Saturday, May 4, 2013 - We left Oklahoma City about 7:45 a.m. CDT and it was a joy not to have to fight strong wind gusts as we headed east. It was a cold morning, and so we stopped at a Denny's at a truck stop for lunch. We usually eat in the trailer at a rest stop, but it was too cold to do so. We arrived in North Little Rock and had a bit of difficulty finding our campground. It was a small campground on the river and under a bridge. It was basically a parking lot that happened to have hookups. We found a church close to the campground where we attended Mass that afternoon. We then went to Chili's for supper and then back to camp for an early start on Sunday.
Sunday, May 5 - We didn't have to rush on Sunday, so we slept in (7:00 a.m.) and then hitched up and stopped on I-40 at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast. It was warmer today, so we ate lunch in the trailer at a TN rest area. We arrived at Two Rivers Campground at 3 and learned that the camp was celebrating Cinco de Mayo with free beer, margaritas and tacos, and live entertainment. Since we were on Music City Circle, the entertainment was a western singer.
Monday, May 6 - We drove from Nashville to Swannanoa, NC where we had reservations at the KOA. The mountains along I-40 in NC had several "mini falls" coming out of the rocks. The trees and grass were a lush green - beautiful after all the cactus and sand we'd been in for a month. The mountains had had 5-7 inches of rain over the weekend, and the Swannanoa River had closed several streets in Asheville, and in our campground had divided the camp as it was flooding in the lower area.
As is our tradition when camping at Swannanoa, we went to Berliner Kindl, an authentic German restaurant and Deli up the road in Black Mountain, NC. Delicious -- especially the apple strudel.
Tuesday, May 7 - We arrived back in Raleigh about 2:45 EDT. Since we had so much trouble getting the trailer out of the backyard in February, we had decided to park it on the cement driveway in front of the garage. However, first we had to move the Subaru out of the garage, as the trailer would block the door. The house was in good shape -- the table full of mail for me to go through. We started unloading the trailer after it was parked and worked until about 5:30 when I called the girls to let them know their wandering parents had returned.
We'll be home for several weeks, and then in July head in a northerly direction. Exact time and where we'll go are to be decided in a few weeks. Check back in July!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Oklahoma Pictures
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| 168 chairs for those killed - small chairs for 19 children |
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| A rescue team wrote on the wall of the Journal Record Building |
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| The Gate of Tme |
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| Section of Journal Record Building preserved - kept as it was after the blast. |
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| At the Arcadia Round Barn |
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| The famous landmark on Historic Route 66 |
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| The Route 66 sign in downtown Oklahoma City |
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| One section of Banjos at Banjo Museum |
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Oklahoma City, Edmond, and Arcadia, OK
From Amarillo we drove to Oklahoma City. Our main objective in stopping in Oklahoma City was to see the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. On our travels we had talked to many other campers who advised us not to miss seeing the memorial of the bombing of April 19, 1995.
We made the visit to the memorial and museum our first stop the next day. The day was beautiful - warm and sunny. Our GPS system had trouble with I-40 in Oklahoma City, as she was forever saying "recalculating". Evidently the area had undergone some serious highway revisions. Thankfully the city provided directional signs indicating exits we needed to take to get downtown to the Museum and Memorial.
The Memorial Museum is in the former Journal Record Building which stands across the street from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The museum is arranged in such a way that the first area discusses the history of the neighborhood around the Murrah Building. From that area you are taken into a committee room and hear the official recording of an OK Water Resources Board meeting from 4/19/1995. The meeting, just across the street from the Murrah Building started at 9:00 a.m. Two minutes into the recording the lights went out and the bombing could clearly be heard.
We left the committee room and walked into an area with a bank of tv sets showing helicopter footage of the building taken at 9:13 a.m. and subsequent coverage by US and foreign tv stations. Most moving was to hear of the experiences of the people who survived the bombing, and the rescue teams who arrived on the scene.
After the museum we walked outside to the Memorial. The most moving portion of the Memorial is the field of empty chairs. Each of the 168 chairs symbolize a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed.
The next day was cold and wet. We decided to tour the Overholser Mansion built in 1903 on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. It was built by Henry Overholser, the man known as the Father of Oklahoma City. The house has original furnishings, and the first floor retains its looks of the 1900's, while the second floor had been modernized by subsequent descendants of the original builder.
After lunch we visited a Banjo Museum. The museum traced the roots of the banjo from Africa to the slaves of the south, the Roaring 20's and on to current players. The banjos displayed were beautiful -- two floors of them!
