Day 21--Reflections...

When we decided to start driving toward home this morning (Friday), we knew that it would be about a 16-hour drive.  We assumed this would take us two days.  But, when we passed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, we decided to just keep on going.  By the way, the Arch is about eight hours from Lansing, and definitely worth a visit.  We didn’t stop there on this trip, but we have been there--traveled to the top of it, took lots of pictures, toured St. Louis.  It’s a very nice 4-day getaway.   We’ll be home by about 1:00 a.m.  By the time we get home, we will have driven 5,433 miles through 12 different states in 21 days.    Unbelievably, we’ve had zero traffic or construction problems.   Zero.   So, with my laptop on my lap, I’ll end this Road Trip blog with some random thoughts…

I love maps.  When we’re on a road trip, I always have at least one map on my lap.  Sometimes, I have two or three.  Yes, we have and love our GPS (Lola), but I like to read maps.  I like the names of the towns and rivers and lakes.  Some of the names are logical: Hot Springs, for instance, or Dogwood, or Robertsville.  Some are more puzzling: Blue Eye, Flippin, Herculaneum.  There’s a town in Arkansas named “Dogpatch (Marble Falls),” with both names printed on the map.  Some names are just fun: Halfway, Romance, Old Jenny Lin, Steve (not Stevesburg or Stevesville, just Steve).  There’s a city in Quebec with the name of “St.-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!,” spelled exactly like that, with the exclamation marks.  That’s why I love maps.

 I like signs, too, and take lots of pictures of them—names of cities and states as we enter them, scenic drives, parks—things that will remind me of where we’ve been, or things that amuse me.  I wish I had taken pictures of some warning signs we saw as we traveled out west—warnings about deer, elk, big horn sheep, bears, cows, and tractors. 

We saw another amusing water tower, but I didn’t get a picture.  It was two towers, actually, right next to each other.  Both of them were white.  On one was the big blue word, “COLD;” on the other, “HOT.”  Now, that’s just funny. 

John and I (and, usually, Joe!) have traveled to 45 states together.  Besides Alaska and Hawaii, we have yet to visit North Dakota, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  So, I have lots more road trips to plan!

Day 20-Our last day of aimless sightseeing

Today, the sky was blue, the sun was shining brightly, the temperature reached 78 degrees.  It was a beautiful day for a scenic drive.  When planning for our 3-week trip, I read several sources that recommended great drives in Arkansas.  I highlighted all of them on my map, and today we chose a couple of them for our ride.  We drove south from beautiful Mt. Magazine to Hot Springs, best known for the natural spring water that gives it its name, flowing out of the ground at a temperature of 147 degrees.  About a million gallons of this naturally sterile, purified, 4,000-year old water flow from the springs each day.  Well, the water isn’t 4,000 years old, of course; the water is ageless.  But the purification process takes about 4,000 years.  The water is available and free for use by everyone.  I filled up my water jug from one of the spigots.  (Thanks, Joe.)  It wasn’t hot, though, which I was happy about, but don’t understand.  We drove by Bathhouse Row, where eight beautiful, turn-of-the-century bathhouses stand.  Two of them are still in use.  Within the city of Hot Springs is the Hot Springs National Park, which we drove through on a very twisty road.  From there, we made our way back north to Mt. Magazine.  Altogether, we were on the road for about 7 hours.  We saw some pretty scenery, but the best view of all is right outside the front of this lodge.  Have I mentioned how much I like it here?  :-)  Reluctantly, we realize that tomorrow we’ll begin driving toward Michigan.  This will take us a couple of days. 

Our picture was taken by a group of 8 bikers we met up with.  This is a popular area for bikers.  We aren't sorry we don't have our bike, but it would be fun to ride around here on these twisty roads. 

Mt. Magazine State Park--Day 19

We spent about four hours this morning driving through rain and fog and mist—from Eureka Springs, more or less straight south to Mt. Magazine State Park in the Ozark National Forest.  This is a beautiful area of Arkansas, and is exactly what I imagined the Ozark Mountains would be.  And the lodge here…well, I may be changing my address to Mt. Magazine State Park Lodge.  It’s perfect.  That’s the best way to describe it.  Every room here overlooks a magnificent, sweeping view of a valley and a lake.  However, when we arrived, instead of a view of the valley, we were looking down on the tops of clouds.  Heavenly!  The clouds cleared, and we’re left with this amazing scene.  Tomorrow, we’ll drive around the park and forest.  For the rest of today, we’ll relax.  Here's a link to the lodge. 

Looking down on the clouds, from the park lodge

Same view, after the clouds cleared.  This is Blue Mountain Lake in the Petit Jean River Valley.

Eureka!

