Heading into New Mexico

Thursday, April 19, 2011 Day 312
Not much to say today. We had a lot of wind last night, and because it wasn't a steady wind, it woke us up a lot. We left right after breakfast, glad to leave Texas behind although we really enjoyed this state park.

Going on the small highways and byways doesn't always lead to interesting sights. We saw a lot of these elevators along the way.

At times the landscape was pretty bleak.

Later, as we entered New Mexico, we noticed more green, bushes and some low trees, and hills. We know we were climbing, because Albuquerque is more than a mile high. We are camped outside the city at a place called Leisure Mountain RV park. We hope to do some exploring tomorrow.

Total miles driven today = 320

Palo Duro State Park Day 2 (or Turkeys and Hoodoos)

Wednesday, April 18, 2011 Day 311

Our plans were to get up early and hike before it got too hot. But we decided to enjoy our coffee and hot chocolate outside first. Then we walked around the camp loop, and got into a discussion with a couple (who were tent camping here. We told them we were impressed, and about an hour later we finally returned to Howie for breakfast. So we got a later start on our hike than we wanted to.

The fake lighthouse...

We hiked along a trail that leads to a natural rock formation called the Lighthouse. When we first started out, we thought maybe this first picture was the lighthouse. No, a sign informed us it is just a hoodoo, which is a formation left when erosion has done its job.

The real lighthouse

A mile or so further down the trail, we turned a corner and got a glimpse of the real lighthouse formation. The trail was a relatively easy one for the first 2.5 miles, and we knew it would get steep and harder the last half mile. So, we just didn’t go that far! Five miles in the sun and heat was quite enough for Judy. Harris thrives in the sun, Judy melts. How in the world did these 2 get together? And, after 37 years, how much longer can it last? Judy was more than ready to return to the air conditioned comfort Howie provides!

A buzzard checking out the cliffs

Our afternoon reading room

The view from our reading room

We also spent time this afternoon talking with 2 couples who pulled into the sites next to us. They are camping in pop up vans, larger than Candy and Rick’s Goldie, and equipped with large tires and four wheel drive for off roading. One couple was from Mississippi, one from Colorado, and they were meeting each other here.

Harris cooked salmon burgers for dinner. Delicious! Then we took a short bike ride to a spot across the street that is a little higher and gives us a good place to take sunset pictures. Joe and Jennifer, the couple who had been tent camping, had moved into one of the little stone cabins that the park rents out. They said the wind rocked their tent all night and they couldn’t sleep. We enjoyed visiting with them (hearing about writing westerns and panning for gold (www.campfireshadows.com)and watching the buzzards flock in the sky readying to roost in the trees for the night. Tomorrow we head into New Mexico.


Joe and Jennifer, former tent people

The buzzards gathering at sunset

And roosting in the tree

Time to call it a night

Total miles driven today= zero

Palo Duro State Park

Tuesday, April 17, 2011 Day 310

At the Palo Duro visitor center

Getting one of our 5 geocaches

One of 6 water crossings in the park

Looking out across the rim

The view from Howie's sliding door

After a week of steady driving, we decided to take a break while here in Amarillo, Texas. The weather had turned beautiful, sunny and warm with just enough of a breeze to be comfortable. (The high today was 81).

We drove 20 miles south of Amarillo to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. “Palo Duro” is Spanish for “hard wood”, in reference to the Juniper trees common throughout the canyon. It is about 120 miles long and 600 t0 800 feet deep and is the second largest canyon in the US. It was formed by a branch of the Red River called Prairie Dog Town Fork. How’s that for a river’s name? Archeologists think people have inhabited this region for about 12 thousand years.

This area was also the scene of the decisive battle of the Red River War (1874-5) against the Southern Plains Indians.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worked here from 1933-37 developing roads to the canyon floor, the visitor center, cabins, shelters and the park headquarters.

We’ve enjoyed the views of the canyon as we’ve driven around. (and down and down and down to the campsite….back up and up and up to register…back down…)

We did 5 geocaches while driving and hiking a trail in the park today. While geocaching we saw a couple of roadrunners, but they were too fast for Harris to take a picture. We thought they made quite a sight flapping their wings and making a whoop sound as they traveled down the road and then into the brush. We’ve picked a campsite at the bottom of the canyon, furthest along the road. It seems very quiet here, with the few campers spread out, and we’re looking forward to seeing stars tonight.

