Sand, Wind, And Aliens

An intended 70 mile each way day trip to Roswell to visit the UFO Museum turned out to be more of an "alien" experience than we ever thought possible. It was windy as it has been when we left the Carlsbad KOA in the mid morning. The trip to Roswell went fairly uneventful. Pulled into the "UFO Parking Only" lot and went into the museum as planned.

Models of what supposedly happened here in 1947 were everywhere, along with supposed letters from every president of the US since detailing why the Freedom of Information type provisions of the law don't apply to release of what the government does and does not know about this incident and such others as Area 51. They even have a photo and text of then Governor Richardson just a few years ago saying that he did not believe the government had released everything it knew- and that an investigation, in his words, "to get to the bottom of the matter," should be launched.

The cowboy (actually he was a sheep farmer) who discovered the wreckage of the UFO is pictured over and over along with military and other dignitaries. And there are images, 2-D, 3-D, and projected of what the alien they supposedly found at the site looked like. Regardless of what others may think, there are a lot of believers here in this town. Even the streetlights have Alien faces painted on them. A bit creepy for my taste.


Even the Alien autopsy is displayed in the primary showcase....that was really disturbing!


Weird. Whether it makes you think...or believe...or even consider for the moment, you shouldn't have to emerge from the quiet of the museum to the unsettled and unsettling atmosphere outside. The wind had whipped beyond where I have been describing of late. The light had that threatening yellow cast to it. The air had gone hazy. And the smell of the dust from the desert permeated the air.

"We're gonna have a dust storm. Now"

My comment was met with the look of "And how would you know that?" though it went unspoken. But any disbelief was short lived as within two minutes it was hard to see across the street. A dust ball blew into town. Severe winds blew without warning. Tumbleweeds showed up and blocked the road before us. Plastic sheets, trash cans, signs, all nature of debris blew down the street. Even one dumpster came whipping across in front of us. A number of stop signs were uprooted - hard to believe but true. The sky grew black. The thought of tornado hit us simultaneously as we headed home as fast as the wind allowed, which wasn't very fast. Ranchers were out with pitch forks throwing the tumbleweeds which had become lodged in the fencing and threatened to blow even the wire fences down. Holding the wheel to keep us on the road hurt my hands. It was not something I would have believed had it not happened to us first hand. It lasted for the full hour ride home. And then disappeared just as mysteriously as it had come upon us. The sky cleared and only the straight line wind that we had before remained.

With weather like this, it is certainly understandable why people believe that "other worldly" matters occur here. I can't say one way or the other about any aliens or UFO's. But the weather is pretty out of this world!

Christmas On The Pecos

As part of our holiday preparedness, Marilyn booked us on a downtown nighttime boat ride in beautiful downtown Carlsbad called "Christmas On The Pecos." It is the New Mexico version of "drive around town to see the pretty lights." They do it every year. Homeowners, sponsored by local businesses, do an absolutely extravagant job of decorating their water front properties. This is the desert. So you can well imagine that these properties are muy grande to begin with. In every town I have ever lived in at Christmas time, there were a few properties that went to these ends to decorate. Here, everyone does it, and the town makes money hand over fist from Thanksgiving until New Years. From dark 'til late, boat after boat hauls visitors and locals up and down the river for a 45 minute tour of the light show. Our scheduled trip departed the boat dock at 7:45 and blessed as we were the wind stopped blowing long enough for our ride. It was a delightful night. Hot chocolate and funnel cakes on the river walk. People strolling along the lighted path beside the slowly flowing river. Christmas spirit in the South West. Some times I need to make apologies for using less than spectacular photos. The camera is fine. But I certainly don't have the talents to make great night shots of lights in the distance with a slow shutter speed and a moving boat. But with the intention of sharing at least the general feel of the evening, here is a slide show of "Christmas On The Pecos."