It was clear but cool the next day, and we drove to Arcadia, OK to visit the Historic Old Round Barn. The barn was built in the 1800's as a deterrent to tornadoes, as it was said a tornado would go around a round barn, and not through it. It fell into disrepair and finally Luther Robison saved the barn with the help of a volunteer group known as the "over-the-hill gang", since most of the volunteers were over 65 years of age. They rebuilt the barn and now use the second floor for dances, as it was originally used and the lower level contains the history of the barn and a gift shop. While we were there, people stopped from all over the country - motorcycle groups, and tourists like us.
Our final outing was a stop at the Edmond Historical Society Museum in Edmond. It is housed in the old National Guard Armory and covers Edmond history from prehistoric times to the present. The Children's Interactive Center has hands-on exhibits designed for children ages 5-12. From Edmond it was back to the campground to begin hitching up as we wanted an early start to Little Rock, Arkansas the next day.
We made the visit to the memorial and museum our first stop the next day. The day was beautiful - warm and sunny. Our GPS system had trouble with I-40 in Oklahoma City, as she was forever saying "recalculating". Evidently the area had undergone some serious highway revisions. Thankfully the city provided directional signs indicating exits we needed to take to get downtown to the Museum and Memorial.
The Memorial Museum is in the former Journal Record Building which stands across the street from the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The museum is arranged in such a way that the first area discusses the history of the neighborhood around the Murrah Building. From that area you are taken into a committee room and hear the official recording of an OK Water Resources Board meeting from 4/19/1995. The meeting, just across the street from the Murrah Building started at 9:00 a.m. Two minutes into the recording the lights went out and the bombing could clearly be heard.
We left the committee room and walked into an area with a bank of tv sets showing helicopter footage of the building taken at 9:13 a.m. and subsequent coverage by US and foreign tv stations. Most moving was to hear of the experiences of the people who survived the bombing, and the rescue teams who arrived on the scene.
After the museum we walked outside to the Memorial. The most moving portion of the Memorial is the field of empty chairs. Each of the 168 chairs symbolize a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed.
The next day was cold and wet. We decided to tour the Overholser Mansion built in 1903 on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. It was built by Henry Overholser, the man known as the Father of Oklahoma City. The house has original furnishings, and the first floor retains its looks of the 1900's, while the second floor had been modernized by subsequent descendants of the original builder.
After lunch we visited a Banjo Museum. The museum traced the roots of the banjo from Africa to the slaves of the south, the Roaring 20's and on to current players. The banjos displayed were beautiful -- two floors of them!
It was clear but cool the next day, and we drove to Arcadia, OK to visit the Historic Old Round Barn. The barn was built in the 1800's as a deterrent to tornadoes, as it was said a tornado would go around a round barn, and not through it. It fell into disrepair and finally Luther Robison saved the barn with the help of a volunteer group known as the "over-the-hill gang", since most of the volunteers were over 65 years of age. They rebuilt the barn and now use the second floor for dances, as it was originally used and the lower level contains the history of the barn and a gift shop. While we were there, people stopped from all over the country - motorcycle groups, and tourists like us.
Our final outing was a stop at the Edmond Historical Society Museum in Edmond. It is housed in the old National Guard Armory and covers Edmond history from prehistoric times to the present. The Children's Interactive Center has hands-on exhibits designed for children ages 5-12. From Edmond it was back to the campground to begin hitching up as we wanted an early start to Little Rock, Arkansas the next day.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Amarillo, TX
We arrived in Amarillo, TX on Saturday, April 27. On Sunday we went to the Visitor's Center and learned about the "Grand Canyon" of Texas. The Palo Duro Canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep and is the second largest canyon in the United States. It was formed less than 1 million years ago when the Red River carved its way through the plains. We spent several hours driving through the canyon and doing some hiking. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon.
On Monday we enjoyed a tour of the RV Museum in the morning and in the afternoon we drove Historic Route 66 and enjoyed the beautiful houses along the route that were built in the 1900's. Unfortunately, none of them were open for touring.
On Monday we enjoyed a tour of the RV Museum in the morning and in the afternoon we drove Historic Route 66 and enjoyed the beautiful houses along the route that were built in the 1900's. Unfortunately, none of them were open for touring.
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| The 1937 first RV! |
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| OOPS, this belongs in the NEXT blog! |
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| 1962 Airstream Bambi |
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| The bus from the movie RV with Robin Williams |
Acoma Pueblo
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| Our bus to the Pueblo |
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| The Sky City Sign |
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| Jack by the church built in 1630's |
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| Pueblo homes |
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| A woman selling her wares outside her home |
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| A pueblo street |
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Pictures - Albuquerque
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| Church Street Cafe |
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| Waiting for lunch! |
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| Old Town Trolley |
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| Route 66 sign -- all directions! |
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| Sculpture Garden |
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| Bird Petroglyph |
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| On the trail - another petroglyph |
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| More Petroglyphs |
Albuquerque, NM April 22-27, 2013
We seem to enjoy putting extra milage on the truck and trailer. From El Paso we went NE to Carlsbad, then W to Alamagordo, and then NW to Albuquerque. Our purpose in visiting Albuquerque? That's where Jack was when he wrote to propose to me! He was stationed there attending a weapons training that spring.
