Our drive from Hueco Tanks took us through some very remote country. We drove on "farm to market roads" and "ranch roads" as we headed south from the Hueco Tanks Park. These two lane roads are in great shape probably because they aren't used a lot. In a 42 mile stretch on one road we saw a single car.

We joined I-10 and were back on boring interstate for awhile before turning off to Balmorhea State Park.  The reason for this park is a huge artesian spring. The Civil Conservation Corp built a two acre pool, a motel, camp spots, and roads here in the 1930s. The pool is the where the spring spews out 1,000,000 gallons of clear fresh water an hour. The pool is 28 feet deep. There was a scuba class going on when we arrived.

I took a few pictures of the pool and buildings using my phone. I wish you could see them. I think they are pretty good. I just can't figure out how to get them from the phone to my computer.

The next day we drove to a KOA in San Angelino. San Angelino is between I-20 and I-10. By the time we arrived at the KOA we were really very tired of the west part of Texas. We  drove through abandoned and nearly abandoned towns which briefly broke the monotony. Given how bleak the landscape was I can understand why these places were abandoned, I just can't figure out why anyone lived there in the first place.

Givers, Texas

Finally, the next day, we started to see green rolling hills.  Many of them. Too many of them.

The driving was more fun. The roads curve, go up, go down, pass over creek beds and dry washes (there has been a drought here) and through occupied country.

They "drive friendly" in this part of Texas. You know they do because the signs tell them to do so. "Drive Friendly" they spell out. In this spirit I kept smiling a lot and waved at every car that passed us. What the signs mean - we think - is for you to give way to other drivers. These are two lane roads with wide shoulders which you move onto in order that the cars behind you can pass easily. How's that for driving friendly?

Right now we are at the Inks Lake State Park near Burnet, Texas. This is our second night here.

Inks Lake State Park

 We came to this area to look for a couple of bird species we have never seen before. We drove about 100 miles today in search of the Black-capped Vireo and the Golden-cheeked Warbler. I think both are endangered species. I caught a glimpse of the warbler. Neither of us caught up with the vireo.

Birding here is tough. There are trees here. You can't see far through the trees. Furthermore the birds are on their nests right now so they aren't singing. This lack of song is more than made up for by the Northern Mockingbird which is everywhere here imitating other birds - probably imitating vireos and warblers. It may be a sin but I think we will kill some before we get out of here.

Could you see a Golden-cheeked Warbler here?

A footnote regarding Burnet, Texas. I thought this was named after my family but that they were too lazy to write the other "t". Actually the town was named after the first president of Texas who later became the first secretary of state of the State of Texas. I bet you don't know who the first governor of California was (hint, he used two "t"s).

More ugly country and boring driving. More straight highway. More trucks rumbling by at 75 MPH. The morning drive from Lordsburg to nearly Las Cruces was just   B O R I N G and ugly.

They do have nice rest stops in New Mexico. I am, thinking about doing a photo story about road side rest stops.

This one is overlooking Las Cruces. The drive started looking up a little about here.

Our stop for Thursday was the Hueco (pronounced like "waco) Tanks State Park 30 miles east of El Paso.

If you have never driven through El Paso - congratulations on your good sense. El Paso may be the ugliest city in the US. Having driven through El Paso several times this time we skirted it to the west and the north. The route we drove took us through Fort Bliss. This wasn't much of an improvement in scenery over I-10 through El Paso but it was something new. We saw some great trash piles and abandoned mobile homes along the way. At least this kept s awake.

Hueco Tanks is worth getting there.  The geology is awesome. The park includes three exposed and eroded granitic monoliths (now called "mountains"). Erosion has created sinks that trap water - these are the tanks. Erosion also created many handholds in the cliff faces. Rock climbers come here from all over the world.  Imagine the Alabama Hills and Joshua Tree on a grander scale. It is a beautiful place.

