Day 33 - Midland, TX

Today we went out for brunch, then to Bob and Gingers church. The banners are spectacular, all relating to biblical text. The colors are amazing as is the design. Returned back to Bob and Gingers, did some laundry and waited for the kids to arrive. Ginger had made a brisket, and a delicious Greek salad, as well as a fruit salad. So nice to see Mark and to meet his wife Michelle,where does the time go??

Here are pictures of Ginger, Bob, Ken, and I and then of Ginger, Bob, Mark, Michelle, and Andrea and Errol. Andrea and Errol haven't set a date for the wedding yet, or started planning. Her engagement ring is outstanding, Tiffany setting and about the size of a golf ball, beautiful!!! Don't know if it's obvious but Errol is 6'4" and Andrea is about 5' 2", they make a beautiful couple.

Mark and his wife Michelle are going on a trip to Ireland this Thursday, they are so excited! We shared our experiences in Ireland with them, we had such a great time, hope they do too. Such a pleasure meeting both Michelle and Errol, liked them both very much. S

OK, for you car guys, Errol brought his GTR over tonight, and it looks like something out of Batman! WHAT A CAR!!! Errol was going to take me for a ride in it, but time to eat, and then too late to go for a ride later. The seats in that thing grip you like you don't need seat belts, and the driving position is incredible! With 480+ horsepower, all-wheel drive, paddle shift, and looks like this, can you imagine the ride?

Errol said some guy on a rice-rocket motorcycle tried to take him on at a stop light, and it was about an even race. Surprised that bike had a chance. The sound of that engine is something else, and I was so impressed. Figure we could both get about the same amount of luggage in both the GTR and our Vette, but Errol would get places faster than we could.

Check out the exhaust pipes on the rear of this thing - And there are four of those 12-inch pipes (just kidding) hanging out the back. The tires are as wide and as big as those on our Vette, and there is no doubt you would need all that rubber on the ground if you stomped on the throttle.

Really a great day all around. K

Day 32 - On to Midland TX

Today, we made it all the way to Midland, TX. The speed limit, after we passed through El Paso, went from 70 mph to 80 mph, and the highways ranged from "you gotta be kidding" rough to "smooth as velvet". Very little construction too, and that made a difference in how fast we made it to Midland.

Countryside again changed from rocky to desert, to flatlands, to fields of pecan trees and hay fields in places. Only hit one Border Patrol stop somewhere between the Texas border and Midland and it didn't long to get through that stop. Figured the gas mileage would suffer due to running at 80 mph much of the way, but still managed to roll out 28.3 mpg. Vette still running great. Didn't see a great number of cars on the highway to Midland, but there are sure a lot of trucks on the Texas highways.

Driving at 80 mph was quite a change, but the miles sure disappeared behind us in a hurry. We arrived in Midland to stay with some old friends from El Paso, Bob and Ginger Ellwood. We hadn't seen them since they came to visit us in New England about 10 years ago. Brian and the Ellwood's son Mark and daughter Andrea were friends when we lived in El Paso and we hadn't seen them since we moved from El Paso in 1980. They have grown up, needless to say. Andrea and her fiance came over for dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing Andrea and meeting Errol. Errol is a doctor and has a Nissan GTR. For those of you who know your cars, this is one of the hottest cars in the country right now and is a heck of a lot faster than our Vette. More on it later. K

So nice to see Bob and Ginger and Andrea and Errol, her fiancee. After Ginger and I hugged we started talking non stop like magpies. Friends for 32 years and in the past 3 decades only seeing each other twice. Ginger remains a terrific cook and made a delicious Mexican dish for supper. We've all put on a few years and pounds, but to me they look the same.
After supper we resumed catching up, so much news. Ginger is very involved in making banners for her church, can't wait to see them. S

Day 31 - We finally make it to Texas

When we hit Interstate 10 to take us to Texas, again we had multiple changes in scenery, from rocks, mountains, pecan tree farms, flat land desert, and lots and lots of trucks on the highway. Speed limit was mostly 75 mph, but construction slowed us down quite a few times all the way to the Texas border.

One of the things that really slowed us down was an accident in Los Cruces, NM. Don't know who cut who off, but the trucker pulling the twin trailers was either trying to avoid a compact car or the car swerved into the truck, and this is the aftermath of the accident. The driver of the compact car will be looking for a new car, but was standing alongside her car with a state trooper. The truck driver apparently had to be taken to a hospital by ambulance. Lots of rescue vehicles and police at the scene and we were at a standstill for almost an hour before they finally allowed one lane of traffic past the truck. The Vette WAS NOT HAPPY having to go around the wreck in the dirt, scrub brush, rocks, and sand in the median strip. Neither was I.