Total miles driven today= 50

Ada to Amarillo

Monday, April 16, 2011 Day 309
We took a walk this morning in the cool, crisp air. The sky was blue and sunny, but the temp was only 51. We laughed about how we'd never go out in our shorts at home when it was only 51!
We left Ada, Oklahoma and headed toward Amarillo, Texas. We watched as the landscape changed from forests and farmlands, to pastures to scrub brush...we know we're back in Texas!

The blue, cloud-less sky changed as well. The further west we drove, the more the sky turned black. Not dark, black. We ended up with a little lightning and thunder and rain when we got to the RV park, but it didn't last all that long.
We're staying at the Amarillo Ranch RV, pretty classy park with an indoor pool and jacuzzi that we tried out before dinner.
Total miles driven today= 345

Skirting the tornadoes

Sunday, April 15, 2011 Day 308

It started raining when we left Arkansas this morning, and stayed gray and rainy most of the morning. We drove through some thunder and lightning, some huge rain drops, but managed to avoid all tornadoes. So far.

Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma were a lot hillier than flat Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.Roads went up and down and around sharp curves. Harris had fun driving Howie. Judy just hung on and watched the sky.

The first time the sun came out, we took a break and walked around the small town of Wilburton, OK. Most of it was closed up because it was Sunday, but it was still fun to see the "sights".

There was a hotel here until the tornado of 1960. Now it is a small pocket park with plaques detailing the history.

We liked the lamp posts on the street.

As we passed through McAlester we noticed these 3 huge churches all on the same block.

Blue sky! We had to take a picture!

Howie parked for the night at Twin Lakes RV Park outside Ada, Oklahoma. (only good for 1 night, cause we're tired of driving.)

Total miles=331

3 states in an hour

Saturday, April 14, 2011 Day 307


We started out in Mississippi, but it was just a few miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Since we knew we had a somewhat shorter drive today, we decided to check out the art museum at the University of Memphis. The web site said it was open on Saturday. After driving around a bit on campus trying to find a place to park Howie, we found the museum...closed...for who knows what reason? So, we took a few pictures around the outside of the museum.

Harris stands under a sculpture of "The Bus Ride"...

The library on campus.

Memphis University's mascot-- a tiger...

We stumbled onto a ROTC function at the campus.

Crossing the Mississippi River from Tennessee into Arkansas...the third state we were in, all within the hour.

We continued on the backroads (well, small highways, not real back roads) in Arkansas. Pretty country, lots of trees and pastures. We kept watching the sky, which darkened, rained for about 3 minutes, then cleared up again. We ended up outside a small town called Shirley, Arkansas. The Rv park is called "Golden Pond"....not quite the same size as the "pond" in the movie!

We've been listening to the book "The Hunger Games" as we drive...well written and narrated. We're "enjoying" the book, if that's the right word for a story about young teens forced to kill other young teens..all for entertainment.
We're also keeping a sharp eye on the weather...tornado warnings to the north and west of us may make us go a little more south. Hope we don't end up in Oz.

Total miles driven today= 203

just a driving day

Friday, April 13, 2011 Day 306
Yesterday was a stay put and explore Montgomery day. Today was a get up and drive day. We left Montgomery shortly after 9 AM. (I know, doesn't sound too early, does it? but we were trying to see if the local Hyundai had their tours going. It was advertised, but doesn't run every day. We had to wait until 9 to call, and alas, it wasn't going to happen for us on this trip.)
We drove north and west, again going on our little highways and byways. The scenery is pretty...lots of green trees and pastures and houses both big and small along the way. You can sure tell where the term "Bible belt" comes from. Throughout the south, we've seen churches about every 2 or 3 miles. Sometimes there are 4 or 5 clustered together. We do kind of wonder how many churches manage to survive!
We only stopped for a quick lunch of sandwiches, and gas, and ended up in a town just south of Memphis, although we are in Mississippi. The RV park is called Memphis South RV Park and Campground, and is located in Coldwater, Mississippi.
We are trying to decide upon a route for tomorrow. We had planned just to make a diagonal north and west, but looks like that could run into tornado warnings for the next few days, so we may just dive south again and try to avoid them.
The weather here has been sunny and warm all day, in the high 70's. Clouds are gathering, and it's turning a little muggy. We've turned on the air conditioning again. We didn't even take any pictures today!