People have lived here for thousands of years. These folks were her before "leave no trace" became in. There are many pictoglyphs here, some ancient, many modern graffiti.

This is also a good birding spot. 

We tried to visit here around 1999 but the park was closed because  it was getting trashed and suffering from extreme overuse. To save the place they now limit the numbers of visitors and require reservations in order to visit. They also require visitors to watch a very good 15 minute video explaining why this is a treasure and listing the do's and don'ts.

One of the requirements is that you can only enter about one third of the grounds unescorted. You must take a guided tour to enter the rest. We were going to spend just a night here but we stayed to take one of the guided tours. The tour was led by an 83 year old ex pediatrician. We enjoyed it a lot.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the place.

Butterfield Stagecoach Stop

Cup ofGold "Hedge Hog" cactus

We are moving east again.

Our friend, Jeff Grossman, had surgery Monday morning. The surgeon is very confident that the blockage cause was removed. Jeff had very dense and extensive adhesions. He is recovering now and it looks like he will be out of the hospital by Saturday. He is definitely out of the woods.

After visiting Jeff yesterday morning we took off feeling a little nervous about leaving Linda and Jeff alone. We spent last night in Lordsburg, NM, which is 174 miles from Catalina State Park where we stayed the past several days. We will check in with Linda before easting further. We can be back there in a few hours.

We are still driving in pretty boring country. Driving I-10 here is mind numbing. At one point I could see the highway stretching out in a perfectly straight line for miles as far a s I could see ahead of me and looking in the side mirrors I had the same view to the rear. All the GPS showed was a straight red line. They should put an "S" curve in these things once in awhile.

At Texas Pass (does anyone know where the name "texas" comes from?) we rested in about the only scenic spot we passed through.

Texas Pass

Pretty soon we started seeing these big signs saying, "Wine Tasting and Pecans" in Bowie. Sure enough we started driving through  pecan and walnut orchards also passing a vineyard or two. So, to fight boredom mind you, we decided to risk getting off the I-10 to taste some local vintages.

Bowie looks like it started dying when the I-10 freeway bi-passed it. It hasn't quite died yet but it looks like the end isn't far off. I told the lady at the wine shop that it looked like Bowie had seen better days to which she said, "Yes, its a small town".  I was going to accuse her of being in denial due to grief but she was not smiling.

Main Street Bowie, AZ     

Fort Bowie Wine Store

We bought five bottles just to shore up the local economy. California vintners have nothing to fear from  Fort Bowie Winery. I do admit that their White Sangiovese went well with our left over chicken marcella last night. Oh, the good life!

The KOA here in Lordsburg is old but clean and in good repair. We did laundry here. The train track is close enough to here the whistles blow - which they did every thirty minutes or so all night. I-10 is close enough that the traffic provides persistent "white noise".  We both slept well.

Not much has changed here since last Monday. Jeff is still in the hospital, still being fed through IVs, still has an NG tube draining his stomach, and still with a total blockage of his intestine. The doctors have talked surgery but it appears to be only a last resort. "Wait ad see" seems the approach. If Jeff starts to decline rapidly, they will operate, if he is strong enough to hang in there until his blockage clears - that is it, he goes home.

Linda has spent most nights with Jeff and we have been doing dinner and lunches for her. She is holding up very well.

Things could be far worse. We are at Catalina State Park (just a mile from the hospital). This is not as pretty as Gilbert Ray but it isn't too shabby either.

Here is the view from our campsite. We have certainly stayed in less scenic paces!

A nice thing about staying in a place for several days is you really have time to see all the local sites you wouldn't see just speeding through.  

Tuesday we went to see Biosphere 2.  This was not on any of my must see lists but it ended up being well worth the visit. The University of Arizona now owns this facility and is using to do significant earth science research. This is an entirely closed echo system big enough to do some large scale experiments. The focus now seems to be the water cycle and how climate change impacts it.