Interesting how the traveling public does things here when an accident occurs on the highway in New Mexico. People just drive across the median strip and go the opposite direction instead of waiting for the accident to clear. Saw some pretty fancy cars pull that trick and, of course, pickups and SUVs too. One guess as to who got stuck in the soft sand trying to get back in the opposite flow of traffic. Yup, it was some dude in an SUV with the typical cell phone stuck in his ear. Police didn't care, they just turned around in the median strip too.

We finally made it to Texas from Arizona. Maybe the title of today's post should be "Oh Gosh, More Rocks, More Construction, More Flat Lands, and What a hell of an Accident". Last night we were unable to post any photos, but today, I was able to post a photo of our dear friends Leo and Anna Wallace. For those Raytheonites that knew them, they are doing fine. They are still the same great friends we have known for over 40 years. It was so good to see them again after all this time. It was like we'd only seen them a couple of weeks ago instead of years ago. We met them at our motel in Tombstone and went out for dinner.

After dinner, Leo showed us around Tombstone, but Tombstone didn't know we were coming to town so they rolled up the streets before we got there. We left early this morning, so didn't get to see the town or visit a relative that is buried in Boot Hill. "Hand - Hung for horse thievin" was painted on a cemetery cross when Sheila and I visited Tombstone with our 4 year old son Brian years ago when we lived in El Paso.

We had a nice motel, and the desert landscape was really nice. As you can see, it is decorated in a "Gunfight at the OK Corral" theme. Nice theme change from the purple "Barney Inn" we stayed at in Sedona. K

Noticed while reading USA today that the federal government says the recession is over, now call it co-incidence that my shopping spree has been going full bore but I do feel as though I've done my part.
Today Ken and I are both tired, think we were so busy we've finally hit a wall. Out for a quiet supper tonight, then plan early to bed. So nice to see Anna and Leo, such dear friends. Tomorrow plan to drive to Midland, Texas to see other dear friends Ginger and Bob Ellwood, haven't seen them in 10 yrs. They were our neighbors in El Paso, then they came to see us in NH, I love being able to reconnect with friends.
Today is our daughter Nora's birthday, so bittersweet being away from her. Spoke with her on the phone but can't wait to give her a hug and a kiss!!!
Have done no shopping yet in Texas so hope we all do recover from the recession. If not, I saw an ad for a Tony Lama boot outlet, not that I really need a pair of cowgirl boots, but I do have the hat and a hat without shoes .......... bears thinking about.
Our motel tonight is very nice it's a Chase suite, and looks like a home, such a nice change from the other bed, chair, bathroom, and 2 drawers we have had. When we first started to travel just wanted an inexpensive, clean room. We then found out that meant no internet access, no access no blog, so upgraded to a better room with access. We then found out after driving 6 hrs in a car, we got out of the car like ruptured ducks, so opted for a motel with a gym or pool, to get the kinks out. Now here we are today in a room with a full kitchen, sofa, queen size bed, fireplace, not that we need it, and dishes, yes real not plastic. If we keep this up we'll be renting condos by the time we head home. Take care all, love you and miss you. S

Day 30 - Sedona to Tombstone AZ

Today, we left Sedona and headed for Tucson, AZ. We had planned to spend the night in Tucson, AZ, , but after looking at the miles we had to drive across AZ and Texas, we decided to drive to Tombstone, AZ, meet some old friends, and leave very early tomorrow morning for our venture into Texas. It was an easy drive, and Sheila drove part way. Easy drive, but ran into construction again all the way from Sedona. Hated to leave Sedona and the rock formations there for the prairies in AZ, and took photos, but no real excitement.

Tried to post photos on tonight's blog, but we apparently have a poor internet connection, and I can't post them tonight. We had such a wonderful time in Sedona and the Grand Canyon, and hated to leave. Met a lot of interesting people in Sedona, ranging from our helicopter pilot and the pilot and co-passenger on our flight to the Grand Canyon. Also unforgettable were the couple from Australia that we met on the Pink Jeep tour, a couple from Michigan who try to go to the Bonneville Salt Flats each year to race his 1955 Vincent motorcycle (slightly modified). It was too wet to run it this year, but his highest speed on the thing was 230 mph. Oh, by the way, the guy was about 2 or 3 years older than I am.

