Holsbrook, AZ

April 12-14-Thursday-Saturday

Holbrook is an interesting place.  It is right on Route 66 and was the inspiration for the Cars movie.  We got to visit the Wigwam motel and eat at Joe and Angie’s diner.  It was actually very good Mexican food.  We were grounded here for three nights due to high winds and storms.  We made the best of it.  Janae and Stefan never got enough of Jim Gray’s rock shop.  I think they spent a total of 2-3 hours  here over the course of three days.  It really is an amazing place: sort of a rock museum/store. 

On Friday we drove several hours to Canyon De Chelly (pronounced Shea) on the Navajo Reservation.  It is a beautiful canyon.  The national park service operates the rim and the Navajos the canyon floor.  The land is owned by 70 families and the land is passed down through the women.  The canyon floor is used for grazing animals in the summer seasons.  The Anasazi’s had once lived here, then the Hopi’s.  The Navajos came down from Alaska and eventually outnumbered the Hopi’s and apparently the Hopi’s then just left and settled further away. 

The highlight of the day and perhaps the whole trip was Janae and I (Mark and Stefan opted out) had a private horse tour of the canyon floor with a Navajo guide.  Terrell was excellent though a bit hard to understand.  It was absolutely thrilling beyond measure to cantor our horses as much as we wanted in the sandy water pools.  My only regret is that I didn’t video tape a piece of our experience.  It was really like something out of a movie.  Janae said that this was the best day of her life and she would never forget it.

We were able to stop briefly at the Hubbel Trading Post.  Mr. Hubble helped the Indians get back on there feet by selling their wares and basically being a friend and protector.  Kit Carson had massacred many Navajos and made thousands walk over 300 miles to the reservations, called “The Long Walk”.  After three years they were allowed to return to the reservations set aside for them. 

Grants, NM and Petrified National Forest

April 11th-Wednesday-We arrived at Grants, NM and met up again with June, Tim and Aisling. We had a fun dinner in the lobby.  We left Thursday morning and tried to avoid the high winds and enjoyed touring the Petrified National Forest on our way to Holsbrook, Az..  It is the first place that we were able to tour with Miss Jim B.  It was fun driving through the park and stopping at all the overlook and points of interest.  One place we were able to see petroglyphs on the rock wall through telescopes. They had great big pull outs and parking lots.  We enjoyed this park very much.  It was amazing seeing the petrified wood and our favorite was walking the crystal rock trail.  Janae at one point said, I just love this! She wanted to go back another day but we weren't able. Beautiful colors in the rock from all the minerals entering the wood as it lay under the water.  It was windy, sunny and cold but we enjoyed our day and even got two more junior ranger badges. 

White Sands National Park

April 9th-Monday we left for White Sands National Park.  We stopped at Artesia on the way.  What an interesting little town.  Oil money has created an artist oasis.  There are outdoor sculptures everywhere depicting historical events from their history and a performing arts theatre that brings in many big name performers and provides education classes for the community.  Stopped briefly in Roswell at the museum.  Saw the Robert Goddard exhibit who is the father of the rocket.  Once again the naysayers said it wouldn’t work but he followed his dream and passion.  We’re all the benefactors of his ingenious mind. Very interesting seeing his workshop.  Briefly browsed some other exhibits.  An excellent museum but we were anxious to get on the road.  After a snack at the alien McDonald’s, we were on the road again.

White Sands National Park is an unsung hero in my opinion of the national parks.  It just is an incredible place.  The sunsets were spectacular, the sledding a blast and how it formed very interesting.  Gypsum is found in the surrounding mts. and is dissolved in the water as it is transferred down to this closed basin.  When the water evaporates it is then reformed into selenite crystals.  The wind breaks the crystals up into the white sand.  There are only a couple gypsum sand dunes in the world and this is the largest.  270 square miles, it can be seen from space. 

We went for two sunsets, an afternoon and one early morning after sunrise.  I took a walk in the morning and it was glorious to experience a whole new dimension of quiet.  Janae and Stefan got another Jr. Ranger badge.

Carlsbad and Easter

April 6-8th-On Friday we drove all day and got to Carlsbad at around 8:00 p.m. at a KOA.  We chose to come here because they had a lot of Easter activities planned.  This is the first KOA we’ve stayed as they are expensive but it is great for kids.  Stefan was immediately drawn to the ping pong table and the shower house was state of the art.  This was voted the best campground in NM.  Great amenities but the scenary leaves something to be desired: open, dry, brushy.  Stefan and Janae enjoyed having Easter crafts, an egg hunt and watching the movie Hop on Saturday.  We became quickly acquainted to our neighbors because they have a 10 year old daughter, Aisling, who is one day older than Janae.  Turns out, her mom June, graduated with me (and 4000 others) from Bowling Green State University.  What a small world and it was fascinating to hear how her life has gone from BG.  She is a top ranking officer in the Coast Guard, maybe the next Admiral and was the appointed coast guard representative for Bill Clinton.  She traveled everywhere with him for two years and it was fun to hear her stories.  Most of all, it was fun to just talk about life as we share it as moms.We hope to meet up with them again in California at their new assignment and home.