In the 90's a group of scientists did an experiment here to see if a closed system could sustain people for two years. They grew everything they needed and did a lot of science for nearly two years. They also learned that concrete cures by absorbing oxygen and, since much of the structure was new concrete, this stopped the project before the two years was up - they were running out of oxygen. 

Biosphere 2

Yesterday I went to the Pima County Air and Space Museum. I did this in the afternoon thinking I would spend an hour or two and get home by 4 PM. This is a huge place. It covers hundreds of acres that hold hundreds of aircraft and has five large hangers. I saw one hanger and had a tram tour of the outside aircraft. I'm going back today!

Entrance to the Pima County Air and Space Museum exhibits

 Many of the exhibits were things kids my age and younger could climb over and play on.

Our plans for now are to hang until Sunday with thoughts of heading east on Monday.  This is IF Jeff is on the mend and no surgery is scheduled.

28 March 2013

This part of the trip is really just covering the distance. It is pretty distance to cover but we've done this many times so it is just a little boring. Especially so if you keep on the interstates.

We stayed in Tonopah, Arizona (does anyone know what tonopah is or means - there is a Tonopah in Nevada too?), in a much nicer RV park which cost us half what the one in Indio did.

The next morning we decided to avoid Interstates and headed towards Casa Grande via back roads.

Along this route there was the added advantage of driving through the Sonora National Monument. One can't say too much about the Sonora National Monument. Some of it was pretty - maybe that was too much said, the picture says it best.

After nearly running out of gas we made it to Casa Grande. Local anglos insist on pronouncing "casa" with a long "a" as in "case" and "grande" as "grand" as in "ain't English grand?". The local hispanic folks enjoy pronouncing as it is in Spanish as in "Espanole es mucho mejor!". Either camp will correct you if you say it "wrong". I think it helps a lot to be bilingual here, which I'm not.

Having to get back on the interstate for a few miles we pulled into the Gilbert Ray Campground in the early afternoon. This is maybe the 8th time we've stayed here. It is possibly our favorite campground. Here is a photo of the campground taken near our site.

We have now driven just 592 miles in 3 days. When we reach Texas we may cover more miles a day. So far this pace is just about right for me.




29 March 2013

Gilbert Ray does not take reservations. Jeff and Linda called this morning and are on their way from Anza Borrego to here. They will arrive tonight. The folks at the park office let us pay for their space for
one night.

We spent the day with our cruising friends Mike and Mary Jane Fuller.

Here is a view from Gates Pass near here. This side of the pass is a beautiful area. The other side is Tucson - just a city.

During the day we went to an Apple store to get a car charger for Brenda's i-pad and to ask for help setting it up as a hotspot.

Apple stores, if you've never been in one, are amazing. You can approach them through a near empty mall and find standing room only inside the Apple store. However there is never a problem with long waits because about 25% of those standing around are employees who are there to help you buy very expensive stuff.

The average Apple employee really knows her stuff. That is all but the one who helped us. Brenda asked him to show us how to set the i-pad up as a hotspot so we could use it to provide wi-fi connections to our lap top and kindle.  He told us you couldn't do that with an i-pad! After we got back Brenda could see how to set it up as a hotspot. By this time Mike and Mary Jane gave us a verizon hot spot. Now we have spots before our eyes.

Jeff and Linda were waiting at our campsite when we got back to camp. A few glasses of wine and lots of hugs - it is so great to see them.

Tomorrow Jeff and I go to the Pima County Air Museum and the Davis Mothem aircraft bone yard.

30 March 2013

A bad day.

Jeff has been not feeling super great. Today he felt worse. He has had chronic problems with a blockage in his intestine. When he gets these he ends up hospitalized. That's where he is now.

This is the 6th or 7th episode of this he has had. Last time the doctors really wanted to operate. This time I think they will.

Linda spent the night at the hospital. This is a hospital the Fullers recommended and is thirty miles from Gilbert Ray. We will move trailers nearer the hospital tomorrow. Then wee will wait to see what happens.

