Grand Prairie, Texas

Last night in Lubbock we went looking for music and found the Depot District, which has bars, music venues, restaurants, and the Buddy Holley memorial.  It's hard for us to stay out late enough for night life to get going, but we did find a fun bar, Triple J, with good musicians.



This morning we drove to Grand Prairie, a suburb of Ft. Worth and Dallas.  We passed hundreds of windmills on the mesas.  When we got close to Ft. Worth, trees started to show up and the land became rolling.



 We came to see our niece Amanda and her two adorable children.  Amanda and her husband Adam have been in Grand Prairie for a couple of months.  They have made lots of adjustments - new job, new home, new friends, new state and town.  Amanda is staying home with her two toddlers, Luke (almost 3 years old) and Livie (almost 1) while Adam is tackling a new, demanding job.  Adam works out of town, so we didn't get to see him today.



We had a jolly dinner. The kids were great eaters, and we were so glad to see them and Amanda.
Happy Friday!  One week from today we will be home in Atlanta.

Lubbock, Texas

It helps to have an interest in agriculture and geology when one drives across this huge country.  Today we crossed into Texas, our 17th state, and we saw cotton and sorghum fields and oil wells.  The land has flattened, and the weather is hot.


We ate a delicious breakfast at Cowboy Café in Roswell.


Two derricks pumping away as we passed.

There was not a lot happening otherwise in eastern New Mexico and western Texas.  We drove through two small towns that had fanciful iron signs to welcome us.






Every street in Tatum, TX, had an original metal sign.

We are staying at an airbnb near Texas Tech in Lubbock.  This is a roomy, older apartment created from a garage.  We are the first guests for this host.  They have provided everything we could need.
They even have chips on the counter and drinks in the fridge. We plan to go out tonight and hear music or listen in at an open mike night.


I appreciate this painting on a wooden pallet in our front yard.

Roswell, New Mexico

We spent the morning in Santa Fe because we really hadn't seen all of downtown.  Santa Fe is one of my favorite towns. I'd love to visit here again.  The architecture is soothing, the art is interesting, and the people are friendly.

 
The outside entrance to our casita.


Santa Fe Plaza


I bought silver earrings from Geraldine Garcia at the Palace of the Governors.


We stopped in at Wells Fargo to get some cash, and a banker told us the aspens
were in color. She said to drive up the mountain to the ski area.


We were surrounded by gold. This is the top of the mountain.


Once we left Santa Fe, our drive looked like this.

Then we saw these two statues in the middle of nowhere:














I don't know why these giant cowboys were on US 285 in New Mexico, but I'm glad they were.


















When we arrived in Roswell, we took a walk downtown and visited the UFO Museum.
It was full of photographs and diagrams and handwritten notes and timelines typed on a typewriter
in the 1950s.


This was the final exhibit.

We are now in our airbnb apartment for the night.  It's a guest suite behind a spa. The place is full of gold trim and large mirrors.  Happy Wednesday!

Santa Fe, New Mexico

We drove just one hour to Santa Fe today.  It is a windy, sunny, and chilly day here.  We stopped on the way to change into our jeans at a rest area.  Then we drove to the Palace of the Governors.


This may be the Palace of the Governors, or it may be a building nearby. (poor photo labeling by me)


 We toured the palace, which is mostly looking at the building and learning about
the history of events there and how the archeologists uncovered the history.


This is the daily scene at the palace.  Ever since 1610 Indian artists have displayed
and sold their wares in this veranda.

We toured the New Mexico History Museum next.  It is the newest museum in Santa Fe.  The history is told chronologically. The battles between every constituency claiming the land and the mistreatment of native peoples is detailed.  This is the story of powerful and also ordinary; people who want to conquer and people who want to raise families. Some stories stay with me more than others.  The forced movement of Apaches and Navajo off their lands and the many disastrous decisions that brought death and destruction to the tribes are overwhelming to read.

We took a break for lunch at a café on Museum Hill recommended by Anne Murff, who has visited Santa Fe many times.  Then we visited the Georgia O'Keefe Museum.  I learned more about one of my favorite artists.


Hollyhocks outside the museum.

We were beat and found our airbnb casita in the Agua Fria Village on the Camino Real. The village is
one of the first villages built when the Spaniards conquered Santa Fe. The area is rural yet right in the city.


The casita has two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, living room and hall.


Note the charming arched entrance.

It is well furnished except for one problem - no heat.  I texted our host, who lives next door, and he came over to light the burner.  He could not get the heat going.  I could tell it was a lost cause after he used about ten matches, and we did not hear or smell any gas.  He said he'd never lit it before.  "I'm from California," he explained sheepishly.  Oh, Lord.  I said,"We will be ok."  We are fine, but it is chilly. The temp will go down to 40 tonight.  We will be wearing socks and snuggling.

It's all part of the adventure.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Flagstaff had blustery winds as we drove onto I-40, heading east. The radio announcer predicted a hard freeze tonight for elevations above 6500 feet. George had to keep two hands on the wheel.  The wind was behind us, so that was a help.


The sky was a light blue this morning.

