Gumbo, Jambalaya, Etouffee, OH,MY!

Got up early to a very overcast sky and headed to the Hole in One for a personally prepared by a delightful man who had spoken to Bill last night and told him that breakfast is eggs, bacon, coffee, juice, homefries--the regular! And so that's what Bill had--I just opted for dry wheat toast, bacon, the biggest glass of orange juice--a beer glass full--I've ever had served me at a restaurant and coffee. Because I didn't have the full offering he only charged $4.50 for me--most places would have charged that much for the oj!!! We chatted about where we'd been and where we were going--he suggested down to Beaumont and East on 10--nope we've been to Beaumont twice and he said--oh, yes, Beaumont is Beaumont! Also not 10--never 10--clickety-clack clickety clack all the way across the country from Yuma--horrible! Nope we took 103 out of Lufkin and then followed it across the rest of the Piney Woods to the Sabine River and on into Louisiana--but NOT my Louisiana--pretty along the Sabine but NOT French Louisiana--just more piney woods.( If Italy is shaped like a boot, Louisiana is shaped like a work boot! ) Came to Oberlin after following back roads--tons of beautiful big buildings--not a restaurant or cafe in sight. Until then any eateries we'd seen were closed--even the the Welcome Center had been closed--but right until around 12:30 every Church we passed had a full to capacity parking lot. Stopped at the Donut Cafe and guess what, they had about a dozen doughnuts, no coffee, except bottled Starbuck's, which is overrated even not bottles. They DID have a restroom, however, which was a gift. Also, I got bitten by a black fly on my wrist, avoided a HUGE wasp on the walkway and managed to close the car door before the yellowjack got in with me--though he/she continued buzzing my window til we blew him off going down the road! That IS one of the drawbacks of Spring-BUGS!!! On we went until we reached Jeff Davis Parish and Acadiana--home at last--I love this part of Louisiana. I'd live here but for the horrible humidity and the need to build one's house on lifts or else of brick to avoid the termites. Came to the rice cum crawfish pools and knew we were there--Cajun country. Several pools had white herons feeding on those crayfish. When we reached Lafayette we continued down to New Iberia--bummed out for two things--YESTERDAY was the Great Alligator Race!!!! and Bojangles--the oyster bar was closed! So back the 15 miles to our motel--the Garden style Comfort Inn--sight of last year's Korean kareoke and dinner at the finished restaurant. Bill is watching bull riding on TV! I'm hoping I can get Masterpiece otherwise no TV for me--will finish my book--dying to know who the murderer is anyway! Staying here two nights but a huge violent thunderstorm is predicted for tomorrow so may not go anywhere--except New Iberia for oysters and the bookstore and then to Poor Boy's Riverside Inn for dinner of fried oysters. Who cares what the weather is!!!!! A bon nuit, all!

