New Mexico

What beautiful country views New Mexico has.   Our first stop was at Roswell to search for the elusive aliens.   Even the McDonalds has a spaceship theme.  We went to the museum but found it to be a bit of a joke.   The local historic and art museum was fantastic, though.

Next stop was Santa Fe   Instantly fell in love with the local architecture and beautiful homes.   None of which are affordable!!   We went up the mountain road to the local state park but realized we were into the snow line and cold weather was forecast.   So we dropped back down and found the Rodeo grounds and stayed there for a few nights.  We spent a bit of time walking around the Plaza where the Indians sit in front of the government building selling their beautiful silver and turquoise jewelery.   The St. Francis Cathedral is wonderful, of course.

There is a wonderful legend concerning the St. Loretto Church.    The church had been built however the loft had no access to it.  The nuns prayed and prayed for a solution to their problem and one day a man arrived who said he was a carpenter and built this spiral staircase with no supports then mysteriously left.   They believe it was St. Joseph himself who showed up to build the staircase.

We drove up to Taos.  Unfortunately the pueblo was closed due to religious ceremonies taking place there.   We did find the Rio Grande gorge and saw some interesting earthship homes built from simple materials, very "green" and many with an artistic flair.

Visiting the Gila Cliff Dwellings was probably the highlight of our New Mexico experience.    We were able to tour around inside the ancient homes of Mogollon Indians  and had to look closely along the trails to see pictographs left behind....

On to Tucson!!!
 

Stillwell Ranch, Big Bend, Texas

When we wanted to stay a couple of nights in  Big Bend we were disappointed in that the RV park was full.  Since it was freezing at night, we needed to plug in instead of dry camp.  The guard suggested we turn around and drive back to the Stillwell RV Park.    This is one of those places that you drop into unexpectedly and find a real gem of an experience.    We were heartily welcomed into the Stillwell RV community by the residents and the staff.


We intended to stay just a couple of days but ended up there for two weeks.  There was always one activity or other to attend and so many interesting people to talk to.    Where else could you sit on the front porch with a real cowboy and his dog?

We had free nightly entertainment from the Whitford's who sing old time C & W music and gospel on Sundays.











How about a chuckwagon meal cooked over the coals!!

Or an impromptu foot rub from a real zen hippie cowboy with a concern for your yin and yang?

Or have a chat with a real cowboy.....

or watch a flint knapper at work.

Here's a sample of some of his work.

Watching the cowboys go off on a trail ride.     And be surprisingly entertained by a visiting German opera singer and his sons who sing olde German folks songs in beautiful harmony.

And most special, the Stillwell gals.   Nan, in the middle can bring you to laughter and to tears with her stories of her life and her famous grandmother, Hallie Stillwell.   The museum there is dedicated to her (Hallie's) life as a pioneer ranch woman.

I'll never forget our stay at Stillwell's Ranch.    Many of the RVers go back there year after year for a month or more.  

Big Bend National Park

This is a place of wide open spaces.  There are historical markers everywhere for one event or another, including the Mexican Revolution.    The park is bordered on the south by the Rio Grande River.    There are canyons and rock formations, beautiful mountains and the Chisos Basin to explore.    Some people find old Indian artifacts like the mortar and pestles which they used to grind their grains and pictographs in caves.   We want to come back some day and take a canoe or raft trip into the Santa Elena Canyon.

We hiked along some trails  and met a German couple traveling around North and South America in their Unimog knock off.

The Mexicans across the border live in Boquillo Canyon.   They set up small "stores" at view points selling arts and crafts.  They leave a small plastic jar to put your money if when you buy and then come across the river when the coast is clear of rangers and border patrol to pick up their earnings.    We were at one such store when Tomas came riding across and let us take his picture.

San Antonio

In

If New Orleans is about jazz then San Antonio, Texas is definitely about cowboys and Texas Longhorns!

And the Alamo.....

And the River Walk......

And the Missions.....

Beautiful City.  In year's past we have always driven through Texas on Hwy 10 with the idea to get it behind us as fast as possible.   This time we were determined to find out a little more about this great state.

New Orleans

There are just some things you  must do while in New Orleans.    Take a walk down Bourbon Street, participate in  a street side jazz band, visit the house of voodoo and have some gumbo and pecan pie!!

Panhandle Parks to Pensacola

Since we could now slow down, we got off the interstates and drove along hwy 90.    We stayed at a couple of Florida State Parks along the Gulf Coast while we waited for our friend, Richard, to return to Pensacola from Valdez.   Near Crawfordville we spotted this collection of old cars, stripped of paint, parked in a line.   Like a ghost town, only made of cars.

A real treat for me was a stop at Gulf Breeze to see an old friend of mine, Cheryl.   Cheryl had dropped off the map about 25 years ago and we reconnected on Facebook.    It was great catching up with her after all this time.


Finally, Richard came home and we parked our tin can in front of their home for a week while we visited and toured around their neck of the woods.    The first thing we did was go see the Martin Luther King Day parade in Pensacola.   Pensacola has a wonderful blend of culures, Spanish, Black and White along with a US Navy base.  

 Richard and Charlie live on Bayou Chica.  The view from their kitchen window over the Bayou with pelicans, dolphin, boats, and cranes is beautiful.

Savannah to Amelia Island

Jim and I fled the cold back to Florida.  On the way we stopped at Savannah.   I loved this city with the old homes and hanging moss from the trees.  We had a great day bicycling around the old quarter with its multitude of squares and parks.   Then we drove over the border to Fernandina Beach, Florida to visit with Larry and Eileen Murphy who we had cruised with several years earlier in the eastern Mediterranean.   They just recently sold their boat and will begin some new adventures in a trawler.