The wind was strong as we "blew in" to our campground on Central Ave (aka Historic Route 66). Grabbed brochures and settled down to planning our time here.
Old Town - The first place we visited was Old Town, a section of Albuquerque settled first by Indians, then Spanish in the early 1600's. Stopped at the visitor's center and learned about a Trolley tour which took us for an 85 minute tour of Albuquerque: Old Town, Downtown, Route 66 (where it goes in all 4 directions!), Nob Hill, U of NM, and sporting arenas. A fun tour complete with a quiz and PRIZES! Saw the location of many of the movie sets used in town and film clips as well. FUN! When we returned we visited the historic church, Sancta P. Neri, and ate lunch at the Church Street Cafe on....CHURCH STREET! DUH!. We had Posole, a soup made with maize and pork to which you added either green (mild) chili or red (spicy) chili. The soup is traditionally served at Christmas. We visited the art and History museum and sculpture garden, and did some shopping.
NationalMuseum of Nuclear Science and History -- Here we go -- BORING, above my head, blah, blah. Wrong! We watched a movie on the Manhattan Project, saw bomb casings like the ones used for Fat Man and Little Boy, the bombs that were dropped on Japan., learned about the history leading up to the creation and use of the atomic bomb, pictures of the destruction, a nuclear medical exhibit.
Petroglyph National Historic Monument - We walked the Rinconada Canyon to see some of the 5000 petroglyphs still visible on the rocks.
Acoma Pueblo (Sky City) is about 70 miles west of Albuquerque. The Pueblo has over 300 structures made of adobe and sandstone. The homes are owned by the female. Most Acoma people do not live atop the mesa year-round, but they periodically return to their ancestral homes for ceremonial occasions. The Pueblo is 370 feet above the desert floor and dates back to 1100 A.D. At the Cultural Center there is a Museum and Gift shop, and tourists climb onto buses for the 90 minute tour atop the pueblo. While touring we were able to examine and purchase the famous Acomo pottery, jewelry and Indian flat bread pies. Well worth the trip!
On Saturday it was on to Amarillo, TX.
The wind was strong as we "blew in" to our campground on Central Ave (aka Historic Route 66). Grabbed brochures and settled down to planning our time here.
Old Town - The first place we visited was Old Town, a section of Albuquerque settled first by Indians, then Spanish in the early 1600's. Stopped at the visitor's center and learned about a Trolley tour which took us for an 85 minute tour of Albuquerque: Old Town, Downtown, Route 66 (where it goes in all 4 directions!), Nob Hill, U of NM, and sporting arenas. A fun tour complete with a quiz and PRIZES! Saw the location of many of the movie sets used in town and film clips as well. FUN! When we returned we visited the historic church, Sancta P. Neri, and ate lunch at the Church Street Cafe on....CHURCH STREET! DUH!. We had Posole, a soup made with maize and pork to which you added either green (mild) chili or red (spicy) chili. The soup is traditionally served at Christmas. We visited the art and History museum and sculpture garden, and did some shopping.
NationalMuseum of Nuclear Science and History -- Here we go -- BORING, above my head, blah, blah. Wrong! We watched a movie on the Manhattan Project, saw bomb casings like the ones used for Fat Man and Little Boy, the bombs that were dropped on Japan., learned about the history leading up to the creation and use of the atomic bomb, pictures of the destruction, a nuclear medical exhibit.
Petroglyph National Historic Monument - We walked the Rinconada Canyon to see some of the 5000 petroglyphs still visible on the rocks.
Acoma Pueblo (Sky City) is about 70 miles west of Albuquerque. The Pueblo has over 300 structures made of adobe and sandstone. The homes are owned by the female. Most Acoma people do not live atop the mesa year-round, but they periodically return to their ancestral homes for ceremonial occasions. The Pueblo is 370 feet above the desert floor and dates back to 1100 A.D. At the Cultural Center there is a Museum and Gift shop, and tourists climb onto buses for the 90 minute tour atop the pueblo. While touring we were able to examine and purchase the famous Acomo pottery, jewelry and Indian flat bread pies. Well worth the trip!
On Saturday it was on to Amarillo, TX.
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