Back in the Big Thicket

Up by 8, on the road by 9 and just two exits down stopped at The Texas Ranger Museum. Oh, my goodness, men and their guns and leather and a 45 minute propaganda movie on how wonderful these men were who tamed Tejas! Right! A badge and unlimited authority and paid in land! I'm sure " justice " was always well served--I suspect there wasn't too much heigh-o Silver or Tonto kimosabying going on. As a matter of fact, other than taking care of fence cutters and prison escapees and rioters at unlawful prize fights the biggest aim of the Rangers was to keep Mexicans in Mexico after battling them in the Mexican War and to annihilate the Comanches. I'm sure there were some upstanding good men but in general other than that badge and government backing most of them weren't a great deal better than the so called " lawless"! Bill and I laughed when the film mentioned Hamer, the Ranger in charge of the Bonnie and Clyde massacre, who wrote a letter to King George of England, offering to send the Rangers to fight Hitler. He was quickly informed by our government that he could not do such a thing and violate our neutrality. The King sent him a letter expressing his gratitude, but what was even more hilarious, was the film's assertation that Hitler had heard of the Rangers and was concerned about their involvement on the British side. Hamer had maybe a 100 men to offer! Too reminiscent of certain guys I encountered in Customs--actually , several of these guys went from Rangers to mounted Customs inspector.As you can see I was more impressed by the collection of bronzes than anything else and I liked the oil, the title of which is A Little Shade. After about an hour and a half we sought out our Farm roads and headed in a zig-zag fashion East. We came to Flo which is not even on the map--one can see why--and was impressed that Miss Texas hails from this crossroads of Farm Roads. Soon we arrived in Crockett and did the Sonic stop--I always like to eat in Sonic once--just because. On our way out of town, on this beautiful almost cloudless 74 degree day we passed motorcycle groups who were taking part in a one day rally--lots of families and campers and kids --perfect day for it. Stopped to read historical signs as usual and then we were in the woods of the Big Thicket. What a delight to see flowers in bloom, and trees leafing out and the Trinity River flush with muddy water--to say nothing of the mud covered trucks entering Lufkin with us. Went to the Lufkin Antiques Mall on Frank and 3rd and picked up three old souvenir spoons--The Golden Gate Bridge, The Brooklyn Bridge( wish it had been the Manhattan Bridge--my grandfather worked on that one ) and one from White Lake in the Adirondacks. Then checked into the motel--had dinner at the Hole in One restaurant in the motel--ate there last year and the steaks were great. We both opted for chicken this year, though. Bill had Chicken Marsala, which looked and smelled wonderful and he said tasted great,too. I had a wonderful leafy salad with blueberries, blue cheese crumbles and walnuts---soooooo good. Doing laundry now and trying to figure out if we want to do our traditional New Iberia oyster bar, Books on the Teche and Riverside Grill fried oysters in Lafayette or go to St Francisville and over to Alabama--Mobile way---oh, me oh my---traditions are important, no????? Let you know tomorrow night what we decided. Aside to Leslie--tape came loose on our pennies but I got some new and hooked them right back into the expense record book, which is tucked into the pocket on my door. They are taking care of us so far! LOL

Travel Day Through Constant Change

Since yesterday ended with 77 degree weather I opted to wear my new blouse, a flimsy, feminine Christmas gift from my sister........well it was overcast and around 55 and windy all day, so I froze. We decided to take Farm roads today as much as possible and for the first 70 miles or so, headed toward Waco, we were able to do so. Traveled through the Ranchland Country noticing the fields that had been prepared for planting and those being irrigated since they had already been. There seems, at least for now, no lack of water, unlike the Texas farther West.he Planting takes place on the flats while the hilly areas are left to brush and grazing beef cattle, sheep, goats and llamas. We passed through towns of not much left---and read the historical signs. At the end of the 70 miles we came to the metropolis of Goldthwaite, where we got nickels from the bank, gassed up and had lunch. I opted for a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. As we moved into Hill Country Gringo Bill played Clint Eastwood in the Good, Bad and Ugly. Eventually, we came to McGregor and a turnoff to Crawford--site of the Bush ranch, which we didn't look for---I just wanted to see the town--just like all the rest of the small towns that time has left behind. And then we continued on to another free motel room--this one just simple and clean and comfortable but nothing exceptional. Ordered pizza in and watching TV about Anne Hathaway and her interesting boyfriend, American Greed. Tomorrow The TEXAS Ranger Museum, maybe and then on to Lufkin to my favorite antique emporium in Texas. So for tonight--a great big Texas hug to all from the Tumblin' Tumbleweeds!

All You'd Ever Want to Know about Oil!

