pistachio orchards in the dessert, but apparently the pistachio is native to New Mexico. A surprise to us. Tomorrow we are going to visit the Space Museum and White Sands Monument.

Carlsbad Caverns

We spent Wednesday night in Carlsbad. Our camp host recommended Rojas for Mexican food and, of course, we could not resist trying New Mexico's version of South of the Border fare. Thursday morning we got up early and headed for the caverns.

We thought we might get coffee in White City, at the base of the caverns, but the large name on the map was deceptive. White City is nearly a ghost town and there was no where to get coffee at 8:30 a.m. We would have to wait until we got to the visitor center at the park.

Amazing. Magnificent. I just don't have enough cave-adjectives in my vocabulary to describe Carlsbad Caverns. We arrived early Wednesday morning and decided to take the self-guided tour, an option I don't remember existing many years ago when I last toured the cave.

We rented an audio tour and descended the steep walkway into the mouth of the cave. We were almost the only people there this morning, so it was a quiet, surreal experience. Almost like walking in a moonscape.

For three hours we walked the 750 ft incline deep into some of the most spectacular sights on earth. Tall columns of calcite, pools of water filled with rain water that fell over 8 months ago. We took the elevator out of the caverns and headed to Cloudcroft and on to Alamogordo, where we will spend the night at Holloman AFB.

Tomorrow we plan to tour the petroglyphs and spend the day immersed in Native American history.

Citizens of the Milky Way

March 3, 2009 Ft Davis, Texas

All of us are citizens of the Milky Way. Personally, it is my favorite galaxy. Tuesday night we drove to McDonald Observatory for their Star Party. We were surprised at how many people showed up at that remote spot to view the stars.

We arrived about 6:30 p.m. and walked through the interactive museum. At about 7:30, we were instructed to follow the path lined in red lights (red does not interfere with the telescopes as does white light). We found a seat in the outdoor amphitheater.

A UT astronomer, using a laser pointer, gave an interesting, humorous and informative talk on the night sky and the constellations visible on this particular night. We saw Orion, the Big Dipper, the North Star, Gemini, Saturn, Venus and the North Star, among others. There is no light in this part of the mountains and no air pollution, so the stars are clear and bright.

Then, we lined up at the giant telescopes to view the craters of the moon, Venus, the Orion Nebula and the rings of Saturn. This tour was well worth the visit. I wish we had arrived earlier to catch the solar show as well. The visitor's center's interactive museum made me wish I had the grandchildren along.

While in line, we noticed the couple in front of us speaking with a British accent. It turned out to be the same couple we talked to in the parking lot of Texas Fusion the night before. They did finally eat at the restaurant and found the food to be very good, as we did. We told them that we had lived in Holy Loch, Scotland when the US Navy was stationed there. They said, "well, that was a LONG time ago, wasn't it?" Well, now that you mention it, I guess it was.

Last night we slept really well after viewing the stars. We only woke up once, when the coyotes started to yelp and cry. These coyotes do not sound like those in Missouri. Texas coyotes make a loud, long, mournful sound. It is sad, and beautiful and chilling - all at the same time.

Wednesday we are on to Carlsbad, New Mexico. I loved visiting West Texas again after so many years. I was reminded why I love this part of the country so much.

One thing I forgot to mention about Marfa. It was the location for the filming of the movie, GIANT, one of the most boring movies in the history of film, but I believe it was James Dean's last film before his death.

Beautiful, Beautiful West Texas

Well, call me biased but I think that West Texas is some of the most beautiful country in the world. God's Country, as my father used to call Texas.

We left Dallas on Saturday morning and drove into San Angelo where we stayed lakeside, at a USAF campground. We spent just one night. The campground was adequate, but not nearly as nice as others we have visited. We met some nice people, though and it was fine for just one night.

Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast at the local IHOP and started for Ft Davis. We took Hwy 67 in order to avoid I-10 and so got to see a lot of very small towns and lots of wide open spaces. We drove through Alpine, which is still the small town I remember from 35 years ago, and then took a small state road to Ft Davis State Park.

Fortunately, they had space available for us and we got a good campsite, set under a shade tree and surrounded by mountains. As we set up, three large Mule Deer camp up to us asking for handouts. We were able to get some pictures that I will add in my next post. That night, Javelinas surrounded the camp and that was a bit more disconcerting, since they seemed ready to storm the camp for the chicken and dumplings I made for dinner.

We drove the skyline drive to see the stars. This is one of the darkest places in the USA, since there is no light or air pollution to block the view of the stars. They are big and bright, the constellations are clearly visible, and we saw some shooting stars.