The doctors here think they can operate and fix-up Jeff then send him off in just a few days. Jeff may have other ideas.

On the road

27 March 2013

We di it! We actually left home and are on our trip.

We had to stop by Camping world in San Bernardino to pick up an extra oven rack I had ordered but that was on the way.

There is a wildlife preserve on the Whitewater River which is not surprisingly named "The Whitewater Nature Preserve".  I hoped we could spend the night there. We called along the way to see if we could camp there. The ranger said that we should come in before 5 PM they had sites available. When I mentioned the 30 foot trailer however he added that it was tent camping only and very limited parking so they don't let RV's in.  Darn - it looked like a good place to visit.

What to do? Well we found the "Shady Hills RV Park" here in dear old Indio and are now settled in. And it only cost us $60 for the night!!

Here is us in our little (latterly) space.

Brenda bought (actually I bought at Brenda's request) an i-pad.  I think we got this in February. After arriving here last night she tried to set up her email account. This was UNSUCCESSFUL even after many tries. Not too surprising that we couldn't figure it out given we don't know the passwords for her email accounts. This morning I contacted Verizon (our provider) to change her email password. After only one hour on the phone the very patient Verizon technician had her account up and running on her i-pad. Next we will tackle setting it up with a data plan.

We traveld 192 miles yesterday. I hope we don't travel very many miles more than that on any day of our trip.

Update

This is going to probably be sort of a boring blog. It is just an update before we actually take off.

Last month I started this blog in anticipation of our trip cross-country. Here it is March 25, 2013, and it really does look like this trip is going to go.

Man, have we been busy.

Last month we did campouts with our good sam club. We did petroglyph tours. We did Jr. Audubon Clubs. We did Doctor appointments. We did car registrations. We did Maturango Museum things. We did field trips. We did board meetings.

Man have we been busy.

During the Pixley campout to Colonel Allensworth State Historic park we installed a Tailgater satellite antenna we will be taking so we can watch TV in anywhere to go. This system works with Dish TV and allows us a month to month fee with no contract. So, for a mere $489, we can enjoy HD TV and get the latest breaking news. It took four of us three hours and several phone calls to various tech reps to set this "simple to operate" system up.  (Remember when camping was in a tent and entertainment was oh so primitive?)


 During the tailgater installation exercise I put the broadcast antenna up. You can see by the picture below that as we left the park I left the antenna up.  The camp host caught up with us before we were on the highway.

We had a second good sam campout this time in Jawbone Canyon.  This is an Off Highway Vehicle open area that has been pretty much trashed by the motorcycles and dune buggies. Otherwise it is a pretty place close to where Lee Sutton and I did raptor surveys last year. We decided to host a campout there when there were likely to be few OHVrs. It was a nice campout.




Interspersed with these campouts Brenda and I led tours to the petroglyphs on the China Lake naval base. For you who have not seen these ancient rock art drawings you must put this on your bucket list. They are fantastic and mysterious. The drive to them, 36 miles across restricted testing areas, is scenic.  Maybe we can do a special tour for all our friends some day.  Here are some photos of the recent tours.

The one with all the kids in red in green is a tour of Boy Scouts, 40 of them, that I helped lead. These 14 through 16 year olds were just great. They were preparing for the national jamboree in Washington, D. C. (I think). Very good young people.

Well then we were also getting ready for our trip. Unfortunately Tom and Dianne Rindt won't be going with us and I think Hop and Deb Porter aren't either. So it will be the Grossmans and the Burnetts. I think we leave tomorrow after Junior Audubon clubs meet at Faller and Inyokern.

Jeff Grossman decided to prepare by having two surgeries. He now sports two artificial toe joints, new lenses in his eyes, and a new knee. He looks different without glasses and clicks a little when he walks but, hey, same old (and you know I do mean by OLD) Jeff. Linda is way behind on remodeling.

Wow - tomorrow we actually leave!!!!