The time change finally caught up with us and it was 8 am before I woke up in Odessa. Rather amazing considering the railroad track was just across the road from the motel and a crossing was just up the road. There must have been a freight every half hour and the combination of short and long, fast and slow whistles was quite loud--to say nothing of the rumbling of the cars. I love those sounds so it wasn't a problem but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to sleep---not to worry--slept like a log until that 8 am freight--then it was all over. Organized the car, once more and did who knows what else but it was after 11 by the time we hit the road. I had forgotten to turn the phone off the night before so it was deader than a doornail. Had to unpack the old computer and make reservations on-line for a motel in San Angelo, our next stop. Never having tried a Rodeway and wanting to use points rather than funds for the room, I booked our usual non-smoking, two queens for 10,000 points--considering we have over 90.000, that seemed fine. All the mundane chores completed we headed up the road about 10 miles to Midland, a town closely associated with both Messers Bush. But that wasn't why we went there--I had discovered that the Petroleum Museum is located there and I wanted to know more about the various structures we'd been seeing associated with the oil pumps scattered all through the landscape of this portion of Texas. Amazingly, the museum really was three museums in one of really disparate subjects. The bulk of the structure IS dedicated to all aspects of oil: geological formation,exploration, location, pumping or capping, distribution and economics. Structures and their uses and the history and development of oil drilling technology. In addition, a whole two room gallery was dedicated to fabulous oils by Tom Lovell. All the preliminary sketches for several of his oils were on display as well as the finished works. Although I enjoyed the petroleum section, appealing as it did to my interest in science, I must say this would be the area I would return to see and would have loved to have spent more time looking at and absorbing his art. Lastly, since he is a Midland boy and he developed his race cars here, there is a gallery dedicated to Jim Hall and his Chapparal race cars. The aerodynamics appealed and the sleek, plasticy looking cars were fun but since I'm not a big race fan, much of the impact was lost on me. In fairness, it was also the last gallery we explored after two hours so we were somewhat museumed out. It was great fun to see Bill attempt sliding into the model built for that purpose--his size 13 feet and long legs just wouldn't fit even with removing the steering wheel. I would never have been able to even bend my right leg to get over the side much less shoehorn my zoftic self into that low slung beast! LOL By 2 pm we were finally on the road to San Angelo. Passed out of oil country into real scrub land that didn't seem to be used for much except some random bovines amongst the rough looking growth. As we approached San Angelo we entered what Texans call the rangeland country. When we checked in I asked if an upgrade were available---a two room suite--the best we've had so far!!!! And FREE!!!!!! After unpacking we went to the Little River Club on the grounds and met our perky blonde barmaid, Lacey. Very male oriented in her short shorts and well endowed scoop necked top which she leaned provocatively over the bar as she took the fellows order--poor Bill didn't get much of a look since she stood primly upright when serving us! LOL A sweet girl--it is just so amusing to watch the interactions. An old fella came in and ordered a beer and said loudly to her" Whal, hi girl, when'd cha get out of jail?" She turned purple and we all laughed --I've never been in jail, she said--to further laughter. As she moved down the bar, he said to the rest of us--you think she blushed then, wait til I ask her to marry me! Which he did--he also commented on her tatoos and asked if we were going to get to see them--we did but if she had any in indiscrete places she kept them discretely hidden. Chatted a bit with Bonnie and Keith from someplace else in Texas--talked about the differences between Northern and Southern borders--they aren't terribly thrilled by the Mexican incursion that extends many miles into Texas. Although, they vacation in Mexico. They fly in, never drive across the border and don't visit close to the border because of the terrible drug related crime on both sides of the line. After a few beers and with the arrival of the regulars for poker night we moved next door to Nacho's for delicious Mexican food. The manager's second grade son had been assigned lines--I will not talk in class--and, though his large family was gathered at a large table for dinner, he was sent to a booth to do them. He came to the table several times for Dad to check his work--and he was sent back to do them correctly. We adults chatted about the fact that he is really a good kid but has to learn proper classroom behavior and also. that once assigned such a chore, his best bet is to take the time and care to do it right the first time. OH, how I remember those days--being sent back to do it over and over--I was never successful at getting Betsy to do it. I was able to get my students to do their work, most of the time, but Betsy was a whole new ball of wax! After chomping down on what I thought was a really good looking piece of green bell pepper and finding it was a really HOT JALAPENO, I skipped the other pieces but still woke up several times with horrendous heart burn and nothing but water to squelch it. I think I finally fell asleep around 2 and woke at 7. Just a little tired tonight!!

And so, here we are in Odessa, Texas!

