Petrified Forest National Park

Scenic vistas and vast landscapes!  This is a 28 mile north to south drive with lookout stops along the park road.  There are a few hikes, but the extreme heat discouraged us from venturing too far.  Petroglyphs and ruins are visible from the viewing areas.  We stayed in nearby Holbrook, Arizona.  It is possible to drive your motorhome through the park.  The Studebaker marks the old Route 66.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

June 1-6, 2014:  This was our first time to stay in a private park for more than a day or two.  We stayed at The American RV Park.  It was like RV subdivision living.  It was a nice park and reasonably priced.  Skip was excited to see the nice green grass at our site....he rolled and rolled.  There were tons of bunnies and even more grasshoppers!  It was windy with occasional gusts so we were not able to keep our awning open.  Several days the temperature reached 100 degrees.  While there, we stocked up at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  One day we went to Old Town where we visited the Rattlesnake Museum, with live rattlesnakes, had lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, and listened to live musicians.  Despite the heat, we did a few short hikes at Petroglyphs National Monument in Boca Negra Canyon.  The Pueblo oven is still used today.  We didn't see a rattlesnake, just the skin he shed.

Santa Rosa Lake State Park, New Mexico

May 29-31, 2014:  On our short stay here we met nice people, took a short hike along the lake, and saw our first tarantula. The view from the motorhome was great. Breakfast on departure day was at the local Route 66 restaurant.

Carlsbad Caverns National Park

May 28-30, 2014:  We entered New Mexico on our way to White's City, just seven miles outside of Carlsbad Caverns.  We stayed at a small RV park there because of its closeness to the caverns.  (In 1959, my family also stayed there in the small pueblo style cottages across the street.)  Two of our hikes were the Big Room and into the caverns through the natural entrance on our own.  Also, we took a guided hike through the King's Palace, accessible only with a park ranger.  The ladder you see in one of the pictures was installed by Jim White, a cave guide, in 1924.  It descended 90 feet into the lower cave.  And again, there were so many wildflowers and blooming cactus!  

Monahans Sandhills State Park

May 26-28, 2014:  The pictures tell the story of this location.  The Sandhills, or dunes, are large and constantly being changed by the strong winds. This park has the largest oak tree forest in the U.S., but they are only a few feet tall.  The park ranger told us about the history of the area.  Early settlers didn't know how to travel across the desert area, but the tribal people in this area knew how to survive.  They dug down under the oak trees, lined the cave with skins, and hid from explorers.  The early settlers were unaware that water could be found by digging down as little as a foot.  We enjoyed evening hikes across the dunes to watch the sunset.  When we looked at the dunes, it seemed that Lake Michigan should be right on the other side.

The House Grandpa Texas Built

On Monay, May 26, 2014, we left San Angelo and headed to Monahans Sandhills State Park in west Texas.  Our route took us through Midland, Texas.  My maternal grandparents, Eldred and Zudalee Jones, lived in the sandstone house my grandfather built on West Michigan Street.  The neighborhood is old now and the houses are not as well cared for as they were in the past.  So many wonderful memories of times we spent there with Grandpa and Grandma Texas!

Night Skies!

Saturday night's stormy sky.  Sunday's sunset!  This was the western sky about the same time each day.