Monday we decided to do some sight-seeing in the local area. We visited the military camp at Ft Davis and spent the afternoon viewing the rehabilitated and reconstructed barracks, housing and parade grounds. It is a beautiful camp and I can imagine what it would have been like to be stationed at such a remote location.

After visiting Ft Davis, we decided to drive to Marfa to have a late lunch and to view the Marfa Lights. We could not find an open restaurant in Marfa, and the Chamber of Commerce was closed for the day, so we drove to Alpine and asked the chamber receptionist to recommend a good place to eat. She directed us to Texas Fusion, across the RR Tracks on the questionable side of town. The food was good, however, and the place was packed shortly after we arrived.

As we were leaving, a tourist, obviously British, stopped us outside and asked if we had eaten in the restaurant and if was okay to go in there. I said, it was, the food was good and it was clean. He looked frightened, though and kept pacing around in the middle of the otherwise empty street. I would have liked to have had a Tecate with my meal, but the restaurant did not serve any kind of alcohol, though you could bring your own. I would recommend Texas Fusion, however, to anyone visiting Alpine. Just bring your own Tecate.

After dinner, we drove to the viewing station about 8 miles east of Marfa and waited until dusk for the Marfa Lights. Sure enough, just after the sun went down the Marfa Lights appeared. We watched them glow, grow and disappear for about an hour.

Today is our last day in Ft Davis, so we are taking care of some housekeeping chores, doing our laundry and getting ready to get back on the road tomorrow. Tonight we are going to drive up to the McDonald Observatory to be part of the Star Party, and see the stars through their giant telescopes. More about that trip, and pictures tomorrow.

A Texas Birthday

Kai turns four this month. To celebrate, we went to a local children's activity spot and he and his brother, Levi, played very hard for two hours while we adults sat in the sea of frantic, over-stimulated children.

They had a great time, of course. I wonder if there have ever been any children that have been catered to the way we Americans cater to our children? Imagine an entire business built on an indoor fantasy world, with bounce houses, slides, miniature roller coasters, and periodic visits by Disney-Like characters (The Wiggles). Who needs Disney World?

Everywhere we go, in the grocery lines, in retail stores, people mention the state of the economy to one another. It is almost like the period right after 9-11 when Americans would quietly mention something about security to one another, or would meet each other's eyes on an airplane, or assure the security people before check in that you are not offended by them searching your bags.

It is like we are all waiting for something horrible to happen. We don't know what it is, but we all know it is coming.

I stopped in a Half-Price Book Store yesterday. It was packed with customers selling their books and buying more. The check out line was long and the woman behind me said, " I guess this is a good business to have in this economy."

I answered, "perhaps when people cannot afford to do anything else, they read." Two strangers, trying to assure ourselves that the horrible event was still some time in the future. After all, people still had money for books. At least half-price books.

Dallas is full of McMansions. The economy seems to be doing better here in Texas than it is in Florida. But, on a main boulevard a large, beautiful home had a FORECLOSURE sign in the front yard, the newest built houses have FOR SALE OR LEASE signs and recent commercial developments sit empty. Coming from Florida, I recognize the signs of an economic downturn.

This weekend we head for San Angelo where we expect to spend just a day or two. We love to visit family but look forward to getting on the road once again.

Pictures of Missouri

This is the Current River in Montauk State Park in South Central Missouri. Opening day of trout season will find the park full of fishermen.

On the way to Springfield from Salem we passed a number of Mennonite Familys in their buggies.

The old homeplace in Salem.

Mckinney, Texas

Today we are in McKinney, Texas visiting family. We traveled through Missouri, taking a circuitous route through the Ozarks to see places where we had once lived and then headed to Springfield, Missouri across Highway 65. We had wanted to visit Pioneer Village in Mansfield, but got there too late and it was already closed. So, we drove on to Oklahoma, hoping to find a place to stay for the night.

We had not anticipated that the route we were taking through Oklahoma passed through the Indian Reservations and their casinos. Every hotel was full and those that had a vacant room were very expensive. We stopped at a Hampton Inn that was full and I asked the desk clerk what was going on for all the hotels to be full on a Monday night.

She answered, "nothing." But I think it must have been some special at the casinos for there to be so many people traveling and staying along this God forsaken stretch of Oklahoma. So, we continued to drive until we got to Texas. By the time we were at the border, we decided to drive on to McKinney to our destination. We got in at 2:30 a.m. and woke everyone up. But we are here and plan to visit for a few days before heading out once again to San Angelo and Ft Davis, Texas.

Our son-in-law is a salesman and so we have to keep our eye on him constantly. He tried to sell our camper to the plumber when we were distracted for a moment. Fortunately, we were able to stop him before he closed the deal.

McKinney is very different from what I remember. When I was young and lived in Dallas, McKinney was just a cow-town. Now it is a booming, bustling suburban area. I can see why our children like it here, but we are looking for something a little less bustling for ourselves.