Sunday, we all arose bright and early as there were live bunnies hopping everywhere around the campground.  They even left some baskets for Janae and Stefan before we went to services at the Methodist Church in Carlsbad.  We enjoyed the service very much though it felt different being away from what we know.  We were impressed with the organist and enjoyed talking and meeting with her and her family after church.

In the afternoon, we toured Carlsbad Caverns with Tim, June and Aisling.  Since we had been to Mammoth Cave recently, we had to go through an ordeal cleaning our shoes.  Many bats are dying from a bacteria that is getting transmitted from cave to cave.

The caves were beautiful.  The walk down was interesting but when we got into the big room that is the size of four football fields it was an ooh and ah around every corner.  Stefan imagined it all being candy and how awesome that would be.  Gorgeous formations and the lighting accentuated their beauty.  We all had hand held recorders, like holding a phone to your ear, explaining the cave.  I kind of wished we would have experienced it in silence because it was so beautiful.  The constant information, though interesting, was sometimes distracting.

Austin

Thursday, April 5th-We drove to Austin today to have a picnic lunch with Clayton, a Eurobrass friend.  Clayton carved time out of his work day to drive an hour south to meet us.  We all enjoyed reconnecting with him and his joyful spirit.  He kept us all laughing and we all loved his car!  It was a scorcher day and we tried to stay cool in the shade.  Time flew quickly and Clayton had to leave shortly after lunch to get back to work.  We rode our bikes along the Austin bike trail that runs along Lady Bird Johnson Lake.  It gave us a flavor of the people of Austin, very energetic and active.  We got a view of the capital and enjoyed the beautiful trail but it was sooo  hot that we just wanted to get home.  We headed back to Cannon Lake in time to have a swim before dinner.  Later in the evening Mark’s former trpt. student, David Martinez and his mom Katherine and brother drove up from Austin on the spur of the moment to see us.  We had a nice campfire along the water underneath a full moon, serenaded by trumpet Adam Routine exercises.

canyon lake

April 4th.-Wednesday, we took today to just stay put and enjoy our camping surroundings in Canyon Lake.  This is a wonderful military campground.  We had a wonderful site (#4) and could walk down to the playground and beach.  This was a good central place to stay as Canyon Lake is halfway between Austin and San Antonio.  After breakfast today, we took a bike ride and we were literally the only

people in the whole area.  We enjoyed playing sardines while we listened to all the bird calls.  Bird sounds we’ve never heard.  One is really unique and sounds like a

siren and I recorded it so that we can ask an expert.  After lunch, we got held up with income tax complications so that by the time we got back to the beach, there were a few folks tent camping.  Mark and I did practice with our mutes while Janae and Stefan played and played in the water.  I got to swim laps and catch some rays in the lounge chairs that seemed to live in the water.  The water was very clean and not too cold.  The sun sets late and we stayed late and enjoyed the warm evening.

This was our view while we practiced the Adam Routine. The little specks in the middle of lake are Janae and Stefan enjoying themselves.  Water was warm and I enjoyed sitting in those lounge chairs in the water and swimming too.

Bought these cray fish from a road side stand on our way back from Austin.

Visiting with Mark's former student and family

San Antonio

San Antonio-Tuesday April 3rd-Another beautiful day and we enjoyed exploring San Antonio.  We started off seeing the Alamo IMAX and it was excellent.  It really personalized the conflict and it was moving to see the strength and resolve among those men to stand up for freedom and be willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice.  William Travis was quite a leader and a very good writer. After the movie, we went to the Alamo and learned some interesting facts from the docent.  Davie Crocket apparently made it through the siege with 6 others but Santa Anna didn’t allow them to live.  Davie Crocket was a friend to the Indians and yet he protected Andrew Jackson during an assassination attempt even though he didn’t agree with his politics and treatment of Indians at all.

We went to the San Juan mission and learned a great deal about the Spanish friers who offered protection, education and Catholicism to the Indians in exchange for labor.  The arrangement looked like it was a good thing but many of the Indians died anyway from exposure to European diseases.  Many of the friers had holistic motives but some were power hungry in expanding the Spanish empire and were abusive to the Indians.

In the evening we enjoyed strolling the riverwalk, taking a boat ride and eating the best Mexican food we have ever had (according to Janae).

Mark paid this band to serenade us.  Great food.  Called The Original Mexican Restaurant