Mon. was a driving day, across the width of Oklahoma and just into Arkansas.  We took the scenic route, taking us through the Ouachita (pronounced “Wash-i-tuh”) Mountains and into the Ouachita National Forest in eastern OK.  We could see for miles and miles as we crossed the ridges of those small-ish mountains.  The scenery on that drive was like the Smoky Mountains, but that may have been because the day, in general, was overcast and hazy.  We spent Mon.  night in Ft. Smith, AR, just barely across the Arkansas line.  On Tuesday, our destination was Eureka Springs, in the far NW corner of Arkansas.  For hundreds of years, the spring in the town was considered to have healing powers.  In about 1880, 10,000 people lived in Eureka Springs, and it was a very popular resort town.  Between 1882 and 1884, thousands of homes and businesses were built.  These structures still exist today--so rigorously preserved that the entire town of Eureka Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places.   I read this: The impossibility of presenting a striking and vivid picture of Eureka Springs has been fully realized by every person who has made the attempt, and the most powerful descriptive writer would rise from the task dissatisfied with the best efforts of his pen. To group and present a few of its most prominent features would utterly fail to do justice to a city without parallel--unique, phenomenal, picturesque and beautiful."  That was written in 1892, and it is still true today.  We drove all through this hilly town, with very narrow streets, and a vibrant shopping area, and ornate, small Victorian homes, and old hotels.  I would describe it as a cross between Mackinac Island and Nashville, Indiana.  We did not drink from the healing waters, though.  We visited another town today:  Branson, Missouri.  This was not even on our list for this road trip, but when we realized that Branson was just about an hour north of Eureka Springs, we decided to make the drive.  We stopped in a Bass Pro Shop, ate lunch at a cool fishing lodge-type restaurant, and found both the historic downtown and the strip of hotels and theaters.  It was pretty amazing, like Myrtle Beach or Gatlinburg.  We took some pictures, and headed back to Eureka Springs for the night.  As soon as we got to our motel, a strong storm arrived, with major rain and some hail and lightning and thunder.  We were happy to be finished with our driving. 

Pretty drive in the Ozark Mountains

Hilly drive in the Ouachita Mountains

These Oklahoma road signs amused me because the shape of the state looks like a pointing finger.  I was confused several times about which way we should turn.  : )

Branson, Missouri.  It's a wild place!

Eureka Springs has so many pretty buildings--homes and businesses.

Memories of Route 66

Just a few things to describe today. From our hotel in Albuquerque, we were facing (but could not see) the balloon launch field, which was probably 7 miles away. During our breakfast there this morning, we suddenly saw the tiny balloons in the sky, looking like a flock of birds, or bubbles rising from a bottle. There were easily over a hundred of them, and they just kept rising out of the field. We drove toward them, and were able to see several as they came in for a landing. That was a perfect way to end our Fiesta time. Our drive today was across the east half of New Mexico, the panhandle of Texas, and a few miles into Oklahoma. The scenery was flat almost the entire drive. One interesting thing we saw was just west of Amarillo, Texas. A very rich man lives there who is a fan of pop culture and pop art. He sometimes commissions or buys unusual sculptures. One of them is called “Hood Ornament of Route 66,” and we saw it. It consists of ten vintage Cadillacs buried nose-first in a muddy field. Apparently, people constantly are painting graffiti on the cars. I guess the graffiti is (or has become) part of the artwork. A woman was there painting when we stopped to look at it. Very interesting. By the way, Route 66 (or, I should say, what used to be Route 66) runs right through the towns that our highway (40) bypasses, as it runs through these states we’ve been driving in. We’ve exited from the highway several times to drive through these towns, and they are often just about ghost towns. One of them is Tucumcari, New Mexico, where we stopped to buy a few groceries. Those old motel buildings were still standing (some of them), but they were no longer motels. Sometimes, only the sign was there. Nearly everything on that motel strip was defunct. The entire downtown seemed to be empty buildings. The only actual businesses were the grocery store, a Dollar Store, and a feed store. I couldn’t bring myself to take any pictures of Tucumcari. For those who don't know, Route 66 used to run from Chicago to L.A. It was removed from the highway system in 1985, when the interstate highway system became established. Some travelers continue to seek out the old route, and in some places it is now a designated Historic Route.

Can you see the tiny balloons?

"Hood Ornament of Route 66"

Ten Cadillacs buried in a muddy field

A woman is adding graffiti to the second car.

Flat Texas

I don't know what's up with this water tower.  We could see that two of the legs were completely out of the ground.  I've always thought it would be interesting to have a photo album of water towers.  This would be a good addition to the album.

Glow!

Just a brief note to show a few pictures from tonight's balloon glow.  It was wonderful!  Hard to capture in a picture, though.  There were at least 100 balloons that set up on the field and glowed.  Just like this morning, the spectators were welcome to wander around among the balloons.  We joined thousands of people doing just that.

