Albuquerque, NM

9/2/2010

We are now officially on the road again. Left Melissa, TX on Monday, Aug 30th. Took us two hours to get all the way around the metroplex and onto I-20 west. We got about 150 miles when all of a sudden, we heard this LOUD bang from under the hood. And we lost almost all power. My turbo gauge went to -0- so I knew it had to be something with the turbo. We got off onto a service road and called GS ERS. Within 30 minutes a guy from Freddies’ Garage (Ranger, TX) showed up. The culprit was a broken clamp on the turbo hose. He didn’t have one, but was able to get one from their shop, and, an hour and a half later, we were back on the road. (/Whew - only a minor problem!!)


We made it to Post, TX (about 40 miles south of Lubbock, TX) and spent the night. On Tuesday we drove west thru TX - here are a few of the sights:

Notice the oil well in the middle of a cotton (yes cotton) field!   Don't be surprised if your next shirt is made from TX cotton!!

and then into NM and into mountains (pictures don't do justice, but here they are anyway):

We stopped at a CG for the night just outside of Ruidoso.

I took a walk later in the day to check out the CG and guess what I found and no camera to record it??

Actually I did get the camera and go back and they were still there - a buck lying down and a doe standing on the left of the picture.  You need to double click on the picture to get a clearer view.  The doe is on the left and the buck in the lower right (scroll down to see it).

On Wednesday we drove out of the mountains and into Albuquerque. Along the way we drove thru the Valley of Fire.

Very interesting – the rocks are black. According to Google: The volcanic action responsible was relatively recent, occurring between 1,500 and 5,000 years ago, but the lava has become quite overgrown with grass and small bushes so the landscape is generally greenish in color rather than black, less of a dramatic spectacle.

We are currently at the Enchanted Trails RV Park just west of Albuquerque on I-40.  When drove into the park, we encountered this sign:

This CG has been in existence since the early 70's.  Big park, all gravel sites, few trees. Not your Midwest CG, but I guess this is the southwest for you.  The price was right though - $155 for the week!

Here are a couple of antiques in view just to the left of the "WHOA" sign:

We came to Albuquerque to visit with my cousin, Judy, and her mom, Lois.  Judy had back surgery last week so we called the hospital to see if she was still there, but she wasn't.  She had been transferred to Health South for rehab yesterday.  Called her there and told her that we were on the way.   She is in good spirits and is just getting into rehab.  They have had her standing already, but one of here legs is still numb so she won't be walking for awhile yet.
Today, Thursday, we will be going over again to visit with her. 

More later........

August 2010 Travels

8/23/10     Sorry to be so late in updating the Blog, but we are now back in TX.

We left Ortonville, MN. on July 24th and drove to Minneapolis to visit with Pam and Steve and all the others. We celebrated Lauren's birthday again this year.  She provided the cupcakes which were yummy!

Cupcakes and beer - what a great combination!!

And we got to see little Violet of course:

On Tuesday Pam and Steve and Judy and I were guests at Elaine and John's house for steaks on the grill.  John has previously made some "killer" steaks and he didn't disappoint us this time either.  While we were there, Donna (Elaine's daughter) and her friend, Karin, dropped by.

The cousins from CA (Nancy, Diane, and Neil Agness) arrived late Wednesday, the 28th. On Thursday Judy and I drove in from our CG in Prior Lake to see them. We went out to lunch at Restaurant on Lake Minnetonka.

Molly came later so unfortunately she did not get in the picture. The food was great. Of course, there was some sort of scuffle over who was going to pay the bill and a few people got a little damp, but, all in all, it was a great time. And, Auntie Cleo DID pay the bill!! On Friday Pam and Judy took the cousins on a nostalgia trip around St. Louis Park to see where they lived when they were here, the church, the skating rink, etc.

Lake Calhoun:

Lake of the Isles:

Lodge:

Somewhere along the trip down memory lane, Diane felt the need to revert back to her childhood for a moment, and, Judy was able to capture it on film:

On Saturday Judy and I went to a 90th birthday party for Harold Appeldorn, my uncle. His birthday was actually in January, but you can’t plan a party during that time of year in MN!! It was held in Elk River, MN at one of his granddaughter’s house. There were 4 children, plus all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren (total of 49), and Judy and I. It was great to get re-acquainted with that part of the family again.

On Sunday Pam, Steve, Nancy, Diane, Neil and Judy and I drove up to Nisswa, MN for reunion with Uncle Kenny and Auntie Betty and their kids. Nancy wanted to do so fishing off the dock so Jim fixed up a rod and reel and she fished. The blue gill were really biting and she got 9 in about 30 minutes.

Neil was being the spotter for Nancy!!

And then he tried the fishing thing too!!

It rained in the afternoon so we were all inside, but it was neat to watch the rain on the lake. Kenny and Betty have a hummingbird feeder so it was fun to watch them.

Of course, we took a few pictures of the group.

First, Kenny and Betty:

Then the Anderson Family - Jim and Elaine, Kenny and Betty,.

Jim and Sherri

Elaine and John

Jeff and Kathy

Jacky and Gayle

The Agness Group (and Pam)

A picture of some great looking guys:

A picture of all the cousins:

And Pam and Steve with Betty:

We left around 7 and got back to MPLS around 9:30.

On Monday the clan came out to the CG where we are at and we took the bus to the casino. Had lunch there and then played with the slots in the afternoon. Later in the day we went back to our trailer and had snacks with Donna and Karin who showed up with a huge tub of beer on ice! We sat out on the picnic table and had a blast (no pictures here for obvious reasons!!!). From there, we went in to Hopkins to watch Jesse (Stephanie’s boyfriend) play softball. They were in a tournament, won the first game, but lost the second. It was a great evening for some softball. We went back to Pam and Steve’s, had dinner, said our goodbyes to everyone left for the CG.

On Tuesday morning, we drove south to the IA/MO border and stayed at a nice little CG in Eagleville, MO. called Eagle Ridge RV Park. The sunset was beautiful.

On Wednesday we drove to Joplin, MO. to a casino that had free camping. We ate at the casino and spent some time there as it was 106 outside!!

Thursday we drove to Melissa to the park that we stay at when we are in the Dallas area. We are now here for a few weeks for DR appointments. Judy had a pet scan of her whole body on Friday the 6th and we got the results – seems that she has a very small spot on her lung and its too small to biopsy. So we have to wait another 3 months to have another scan.

Gehrig and Emma started school at Lucas Christian Academy in Lucas, TX.  Looks like it will be a great school for them.  They usually celebrate school starting by having something special the day before.  This year it was Cookie Day.

And this was from the first day at school:

On Wednesday, the 25th we went to the Rangers/Twins baseball game with Kisers, Collettes, Steffels, and Steenersons. 

Great picture of Barb Collette!!

Doesn't look like the first three people are having a good time,

but Jim Kiser and I were!!  Check out the loyalties here!!

Jim and Joan Steenerson.  Somehow we missed Nancy

Steffel - she must have been out on a beer run!!

Had a great time - and of course - it was $1 HOT DOG night so we had to have some for dinner.  The game, however, was not so good as the Twins lost.  We did have a great time even though...

Tomorrow, Monday, 8/29, we leave TX for the west, including NM (Ruidoso and Albuquerque), CO (Colorado Springs and Denver), WY (possibly Yellowstone and Jackson Hole), SD (Black Hills), and finally MN (Minnetonka and Pipestone for birthdays).
I'll post again later in the week...