Then there was the woman at the swimming pool last night that never shut up from the moment we walked into the pool until we left. All she did was complain about her health and her husband never said a word. He was probably tired of listening to her. So were we. She was very disappointed that we weren't going up Interstate 40 when I ran into her this morning at the motel when I was packing the Vette. K
Continue to have fun and a lot of laughs S

Day 29 - The Grand Canyon

OMG!!!
What a day we had today! At 8:15 this morning, we checked in for our flight to the Grand Canyon and today's adventure began. About 8:30, we boarded our Cessna single engine plane for our flight to the Grand Canyon. There was only one other passenger on the flight and we hit it off right away with him and the pilot, Isaih (as in the bible). Isaih could be Matt Damon's twin and was a great pilot and was our guide for this day's adventure.

Sheila flew in the right front seat and everything went well until she turned to take some photos and accidentally stepped on the rudder pedals, thereby taking control over our directions during our approach to the Grand Canyon air field. Interesting change in approach for a landing, but we made it without additional problems. From the air, the airport looked a lot like what I would expect a Navy aircraft carrier would look like. It was a postage stamp!

When we landed, we were taken to the helipad for our flight to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The pilot took off and we flew just a short ways before we started descending into the canyon for a landing next to the Colorado River. We landed on a spot that just about cleared the helicopter rotor and disembarked (That's helicopter speakese for "Get the heck out of my aircraft"). From the landing pad, we had to walk, climb down, and stumble over to a pontoon boat for a ride up the Colorado River and then to drift back to the dock.

From the dock, we had to walk, climb up, and stumble back to the landing pad for our flight back to the airport. Have to admit that the paths we had to take from the landing pad to the boat and back were worse and more dangerous than the paths we had to take to the Indian ruins yesterday.

From the airport, we were loaded on a bus to take us to the Sky Walk over the canyon. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, it is hard to imagine how high and how wide the canyon is. With nothing to gauge distance, its hard to believe that you are 4000 feet above the bottom of the canyon and the opposite side of the canyon is 4 miles distant. There are also NO guard rails next to the shear walls of the canyon, and that's scary, especially when a woman from Germany was allowing her 4-year old daughter to run away from her without supervision.

Looking over the edges of the canyon, all you can see are vertical walls extending that dizzying 4000 feet in elevation. I'm glad we were able to see the canyon from both above and below.

The Sky Walk was the reason we came to Arizona and we were able to walk on the glass floor without fear. Well, at last Sheila was - I have to admit the height, looking through the glass floor, wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but I found myself inadvertently holding on to the rails as we walked around on the platform. I think it would have really been a lot worse if you could have a reference that would help you gauge the distance from the platform to the bottom of the canyon below. I suggested to one of the guides that they should place a silhouette of a human body below the walkway, but they didn't think that would stimulate viewing.

The Grand Canyon was an incredible experience, but for all its majesty, I have to admit the colors weren't as spectacular as I had expected. Returning on our flight, with the pilot having instructed Sheila not to try to control the plane's directions again, it was nice to see the magical colors of the Sedona landscapes. This entire time in Arizona has really been an experience, but again, all of our adventures on this trip have been worth a lifetime of memories. Tomorrow, we head out again for new adventures. K

I agree with Ken, what a day!!!! I can't believe I was able to hop in and out of small planes, helicopters, and trek down rock slides to get into a boat. Ken was wonderful and helped me navigate the steep slopes. The skywalk was everything I thought it might be and more it really felt as though we were communing with nature, so beautiful!
We had lunch at the Guano Cafe, yes thats right, Spanish for bat poop, go figure. Apparently the Native Americans mined bat poop for organic fertilizer, also used in the 40's and 50's in womans makeup. The menu was braised beef and chicken, no mention of bat, but I just had vegetables, have to be on the safe side. The Indian tribe is the Huallapi, pronounced wall o pie, no who couldn't like something at has to do with a wall of pie.
Flew back to Sedona, returned to the hotel, swam for awhile, then changed clothes and Ken and I went out for supper. While at the restaurant I realized I wasn't wearing my engagaement ring, panic city ensued. We finished eating and then back to the hotel, rushed to our room, and started searching, thank God, found the ring. I have no idea why it fell off but am now wearing it under my wedding ring.
Tomorrow on the road again. S

Day 28 - Still in Sedona, AZ

Well, another day in a magic land. And we didn't do much exciting today. Such adventurers we turned out to be... After yesterday's adventures, we decided to head for bed about 10:20 PM last night, only to look at the time as we were turning the lights off and it was only 8:20 PM. We wound up getting up 13 hours later and could have still rested some more. We just decided to cool our jets for the rest of the day.

