Hi All,
I don't think I've written since Arizona. We are now on the white sandy beaches of the Fla. Panhandle in Panama City. Actually, we haven't yet seen the white sandy beaches but are about to get on our bikes and explore.
In Arizona we visited the Kartchner Caverns in Benson about 8 miles off of 1-10. Two U of Arizona Students in the early 70's discovered these caverns. They managed to keep it a secret wanting to protect this treasure until they could be assured that it would be properly preserved. They eventually shared their find with the family who owned the property and who were also interested in protecting it. It was sold to the State Park Service and they have done a great job of making it available to the public in a very controlled environment. Apparently this cave is noteworthy not just for it's beautiful and unusual formations but also for it unusual minerals.
Black clouds were coming in and we knew that bad weather was approaching so we drove on to Deming, NM. We decided not to stop at Roswell or Carlsbad Caverns on this leg of the trip. It snowed that night but only lightly. In the morning we listened to Tim Geitner lay out his economic recovery plan. One of the women in the room said that if Regan were president we would have never gotten into this mess. I had to control myself from making smart remarks. The hispanic women who was tending to the breakfast room said that the people of her town have lived without for so long that this poor economy is not a big change for them. Always interesting to hear
another perspective or two.
As we passed through El Paso we noticed the border patrol in action. Random stops with flashing lights - patrols jumping out of their vehicles onto the median to stop a truck or vehicle they thought suspicious. Random inspection stations - which required us to wait in line only to be flagged through when it came to our turn.
We met two cute hispanic girls working behind the counter at Starbucks. I asked them how they felt about a fence dividing Mexico and the US. They found it comforting because of all the recent violence in Juarez, just across the border. They said that Juarez in the past was a great place to go for a good meal and to shop but now the drug cartel and it's lackeys are murdering each other and innocents. The girls were alarmed as some of these outlaws had recently come into the US and kidnapped - so they were quite happy with the building of the fence.
As we drove through El Paso you see run down multicolored houses and garbage strewn yards. This is when we realized that at this location, the border was a stone's throw away. We took lots of pictures, hoping to to get a shot of the fence hopefully one or two will turn out. We also saw some interesting mountains with black ridges parallel to one another not far out of town. More pictures.
As we were heading through west Texas we came upon a 15 vehicle wreck - mostly Tractor Trailers, 2 RV's and I car - unrecognizable. The car was shredded and the tractor trailors badly damaged - all the result of a dust storm'. This must have happened shortly before we arrived because only one EMT was on the scene.. Apparently this dust storm came up quickly and blinded everyone. We could see the dust still blowing but decided to get to the next stop Ft. Stockton and spend the night. Ft. Stockton as is most of the west Texas we saw off of 1-10 very dry, dusty and desolate. It became apparent that you really have to plan you stops because it can be a long way to the next town. Towns in West Texas had names like Welfare, and Iraan.
We were unable to locate any state parks so we stayed in RV Parks.
Most states have viewpoints and places to pull over. We saw one off of I-10, but couldn't find the view. It is very clear that if we want to find good things in Texas we have to get off the interstate. After leaving Texas we were advised that the Austin area and
just west of it are very pretty areas. Although Texas is not high on our list of places to explore we still have to get to Big Bend which everyone says is a great National Park.
Traveler's World, another RV Park was our choice in San Antonio. It was close to the Alamo and the Riverwalk - about a mile from tiny homes with fences and bars on the windows, graffiti covering several buildings and Gang Control Units driving around. I feel like I have already written about this so If I have just scroll down. We took a city bus to the Alamo and Riverwalk. The Alamo was originally a mission and later became a fort. It was much smaller then I had imagined. The tour was not as interesting as I had hoped for but some of the visual panels explaining the history were well done. That night we went to the Riverwalk and had our Texas Bar-be-que. Very tasty.
We were also eager to move on. Heading for The Johnson Space Center outside of Houston we stayed in another RV Park on the Gulf Coast just a few miles from NASA. We were on the water - probably a bay or tributary leading to the Gulf of Mexico. People
advised us not to go to Corpus Christi or Galveston because Hurricane Ike had really damaged the area.