A Day At The Bat Cave

Holy Guano, Bat Man! The bats have all gone south for the winter! Silly me! I thought this WAS south for the winter. But it's too cold for insects. So if it's too cold for them, there would be nothing to eat for the bats. I reckon they are in Acapulco about now. But never mind, the ride to the Carlsbad Caverns was breath-taking and the long steep walk down into the cavern was even better. Perhaps the most famous cavern in the world for the daily (in season) flight of the bats, it is also quite noteworthy for the beautiful structures inside the cavern as well. I visited here with my family, as I had with some of the other places we visited, some 50 years ago. You hold a memory of things this grand for a long time. I had remembered the appearance of the natural entrance to the cavern quite well. And I had told Marilyn about the huge cafeteria 750 feet down into the cavern. I remembered it as big, bright, and noteworthy. But when we got down there, we found only a small snack stand in a dimly lit corner next to the elevators that whisk you back to the surface. (Walking down is strenuous in and of itself - doubt there are many who could hoof it back up even if they wanted to...) It was hard to understand how a memory so strong could have proved so different. But back at the surface in the gift shop, Marilyn found a postcard of the very same cafeteria I had remembered. "Could we possibly have missed it?" we asked the clerk. "No, it hasn't been down there since 1960 when it was removed."
Other than the location of the cafeteria, about the only thing that has changed visibly was a change or two in the path to the bottom and a stainless steel railing- which helped us old timers out quite a bit. The cavern is full of lovely images top to bottom. Here are some of them in a slide show:

Things You See On The Road

Texas is to states what "double-wide" is to trailers. Just plain big. And everyone, not just me, thinks of Texas as an oil state. Oil wells. Oil derricks. Oil pumps. Oil tanker trucks. Oil refineries. All of that is true and self evident as you drive across the panhandle plains of the state. But what really grabbed our attention and rendered us quite "amazed" was the lead that Texas has already taken in the field of alternative energy- specifically wind energy. I have photographed and written about wind turbine power in the past. It intrigues me to be sure. But, to use the analogy to describe the status here in the state of Texas - well, this could "just blow you away." Heading out of Abilene, we started counting. It wasn't the typical one or even a dozen windmills. This was a lot of windmills. A whole lot of them. At one hundred we stopped counting and started estimating "by the mile." This process continued on and on and eventually we just kept track of the mileage. From Abilene through Sweetwater and beyond, some 58 miles in all, we drove non-stop past more windmills than you could shake a stick at. Thousands doesn't cover it. Even 10,000 is probably a short report. We venture to say the windmills numbered 10's of thousands. Certainly 25,000. Maybe even a hundred thousand. I am going to try to get that info, but for now I just don't know. But imagine wind mills on one side of the road, or both, for 58 miles of driving- so many in any one spot you could not count them all. As far in depth as the eye could see...and then some. It was perhaps one of the most amazing man-made sights we have ever seen. And it was very beautiful. I have long said we do not need government to move us in the direction of sustainable energy generation. Game. Set. Match. To Texas. Well, howdy, buckaroo!



So the rancher who has cattle grazing on his land is doing well, yes? And if he also has oil derricks pumping dollar bills into a barrel- all that much better. Erect some wind turbines to harvest that aspect of the revenue stream. And then plant some cotton so that you can make your own wranglers. Beginning to see the pattern? Texans know about making money and living with the land- on, above, and below. Cotton bales like those below sit everywhere waiting to be picked up by a truck that they fit into just perfectly for hauling to the auction, where they are purchased and sent on their way to the highest bidder. I didn't measure them but they are much taller than I am at 6'3", about 8 feet wide and maybe 30 -40 feet long. If you think cotton, compressed like this, is light - think again.


I don't know if there are any productive or lucrative uses for tumble weed other than for use in cowboy songs, but that works too. And in this extremely cold wind we are having day after day, they can roll across the plain or the highway or even the dog walk at will....and do! Note: Abby sees the next one headed right for her below:

The Texas equivalent of the Hawaiian grass skirt????

I've been telling friends about the RV I saw where the owner had figured out a unique way to haul more toys than anyone I had ever seen before. Saw him for the first time in Thousand Trails in Orlando, Florida....but caught up with him at a rest stop in Texas near the New Mexico border.