When we pulled into Gallup, New Mexico, for lunch, the wind was a steady 30 mph. We decided a picnic lunch was not possible, so we ate at KFC.  Everyone else there was Native American. They looked at us with interest.  A seated man started saying loudly, "Step back." He repeated this many times with a loud voice, not speaking to anyone in particular. Everyone was uncomfortable. I got up to leave and rushed George, so he inadvertently threw away his cookie. Two women gave me kind smiles. Outside one of the women spoke to me, "We have a homeless problem." I said that we also have homeless in Atlanta. She said, "That's where you're from? Welcome to New Mexico." She gave me a little smile/grimace. Then she got into a big red truck. I appreciated her time and words.

We drove on to Old Town Albuquerque without incident. We walked around the ten block area, noticing how many people were out and about on a Monday afternoon. Then we realized The 45th Balloon Fiesta is this week.  For the first nine days of October, hundreds of hot air balloonists come to Albuquerque to compete and celebrate.  Most of the activity is on the weekends, but we may be able to see some balloons in the morning.


Many shops had balloon decorations or signs welcoming balloonists.


These red pepper bouquets would look good as a Christmas wreath.


San Felipe de Neri has continuously served Albuquerque since 1706.
That's also the year Albuquerque became a New Mexican settlement.


We drove over the Rio Grande on the way to our apartment.


Our airbnb apartment for tonight: The owner is an artist, and the
walls have cool art plus bright colors.


Sunset from our porch in Albuquerque.

Flagstaff, Arizona

We drove to Flagstaff, Arizona, today.  Just before we arrived at Flagstaff, we turned south to visit Slide Rock State Park.  It was about 18 miles south.  We had visited it about 25 years ago with our children and remembered the beautiful red rocks and the fun of sliding in the water at the bottom of the canyon.  So we came back.


As we drove around a mountain, all of a sudden, here were the red cliffs.


This looks pretty much the same.  A narrow channel of icy water to slide down.
When we were young, George and I easily climbed around these walls and
slid down the cascade with the boys.  Not today.  I stepped carefully into the canyon and
did not get in the water.  Only a few hardy kids were in today. I did feel old,
knowing that even if the sun was hot, I would not want to slip and slide there.


The park entrance was different, and they had signs around
several buildings, showing their significance.  This land was the Pendley
family's home and apple orchard.  This building was the apple packing shed,
built in 1932. The Pendleys gave the land to Arizona for a park.
There is still an orchard.  I don't remember any of this from our earlier trip.
I want to look at those photos when I get home.

After hiking about, we continued to Flagstaff and went to Safeway.  We have lined
up several airbnb apartments where we can cook dinner this week.  Exciting! Then we
went to our apartment for tonight.  It is wonderful.  Our hosts, Alex and Celestine, met
us and showed us our space and their home.  We really feel lucky.  They are friendly and
helpful.  The apartment is below their house.  They have three children, ages 8, 6, and 4.
We can hear them bouncing around, but it is a comfy normal noise.


There's a bathroom and a kitchen off to the side.


Arrowhead Trail is across the street from our house.  We walked up the hill
and saw wildflowers.


This meadow is at the top of the trail.

Back home now to read and make dinner. On to New Mexico tomorrow.

Kingman, Arizona

We left Death Valley early, so we could travel before the sun was high.  We drove for about three hours, leaving California, cutting through the southern tip of Nevada, and into Arizona.  We decided to skip Las Vegas since we have been there before and didn't want to go to the casinos.


This is our cabin in Death Valley.


Not much excitement on the desert drive.


We spent Saturday night at a Comfort Inn in Kingman, Arizona.

Kingman was prosperous in the early 20th century due to mining and farming supplies.
The railroad came through here.  The town is also on Route 66, and enjoyed fame and fortune from
that connection.


This giant engine sits in a city park.

We drove about town, looking for the center and had trouble finding it.  Finally, we found
an interesting block to walk around.  There were two restaurants and a few shops in historic buildings.  The current town's activity has moved north of the historic district.  I drove there yesterday for a haircut and found a four lane with every franchise available.
But those kinds of roads are not walkable or nurturing.



Goodbye to Kingman and on to Flagstaff today.  We are less than 2000 miles from Atlanta
and heading east every day.

Death Valley - Stark Beauty

We got outside early today, walking to the Visitors Center at 8:00 am.  Here's why:



We hiked into the Golden Canyon, about 1.5 miles.  It was wonderful.  The sun was just peeking over the canyon walls, so we were able to stay in shade for most of the walk.









We added our stone altar to the floor.

We returned to the car and drove 17 miles to Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. There is some salty, brackish water there.  But the salt flats shine.





Visitors walk out onto this hardened path beside the salted ground.


Our third stop was Artist's Palette.  We drove about ten miles on a one lane circle.  The colors were
surprising.  Green and pink rocks along with white, tan, dark brown.  Some of the hills looked like
swirls of ice cream.





Coming out here with paints and easel in the early morning or almost dark
on different days - you know you'd see different visions every time.  This is magical.

We stopped back at the Visitors Center to buy postcards and watch a movie about Death
Valley.  The Timbisha Shoshone live here.  They have never left this, their ancestral home.
We were curious about how they survive in the summer.  Google says they move to another location,
and this is their winter home. That makes sense.

We returned to our room and walked to lunch.  Now it's napping, reading, washing clothes, watching
TV - all the things we can do inside while the temps climb out there.  Tonight we will go out for star watching again.  We're going to drive to the Golden Canyon parking lot, 2 miles away.
The sky here is dark.  We can see the Milky Way and so many stars that it's hard to pick out the Big Dipper.  The stars are in a black velvet bowl above us.