Day 14 & 15--Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta!

Fri., 10/7--We left Santa Fe early this morning, and drove SW to Albuquerque.  We’ll be going to the Balloon Fiesta tomorrow morning, very early.  Today, we went to the Balloon Museum, which is at the same location as the launch field.  The museum was interesting, and there were lots of people there.  There are lots of people everywhere in this city.  This balloon rally is a huge event, attended by about 600 balloonists and their crews, along with thousands and thousands of spectators.  It’s always the first week in October, so the event actually started last weekend.  We understand that the weather has been a problem this year, with high winds preventing some of the flights.  Today is very cloudy; there is a forecast of rain during the night, and continuing until about 6:00 tomorrow morning.  The flights are supposed to start at about 7:00.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed.  We drove around the city awhile, including finding the Rio Grande and taking a picture of it.  We also drove to Old Town, the “must see” when visiting this city.  Old Town was nearly gridlock—apparently everyone else in town read the same “must see” list that we did.  So, we drove on out of that area.  Now, we relax and wait for tomorrow morning…

Sat., 10/8--Up at 3:45 a.m., on our way to the launch field at 4:30, along with tens of thousands of other early birds.  Well, you have to get up early if you want to watch a morning  balloon launch!  We had bought a special Gondola Club pass that included close parking, a big, catered breakfast for about 200 people, and prime viewing for the Fiesta.  After eating, we sat outside to watch the action.  The weather this morning was clear, thank goodness, and 38 degrees.   Beyond the launch field was a mountain range, and there was snow on the peaks that had arrived last night.  The locals were amazed at how far down the mountains the snow was, and at how early in the season it arrived.  It made a beautiful backdrop for the balloons.  There’s a thing called Dawn Patrol here.  Before sunrise, three balloons inflated in the dark, and launched, with their burners creating a beautiful glow inside the fabric.  Off they flew.  About an hour later, the sun was up, and all the other balloons began to inflate.  This is the 40^th anniversary of the Albuquerque Fiesta, and they absolutely know how to organize this event.   The launch field is huge, of course, to accommodate the 600 balloons, the 600 chase vehicles, probably 3,000 chase crew people, and thousands and thousands of spectators.  Here, they allow the spectators to roam around right on the field.  I had always thought that would be chaotic and crowded for the pilots.  It didn’t seem to be at all.  We wandered around with everyone else, taking many pictures.  It was a gorgeous morning—weather-wise and picture-wise.  We also watched five Navy Seals parachute down to the ground, right in front of us.  It was a perfect morning.  This evening, we’re going back to the field to watch what’s called a Glow.  The balloons will inflate after dark, and the burners turn the balloons into beautiful, enormous light bulbs.  After that, fireworks!  I’m going to go ahead and post this blog now.  If we get some good Glow pictures tonight, I’ll post them later.  

Day 13: A fun day in Santa Fe

According to some local resources, there are some “Things Not to Miss” when one visits the lovely capitol city of Santa Fe.  We took that advice, and had a great day.  In the heart of downtown Santa Fe is the Plaza.  For four centuries, this plaza has served as the center of the city.  Initially, it was the area around which the Spanish officials built houses and barracks.  Now, the plaza is surrounded on three sides by shops.   Across the street from the Plaza is the Palace of the Governors, built in 1610.  It is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the U.S.  These days, it is available for touring.  Also, local people sell their beautiful wares—mostly jewelry—on the building’s front porch area.  Naturally, there are several historic churches downtown.  One of them is Loretto Chapel.  It was constructed in 1882, and is the site of the legendary miraculous staircase.   When the chapel’s designer suddenly died before the building was complete, the Sisters of Loretto realized they needed a way to the choir loft.  Space was too limited for a traditional staircase.  The sisters prayed for a solution, and soon a mysterious carpenter showed up and offered to build the staircase for no charge.  The structure uses no nails or supports, and the wood is not found locally.  It is essentially a perfectly built spring.  We saw the inside of the chapel, and the staircase is perfect and beautiful.  Very near downtown is Canyon Rd.  This is a wonderful six-block area of galleries and shops, and most of the buildings were originally among the first homes in the city.  We also saw the Oldest House, built in 1620 and possibly the oldest structure in the nation.  It is now a gift shop.  In the same alleyway as that shop is San Miguel Mission, billed as the country’s oldest church.  So, you see, Santa Fe has a wonderfully long history.  Just outside town are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  The tallest peak there is Santa Fe Baldy, elevation 12,622 ft., capped in snow, and visible for miles around.  We drove up a beautiful drive to get nearly to its peak, where we could see the ski lifts that will soon be in use.  Just for fun, we also drove up another nearby road through Pecos Canyon.  The road led up a mountain to the town of Cowles, which consisted of nothing but the sign identifying it.  When we got to Cowles, the road ended.  We just turned around and came back down the mountain.  This was another beautiful, remote drive.  We did see several groups of fly fishermen, fishing in the beautiful Pecos River.  One more thing I want to mention about Santa Fe is the appearance of the buildings in this city.  Most of the structures are low, and are built in the adobe style.  This characteristic started several hundred years ago as a natural response of the area’s original inhabitants to using the available building materials.  The city embraced this pueblo style in 1912, and now, most buildings—homes, businesses, schools, banks, government buildings—have that appearance.  The city had wonderful foresight back in 1912.  Everything blends in to the beautiful surroundings here, and nothing is distracting.  I could look at a hillside, or across a valley, and hardly notice the buildings or even whole subdivisions.  That was some great city planning.  Tomorrow:  Albuquerque!