Oh, Spring has reached NM and Texas at least around the Panhandle! The sun here is so bright --the air so clear--that it is blinding and there are mirages and images become confusing. I'm not a hat lover but there is true practicality in the big brim of those Cowboy stetson's and my straw imitation. Speaking of cowboys--they are impeccable--I saw a man today in faded, CREASED, jeans and they don't wear t-shirts but well pressed dress type shirts. Their boots are more often work boots that pointy toed boots, but then four wheelers have pretty much replaced horses so pointy toes in stirrups are not necessary. From the planters I saw yesterday, misidentified initially as golfers--LOL, to the huge harrow that up both lanes of our road--I thought the tractor was moving under an overpass before we got close enough to see there was NO overpass and the arching structure was the road wide harrow--plowing, harrowing and plowing are well under way. Bill says the ground will be reaching 50 degrees soon, if not already, and so seeding will be starting within days!!! But I'm ahead of myself. We left the motel in sunny but 39 degree weather and returned to Portales to visit the Blackwater Draw Museum--closed!!! No one seemed to know where Dalley's windmill collection--85 from around the world--was located so we departed on Rte 88, headed for Texas. We came to a sign--Texas 476--on a post --and that was it--no welcome--no good-bye--you are in NM and when you pass that dirt road, you are in Texas. But that dirt road--it led to Guilla Wildlife Refuge---a huge salt bed--an almost dried up saline lake. Bill went a bit mad with the camera and I had fun with the tumbleweeds. As we returned on the dirt road it was fun to realize that the left side was NM in MST and the right side was Tx and CST. A bit confusing for those two farms!!! And the tumbleweeds that were trapped in the fences on both sides made the road even narrower. The real boonies, I'm telling you. We zigged and zagged along Farmroad 476 until it joined Farmroad 214 which ran North-South for many miles. We came to Needmore and I must admit I took a picture of the only structure that supported the name, though I have to admit--there wasn't a great deal there. We then came to Muleshoe Wildlife Refuge which, unlike Guilla,had a visitor's center--though not much of anything but stuffed birds to look at. Basically, a string of three lakes make up the Reserve, the first of which Paul's Lake was the most interesting--adorable prairie dogs to welcome you in a prarie dog town--of course, they are only cute to foreigners like us--they are varmits and loved in the West just abo! ut as much as woodchucks are in the East. Met a Texas couple who, in 64 degree weather were cold and returning to their car despite their winter weight jackets--okay, maybe fall weight--but we were reveling in warmth at last. Apparently, controlled burns are undertaken periodically and it was interesting to see a cactus --tight to the ground--that survived one. I also saw a lady bug who against the blackened stubble looked like a lovely orange gem. Came across a clutch of Buffalo Soldier graves as we moved into Morton, the largest of the tiny communities without restaurants through which we passed. An older, toothless black man was riding down the road in his motorized scooter, headphones on. We pulled alongside and asked if a cafe could be found and he said--sure, there on 1a14 where all the cars are. And sure enough, there it was, a small local cafe, with a St. Patrick's Day tree--I'd seen one at the restaurant in Santa Rosa, also, but it is a new thing for me---an excellent and reasonable food. The waitress grew up here and said that the crossroads of 114 and 214 in Morton is historical but I could not seem to find out why--must be an old crossing of important trails. We then continued through such varied terrain--sand dunes --neither agriculturally developed or oil dredged; cultivated and harrowed fields; a huge feed lot for dairy cows who do not seem to be pastured; fields of beef cattle and finally, at Denver City, the largest oil field I'd ever seen--both sides of the road--oil rigs and the power lines to support them--my pictures don't do it justice--nor can you smell the stench--a gas station with gas spill with an undertone of sulphur--just awful. Laurel-Billings Montana ten times over! And then we came to Seminole--another of the towns which apparently doesn't yet know that it is politically incorrect to have Indians as the name of its sports teams! LOL By this time the temperature had reached 70 degrees!! 214 ended and we picked up a more improved road 235 and so into Odessa---a huge town through which we had to drive to reach our motel. Opted against the suite upstairs in order to have a downstairs room with outside access to the car--that is to say, not requiring us to tote everything through the lobby--needed to totally unload and rearrange the car. Bill was so freaked by the drive through town that we opted to stay in and eat some of our on road provisions. As we pulled into the driveway we realized the temperature was 77!!! Yes, yes,, yes--a la Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally!! LOL So, now, once more we are on the same page! Haven't a clue where we are headed tomorrow--but I know this--I ain't rushing! Good night everyone--we are now only one hour earlier than you--we have lost an hour. Sleep well--until tomorrow and wherever the winds blow us next...K and B

An Expensive Day!