We enjoyed NASA but realized that it is old and needs to be updated. It is clear that any money they have is not going into renovations for this facility. We liked some of the exhibits describing the missions and part of the tram tour to Mission Control. Found the building that houses the Saturn Rocket which propelled the Apollo Missions into Space quite impressive. Would have liked more info on upcoming missions to Mars in a manned craft. Their current focus is on the international space station which is really an international effort and returning a man to the moon for a longer period of time.
We spent most of the day at the Space Center and decided to travel at night
until we were worn out. As we followed Rte. 146 towards 1-10 east we began to see miles and miles of refineries and off shore oil rigs. A rather sobering experience when you consider the environment around this area.
Another storm was coming with severe thunderstorns predicted so we moved on east hoping to avoid it. No dice - the rain was coming down in sheets making visibility impossible so we proceeded to look for a cheap motel. After 5 tries we went back to the first - paid the extra and settled in for the night. One of the motels we went to had rooms but couldn't find any keys. I don't believe I have ever had that experience before. I'm quickly realizing that the night time travel is not for me. I think Mike is in agreement that we get to where ever we are going in daylight.
Our sights were set for New Orleans and we were in Louisianna at last. Apparently Mardi Gras was in progress but still a week till Fat Tues. We didn't mind because we would see some of the hoopla leading up to it. We decided to stay and found a wonderful RV park just two blocks from the French Quarter. It's official name is French Quarter RV Park an is only a couple of years old. The architecture was in keeping with the French Quarter. The streets were lined with pavers in a particular pattern and the old street lanterns were at every site. It had a pool, hot tub and clean bathrooms. The people at the desk were exceptional, always accommodating and offered rides day and night to get us close to the French Quarter. We would ride in a golf cart for 11/2 blocks and walk past the police station 1 block to the Quarter. The negative this was formerly a high crime area that seemed to be better over the last two years.
New Orleans was fabulous. Lots of good food, music and colorful people. Our favorite restaurant was NOLA one of Emeril's restaurants. I had the best duck I've ever had. The Pecan Pie at the French Market Restaurant was also a hit - and the Oysters were delicious. Mike liked the Beignet's at Cafe Dumond and we both enjoyed the Muffuleta from the Central Grocery. Thanks Michael Cross for telling me about that place a number of years ago. We found ourselves dancing to Zydeco music on Bourbon Street
which
was filled with festive, partying, crazy and curious people an abundance of drunks and police on horseback.
Colorful beads were being tossed from 2nd story balconies and some people were covered with beads, masks and costumes.
We took the St. Charles Street Car to the end of the line and tried to walk back. It is a very long walk so we finally agreed to hopping on the street car for the rest of the trip to the French Quarter. Got to see the Garden District and Tulane, Loyola and the Audabon Park.
On our last day we went to the lower 9th ward which was in ruins after Hurricane Katrina. The destruction is everywhere and the homes are mostly vacant The progress has been slow and it will be 4 years this Aug./Sept. We had many questions but didn't really get very informative answers. Some homes have been rebuilt - but the work ahead looks
daunting.
Since starting this letter we have now left Panama City and are spending the night on beautiful St. George Island.
In Panama City we biked and ate Oysters and crab cakes at Hunt's restaurant - a unique and popular hang out for the locals and tourists. The locals break into song by Hank Williams Jr as they are eating dinner - it was pretty entertaining. After staying at Emerald RV Park which was nicest of all the RV parks we finally found a wonderful state park called St. Andrews. Beautiful dunes, white sandy beaches, lots of birds, deer and coyotes. Alligators were in a specific area not close to where we were camped Great places to walk and bike.. Met a wonderful couple Vic and Fred also traveling in a Road Trek. They will be traveling for a year and have 6 months to go.
We had much to talk about and ended up having dinner together at their campsite and sharing stories and information and lots of good tips.
We are on a narrow barrier island tonight and arrived just as the sun was setting and the colors of the sky surrounded us. Beautiful oranges, reds, pinks blues and yellow everywhere. Gorgeous.
We now know how to find the state parks and that makes us very happy.
Heading tomorrow to Ft. Meyers and the Sanibel Island area to meet up with friends that we met on the Arctic trip.
Hope you are fine and we sure would like to hear from you. Please let us know - what you are up to.
Barb and Mike
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