Palace of the Governors...

...where Native Americans sell their wares.

 

Santa Fe Baldy, visible for miles around

Beautiful Pecos Canyon Dr.

Beautiful view in Pecos Canyon

Example of the adobe style used in a subdivison

Day 11 & 12: Surprising New Mexico--Taos and Santa Fe

Tues., 10/4--New Mexico is our playground for a few days.  : )   Our drive into this state was a scenic surprise—mountains, canyons, ponderosa pine trees.  Also, we saw lots and lots of antelope in the wide open fields.  Many of them were right near the road; one crossed in front of us.  What did I expect?  That the entire state would be a flat desert?  Well, maybe.  However, people do come to Taos to ski, so that should have told me something.  In Taos, we ate a delicious Mexican lunch at a wonderful, old, rustic restaurant called Michael’s Kitchen and Bakery.  We walked around the town plaza, wandering into a few of the shops.  The sky was dark and cloudy; the rain started to fall; we were tired of wandering around anyway, so we called it a day.  I wanted to love Taos, to be enchanted by it, but it hasn’t turned out that way.  The city was crowded—full of traffic and people.  It just wasn’t charming to us.  I think this town needs to be appreciated under sunshine and a deep blue sky.  But, by the time the sunshine returns, we’ll be someplace else.  Here are some pics from Taos.  After that, you'll see my notes and pics from the Santa Fe area.

In the Cimarron Canyon State Park, on the way to Taos

Some of the many antelope we saw in northern New Mexico

I love these tall cliffs!

This was our weather in Taos.

 Wed., 10/5—Taos to Santa Fe.  When we woke up this morning, the sky over Taos was still completely cloudy, and the dark clouds were down over the tops of the mountains.  Fortunately, as soon as we left town, the sky cleared.  That was a relief, because between Taos and Santa Fe is a road called “High Road to Taos Scenic Byway,” and we wanted to be on it and see the sights.  The drive was through the mountains, and through pine forests, and through small towns, and we enjoyed lots of views that seemed to go on forever.  Just west of Santa Fe, near Los Alamos, is the Bandelier National Monument.  That area contains “stunningly preserved ruins of the ancient cliff-dwelling ancestral Puebloan culture within 46 square miles of canyon and mesa wilderness,” according to my Frommer’s guidebook.  That culture flourished there between the years 1100 and 1550.  So, I wanted to see it.  When we were about 20 minutes from the park, we were surprised to see signs directing us to park, in order to take a shuttle bus.  That was OK with us.  When we arrived at the park, a ranger told us some surprising things—surprising to us, that is.  In June, there was a terrible fire that burned thousands of acres of the park.  Then, tragically, there was a huge flood, which damaged some of the pueblo areas, and many of the bridges and parking lots in the park, along with the visitor’s center, which had to be closed.  The park just re-opened last week!  Although there are miles of drives and walking trails in the park, there is now only about one-half mile of one trail open to the public, and it remains lined with walls of sandbags.  It does lead to one of the pueblo areas, but only three of those “homes” have been reinforced to be safe enough for visitors.  So, as it turns out, we heard what they had to say, and then took the next shuttle bus back to the parking area.  Too bad, but still an interesting story.  Our next stop:  a wonderful hamburger joint.  As in Iowa, this is a restaurant that’s highlighted in the book, “America’s Best Burgers.”  It’s called “Bobcat Bite,” and it’s off the beaten path outside Santa Fe.  It’s very small, with a counter and maybe 12 tables for seating.  We ordered the Green Chili Cheeseburger, and it was a perfect burger; really, really good.  So we’ve been in Santa Fe for a few hours, but haven’t really seen the city yet.  We have all day tomorrow to check it out. 

Does this scenery between Taos and Santa Fe surprise you?  It did us! 

Beautiful vista near Santa Fe

Me, about to eat a delicious green chili cheeseburger!