Yesterday broke bright and beautiful and a lovely yellow balloon rode over the white sand below and in the bright blue sky above! We headed for Tularosa but did not get far, since Eagle Ranch lies between Alamagordo and Tularosa and it has been a favorite place since 2000! Oh, pistachios of green chili garlic flavor, hot red chili ( which I didn't buy this time--just finished the bag from two years ago--I'd put them away and forgot them--but they are really too hot) and lime flavored in wonderful burlap bags. Pistachio cookies and cranberry biscotti ( they probably won't make it East--so good with morning coffee!) Picked up a few other odds and ends but no wine. I'd bought some there last time but don't remember being so impressed that I couldn't wait for our return. Luciano, the young man who waited on us, was amused by the fact that I won't order from home because I won't pay the S and H but rather make a jaunt every few years out to NM!!!! Well, I get more that pistachios for my buck that way! LOL Then to the post office where I bought some stamps and met a teacher from Old Saybrook Ct. She and her husband flew into Alb and were on their way to Las Cruces to meet up with a classmate from Old Saybrook HS with whom she graduated 50 years ago but hasn't seen since. The lady didn't make it back to Ct so they came out here to see her for the first time since "59!This lady is recovering from an attack by one of the learning disabled she teaches in the mental hospital in Ct. She had surgery on her right shoulder and needs to return to work next week--so they are flying out of El Paso. They visited the Bosque so we rhapsodized about it. Then she shared stories about el cheapo Kate Hepburn whom she saw around town very frequently as she grew up--Kate took her trash herself to the recycling place and even in her 90's heaved the plastic bags into the bins herself and then tottered over to her car and drove off. People fully expected her to go into the bin with the bag she was so tiny and frail. She also shopped at the local IGA and had the stock boys carry her groceries to her car and off she'd go. She left money to the town to refurbish the theatre and town hall and create a performing arts center, though the town had to raise some funds, too! Then it was to the winery, which we'd skipped two years ago and wine tasting at 10:15 in the morning. Purchase some Symphony and an expensive but delicious bottle of port. Bill bought some pecans from the trees outside. Then it was through the Mescalero-Apache reservation through Riodoso and Riodoso Downs and past--thank God, not --over Capitan to San Patricio and the Hurd Museum, which we'd also by-passed two years ago. Judy was truly fun--she gave us the geneology of Peter Hurd--born in Roswell, educated at New Mexico Military Institute( MIMI for short--everything for short! ) and two years at West Point before convincing his parents that he wanted to be an artist. Cute envelopes addressed to parents with drawings on them and along the margins of the letters to show he had talent and interest. He contacted NC Wyeth and asked to study with him but NC was tired of students lacking in discipline and dedication--hmmmmmmm!--but Peter convinced him that his military background prepared him for that and NC relented. Peter met NC"S daughter, Henriette, soon married her and after the birth of two children, convinced her to come to New Mexico to San Patricio--I wish you could see it! A dusty spot down a steep hill with several dusty roads, a few houses, a Church and his little ranch. How did she EVER survive after the social standing she had in Brandywine,Pa and Portland, Me. But she seems to have LOVED it and her son is surely a New Mexican and has the talent of his mother and father combined. How I wished I could have afforded even one PRINT of anything any of tree have done! I settled for notecards and postcards of the few works they had! An especial fav is one Peter done of LBJ as an horse's ass! To understand why he would have sketched such a disrespectful thing I suggest that you google a search " Peter Hurd's LBJ's portrait" I could never do the story justice!!! From our cultural interlude we moved on into Roswell, where, as before, we paid no attention to any of the alien hype stuff and had lunch at Pepper's. I had a roast beef dip and cole slaw but Bill had a Mexican reuben--corned beef, sauerkraut but pepper jack cheese and green chili sauce! Once we left Roswell it was like we entered a whole another world of desolation. Flat, desert, NOTHING for miles--a train track that ran alongside us just as empty as the road we traveled. Then as we approached Elida we saw the rear of a train--like a snaky red and green necklace racing across the expanse. We didn't seem able to catch it--it was moving so fast. But in Elida, it crossed our path and so we were stopped--to admire Elida's welcome sign!!!!! It was so wonderful to see this bit of civilization--a wind farm in the distance, a cop creating a speed trap in a broken down gas station and a train that ran the road next to us--until at last, we overtook the engines--smoky and hauling heavy up the grade. We were going about 60--Bill figures they were making about 55. Soon we left them in our dust and eventually came to Portales and on into Clovis--As we approached across the emptiness, Bill tartly said--oh, yeah, I can see why prehistoric man chose this place to settle! Checked into our upgrade--another comfy suite--hit Applebees for a salad and beer and called it a day! But it was a good day--we both laughed when we saw that we were 2 1/2 hours south of Santa Rosa--where we'd entered NM --knowing that today Clovis would be our exit into Texas!