Cooling our jets included doing the laundry and Sheila doing a little shopping. I managed to clean the Vette up a little while she was getting her nails done, so a real exciting day.

This place is so magical and can't wait until our adventure to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. We were finally able to get our reservations to fly to the canyon tomorrow morning. In order to go on the flights, we had to spend another day in Sedona, and that isn't all bad. Made sure we had plenty of camera batteries and memory cards for the flights tomorrow. Everyone says the best way to see the canyon is to see it from above and then to fly into the canyon. To take a trip down the Colorado River on a pontoon boat will be just an added bonus.

Someone wondered what a squash blossom necklace was, so look at the necklace Sheila is wearing. Beautiful Zuni Indian-made silver and turquoise necklace and it's so named due to the squash blossom-shaped adornments on the necklace. Really a beautiful piece. K

That's me in front of the sign of the wonderful restaurant we had dinner at tonight. It's a Mexican restaurant, and we heard about it when we first got to Sedona. I wore my squash blossem necklace and go so many compliments on it, such a beautiful piece. Dinner was as nice as we'd been told. Met a nice couple at the next table and they took our picture, and we took theirs. I had smoked chicken enchiladas and Ken had a steak fajita, both excellent, topped it off with Mexican chocolate ice cream we shared, very yummy. S

Day 27 - Sedona, AZ

Well today I decided to go native, that's me in the cowgirl hat. Today we took a pink jeep tour for an archeological adventure! We explored a 700 yr old Sinaguan cliff dwelling. We climbed 3/4 of a mile up a rocky trail and came to these interesting cliff dwellings. You haven't hiked until you climb to 4200 feet on loose rock but we did it and then were glad we did. It was so hot - temp 93 degrees in the sun. When we climbed down and got back to town Ken and I went for something cold to drink.

Tomorrow will be a quiet day, beacause on Wednesday, yes we decided to stay an extra day, we're going to the Grand Canyon. We've decided to take a sky safari tour. We'll fly into the Grand Canyon Airport, then travel to the bottom of the canyon via helicopter. Then take a narrated tour on the Colorado River in a pontoon boat. We'll return to the airport via helicopter, then view the Grand Canyon from 4,000 feet above the river. Have lunch prepared by the Hualapai Tribe, while enjoying the view of the Grand Canyon. We will then fly back to Sedona. It sounds like an amazing trip, voted number 1 tour in AZ. Oh, also we'll be able to go on the Grand Canyon Skywalk taking this trip. We researched touring the Grand Canyon and found the Skywalk is on the western side on Indian land this is the only way to get to see it. S

The Indian ruins were really interesting, but I was watching out for rattle snakes on the whole trail. Fortunately, they were taking a day off. I can understand how the glyphs that were carved into the rocks have survived all these years, but it amazes me how the painted glyphs can last over 700 years and we have to re-paint our house every 5 years or so...

Nice ride over roads that you definitely needed a Jeep in lieu of a Corvette to traverse. Such beautiful buttes and rock formations. Back to Sedona and back to the airport to check on flights to the Grand Canyon. After flying in a helicopter yesterday, this sure seems like a greater adventure than driving up to the Canyon and back to Sedona in a day in the Vette.

After dusty roads in the pink Jeep, it was sure good to be able to jump in the pool at the motel this evening. We ate at the airport cafe and we tried fried cactus as an appetizer and it was delicious. Someone on the Jeep tour mentioned fried cactus, so we decided to try it and we weren't disappointed at all.

Don't know if we mentioned it yesterday, but when we checked into the Comfort Inn, we were surprised it wasn't called "Barney's Inn", as it is painted purple. A nice motel, but purple???

Looking forward to the flight to the Grand Canyon, and then "The Great Adventure" continues. Think after we leave here, we will be driving a few looooong days to get to some of our scheduled spots in Texas. Looking forward to tomorrow to just cool our jets a little bit before our Canyon adventure. Still trying to figure out where we're going to put the geode book ends Sheila picked up the other day during one of her shopping adventures, but they are such a pretty blue color we just couldn't pass them up. K