The Mexican food is good and that is a definite draw for this area.

Our Family, Springfield, IL 2-22-2009

We arrived in Springfield, Illinois ahead of schedule. A fierce storm was heading towards northern Florida so we decided to pack up and leave before it hit. We got out about 8 hours ahead of it.

Four years ago we camped on Long Key in Florida and got caught in the outer bands of Hurricane Jeanne. We closed up the trailer while it was damp and it took a long time to rid the trailer of the mildew that resulted. I do not want to chance that happening again, so we try to close down camp on a sunny day.

We have visited family for five days, spending time with our daughter, Amanda, and her husband and our son, Bryon, and his four sons. We have had a nice time, especially Saturday, when we attended a Trivia Night at the Elks Club and won Second Place, splitting $100. Trivia Nights are a favorite midwestern past time and we enjoyed ourselves.

We had thought we would stay longer, but everyone has jobs, and schedules and obligations and we hate to impose for too long, so we decided to get on the road again. On the next leg of our trip we will travel through the Missouri Ozarks, Oklahoma and on to Dallas to visit a daughter and her family.

We like the Midwest, but it is, as I have noted before, very cold. Tonight it is 15 degrees. I can understand why the snowbirds came to Florida in December and stayed until April. If I were a full time resident here, I don't think that even the poor economy could keep me from leaving for the winter. The older you get the harder it is to bear the cold weather.

So, tomorrow morning we resume our life on the road.

National Aviation Museum 2-17-2009

This morning we went to the National Aviation Museum that is about a mile from where we are staying on the Pensacola Naval Air Station. It is a wonderful museum, rivaling the Smithsonian. Our tour guide, Bob Jones, was a retired Navy pilot and gave a well-informed and interesting overview of about 20 planes (out of 94 in the museum) that were representative of different stages in Naval aviation history.

The most interesting were the early fighter planes like the Sopwith Camel and the bombers that were used at the Battle of Midway. As we toured, I thought of my father and how he would have loved this museum.

The Blue Angels are in the desert practicing right now so we will be unable to see them practice. This is a great disappointment since we had hoped to watch them while we were here.

The museum's planes are all original except one, the earliest plane

purchase by the Navy, and that one was built from original plans that were stored at the Smithsonian Institute.

We ate lunch at the Cubi Cafe that was outfitted with furniture from the Officers Club in the Philippines that was shut down. Lunch was very good, homemade breads, sandwiches and soups.

It was very good and the place was packed.

This period in our history, from the late 19th century through the Second World War was our age of heroes. I fear we will never see anything like this again in our country.

Ft Barrancas

Today we visited Ft Barrancas, located on the Naval Air Station in Pensacola. It is one of the system of forts built in the US in the 1800's to protect the Coast of the United States. These pictures are of the fort.




We walked to the top and could see the pass where enemy ships would have to pass.


Actually, the first time it was used was as a Confederate Fort during the Civil War The top of the fort where guns pointed out towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Pensacola Beach

February 15, 2009
Today we drove out to Pensacola Beach over the long toll bridge. Pensacola Beach is actually on a barrier island. When we visited here five years ago we stayed at the National Seashore Park. We remembered that we had eaten at Crabs on the beach and decided to go there once again for lunch and to celebrate our anniversary. This is a picture of Bill, my best friend and traveling companion for the past 31 years.

The food was excellent and reasonably priced. We ate out on the patio and watched the waves. The beach was nearly empty today, which was surprising since this is a holiday weekend.

The water is clear turquoise and the sand is white and powdery. These beaches are much better than those of Southwest Florida.

My only complaint is that it is cool and damp here. It did not get above 65 degrees today. I think what I am going to miss most about Ft Myers is the very warm winters.

Our lunch was delicious, though, making up for the cool weather.

Friday 13th, NAS Pensacola

It is cool today. We are used to living in Southwest Florida so it is difficult to get used to the cooler weather. By cooler, I mean in the 60's, which is not bad for February. But, it does get cold in the evening. We are using our propane heater to knock off the chill at night.

This morning we cooked and ate outside again, drinking our coffee while watching the sun rise over the Gulf of Mexico. Then, we took a walk along one of the mulch lined paths that can be found all over the base. The one running from the campground goes by a working lighthouse which is open for visitors ( but wasn't today).


We had hoped the Chief's Club would be open for lunch, but it wasn't. What a nice club, though, located right on the water with a covered grill and tiki bar on the beach.

There are no planes flying today, so it is relatively quiet. Since we have been here there have been a lot of campers who come through and stay for one night before heading out the next day. This is a popular spot for military campers just passing through. I am glad we decided to stay a while.

Pictures from Pensacola