Crazy New Mexico "U"

This report goes with the March 1 album I sent you all and believe me--if you look at the New Mexico map you will see that we really did a crazy "U" covering some places we've been before and others new to us as a traveling couple but some of which I saw in 2000 with my sister. Left Socorro at 8 am MST without hooking up with our friend, John. We called him on our second day and he was still in NH--the gov't delayed his departure and he was due to Socorro on the 3rd but we were going to be gone by then. Also a friend in Albuqueque--how do you spell that place???- wanted us to come up but we were already headed to Alamagordo by the time we connected. I hadn't contacted her sooner because I wasn't sure we would go there and didn't want to get her hopes up. As it turned out we didn't like the weather report and headed south out of Santa Rosa so skipped Alb totally. Anyway, we left Socorro and headed south toward Las Cruces on rte 1 which goes by Bosque del Apache--wanted to go in for one last time, but Bill said no--so on we went. I have been reading Bloody ValVerde by John Taylor, who narrated the re-enactment of the battle and in it he says that, besides most of the battlefield being on the Amendaris Ranch, owned by Ted Turner, that the vegetation and the path of the Rio Grande have changed so much that the only thing left is the Mesa del Contadero from which location the points of contact can be assertained. Of course, the battlefield covered several miles N-S along the River and the Mesa--now called Black Mesa is pretty big--even if Ted would let you go out there to try to see what there is to see. Taylor also has a sketch of Fort Craig and a " floorplan" of its layout which is nice--since all that is left are crumbling adobe ruins, which we did not revisit. Instead we continued onward into Nogal Pass and saw the bridge of the Interstate cross it at odd angles to us. In the distance we could make out Elephant Butte which overlooks Elephant Butte Lake--man-made by damming the Rio Grande. We laughed about its lack of resemblance to an elephant and I took many shots trying to find just the one that must have given rise to its name. We were soon to learn we were all wet! And so we rode into Truth or Consequences--in modern fashion reduced to TOC!!! UGH!!!!!! The area is filled with hot springs and had we planned better we would have stayed there a night--since most of the hotels are incredibly reasonable--$40 per night and have hot springs baths! I would have stopped but Bill said no--sometimes he is so spontaneous and other times he gets this bee in his bonnet that we have to move on. I never know which way he's going to go. But we did stop at the Geronimo Springs museum.....OMG! How can I describe her? And why didn't I take a picture? I think I was too overwhelmed!!! This 6 foot blonde about 6 inches wide totally dressed in red--red faux leather pants, red long sleeved jersey blouse, gold wide belt and red stone jewelry greeted us so effusively I almost fell over. Do you remember the receptionist for the dentist on the Bob Newhart Show?? Marcia somebody?? Well, there you are! Don't get me wrong--she was an utterly delightful person--but she was totally insistent that we could NOT see the whole museum in one day and that we simply had to stay overnight at The Firewater Lodge or Blackstone Hotsprings. It was so hard to get loose but we did and enjoyed the museum. We found that Elephant Butte probably was named because of the mastadon and wooly mammoth fossils found there and not some arbitrary viewer's imagination. I thought the split skirt ensemble could very easily be for sale at Banana Republic today as at the turn of the last century. And, though I know there are so many different types of arrowhead and each comes from a different time period and different areas and different peoples, I cannot keep it all straight. But I love the works of art created by people who have searched for, collected and assembled them. The wishing well in another exhibit celebrated the various people who have called Truth or Consequences home--the Apache, followed by Coronado and the Conquistadors, then the miners and today, the ranchers. I found the split willow pre-historic sandals amazing--but the air is so dry here that there is little decay and so they have remained. Bill and I both laughed at the fact that this little boomarang thingie was in the display cabinet and the card said it was used to beat rabbits to death--actually, first they flanked the rabbits, drove them into the middle of their circle and then beat them with this object. HMMMM--who wrote that down in a diary??? Maybe cave drawings! I wish I could be a fly on the wall when the archeologists find all the shells we've brought back from Maine and scattered around the gardens--an ancient sea covered Post Mills and large animals with beaks and opposible thumbs pecked and pulled open the soft bodied creatures for food--or maybe fertilizer! Another small exhibit dealt with Geronimo --interestingly his grandchildren and great grandchildren--Geronimos --still live here. Yet, a whole room, was devoted to Ralph Edwards--I guess this town was originally known as Hot Springs but the townsfolk loved his show so much they changed its name!! He had no connection to the town but once informed of their devotion he arranged a festival each year, which he attended with many celebrities of the day--quite an excitement for this dusty old town. Today it is the home of the artsy denizens such as The Lady in Red, bistros, boutiques and springs and JIMMY!! As I was checking out of the gift shop he attached himself--I must look so approachable. He told me his whole life story but there were so many discrepancies who knows what was fact and what was delusion--his father owned Mayflower shipping and was a multimillionaire and sent him to channel his angry fighting ways by training in martial arts--but then this was after he went to jail for fighting and he just got out. BTW, his father died when he was 10 and he was raised by his grandfather. He's divorced because after 20+ years his wife started to physically abuse him and he couldn't fight back because his hands are fighting weapons--he is a disabled warrior since one arm is obviously damaged. So you see what I mean. He is a kind soul though and it was hard to ignore him. I have his address and will send him a copy of his picture to give to a lady of his aquaintance. Though we were hungry and had planned on eating in town we were so battered we just bought gas and beat feet south. To Hatch the Chili Capital of the world--restaurant?? oh, no! Lunchtime, convenience store with a Subway and a grill and the high school next door---kids everywhere--chips and sodas flying out the door--or a Subway sub and soda. We opted for grilled hamburg translucent patties and grabbed two spicy V-8's out of the trunk. I did buy a couple Mexican cookies --hecho en Mexico! Back onto the road and in the distance a double row of mountains. Las Cruces coming up and the 190 degree turn through the San Augustin Pass. Becky, back in Socorro had said that in the East you can't tell that you are going up,nor that you are coming down--she is , for the most part, correct. Smuggler's Notch, Mt Washington, Middlebury Notch maybe exceptions--but what always amazes me here in the west is the basin that stretches for miles in every direction when you descend. Here one enters the Tularosa Basin and the home of the Alamagordo Missile Training Site and the Alamagordo White Sands National Monument! Just before the National Monument we passed through the Border Patrol station where a young Hispanic agent asked us merely if we were both US Citizens. And as we pulled out--and this is for you, Amy, and for you, Glen, should you miss our old stomping grounds--they are hiring!!! LOL And then we were in the mystical white sands--oh, how I love them--I never tire of this place--they have moonlight walks and it was a full moon--Bill nixed! Also, in season, not now--a ranger takes tours out to the drybed lake from which all this sand is spreading--covering everything in its path. I love the picnic tables--they look like fishing shanties to me on a frozen lake--or those Egyptian one-sailed boats--D?--plying along the Nile. This is my third visit--no Roadrunner on the car this year--but it looks different every time. So pristine and beautiful. It is a good thing we stopped because the Park was to be closed the next day and parts of the next three days--missile testing--now there is something that would be interesting to see! Went to the hotel and were given a suite that was like a little apartment--I would have stayed for days! An upgrade and cost us only $86.15 total! We have noticed that hotel rates have increased by about $10-12 a night this year but gas is still cheaper than home and we are averaging 34.5 miles a gallon.. It dipped from 35/gal when we started using the A/C!!! Also I've accumulated over 90,000 points for motels so we will start to use them for our stays--they will still give us upgrades if available but no points accrue for points used nights--which makes sense. Depending on where we are a stay will take from 8000-16000 points. Still, it is a savings. Well, now I'll go review Tuesdays adventures and send a missive on them followed by today's pretty same old , same old. Not much today in geographic variety or characters!! But not boring--there is always something to enjoy!! Til, then, enjoy!!!