So for the last three states (Oklahoma, Texas, and now New Mexico) we have had a devil of a time walking the dog because what looks like grass may well not be. Just some camouflaged foliage that masks millions of sharp little burrs that make walking for the dog very painful and rolling around or sitting down just plain unbearable. So our very first project in NM was to head on over to the Petsense - a chain of pet supply stores in this region of the country. Ah, yes, doggie cowboy boots for Abby to protect from those nasty little pickers. Look good too. Now if we can only find a cowboy hat that fits her as well!

Abilene, Teaxas

Posting this from Abilene, Texas. Essentially I have nothing profound to say. Doesn't matter. I felt compelled to tell you we are here! Some city names just hit me as "classic"! It is still mighty windy. It is still mighty cold. A balmy Texas night hitting 27 degrees is not my idea of being in Texas the beginning of December - BUT - reality tends to trump what I think was, is, or should be. There are lots of cattle farms here (uh, I mean ranches). There are lots of oil rigs here. Driving past the Dallas skyline was not like I remembered it some 50 years ago (last time I did that with my family), but it was still pretty neat. JR, I'm in town, Bubba. Wanna take me and the little woman (yea, right) out for a steak. Mind you, Marilyn can still eat a whopping prime rib (though she doesn't). We are old enough (and smart enough) to have down-sized our red meat portions; however, if you're paying? Well, maybe we should re-consider this one time.

Now, so I don't mislead anyone intentionally, I did NOT see the following photos on the road in either Oklahoma OR Texas today. But our dearest of dear friend Miss Joan, who follows the blog like a hound on a fox, sent us these real life Oklahoma shots which I feel duty bound to share with the masses. Not because they are so outrageous, but because I feel relatively CERTAIN I COULD HAVE SEEN THEM anywhere along the way.... It is Texas! All concepts are LARGE!

Oklahoma......OK

Ooook-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet
When the wind comes right behind the rain.

The wheat has been out of the fields for a while now, but we can vouch for the fact that the wind comes sweeping down the plain. And it whistles. And it howls. And it intimidates just a bit as well. I have been in full fledged hurricanes that didn't make as much noise as the wind has the last two days here in Oklahoma.

But undaunted, we headed out on our one full-day foray into Oklahoma, determined to find something that makes the place special. And sure enough we did. In a state that is essentially a "plain", that is to say basically flat, what exactly would we find if we drove a ways to go see the highest waterfall in the state at Turner Falls State Park in the Arbuckle Mountains? At its recorded height of 77 feet, it is far from the most impressive waterfall we have seen, but it had that "oasis in the dessert" kind of beauty that takes you quite by surprise. And it is essentially an all natural water park- falls with slides and diving areas, swimming pools in crystal clear and mighty cold spring water. Rainbow and brown trout abound in the waters above and below the falls and fishing is allowed here as well. There are caves in the sides of the cliff leading to and opposite the falls, and while in summer season, no climbing is allowed, it was a slow day and a super cold day- so I did the up the hill and over the rocks thing to get a few unusual shots.

And lo and behold- we found more mistletoe. If you read the most recent post you saw where we were a bit amazed to find some in Texas. Now, not only have we found it here in Oklahoma, but Marilyn found out today it is the state plant. Which just goes to show you: what is a marvelous discovery for one is just plain common knowledge to a lot of folks, especially those living here in Oklahoma. Traveling, it turns out, teaches a person much about things that they THINK they already know pretty much about!

In the slide show that follows (all Oklahoma shots) keep an eye out for the "QUIG" making its very first official stream crossing to date. While I did drive it across into the park, Marilyn drove it back out so I could get the mid-stream shot. Looking good! And look for some overview shots from the "high points" (literally and figuratively) of our Oklahoma adventure. The Quig took us up some super steep paths intended for hikers. Everybody got a good workout!

You're doin' fine, Oklahoma!
Oklahoma O.K.!

Holiday Spirit In Texas

No one has to tell you the US economy has a seasonal flu and hasn't been feeling too well. Add to that a cold and windy and dreary ride through the Lakes and Plains region of Texas en route to Oklahoma. That region of Texas looks (and probably is, but I'm no expert on Texas - God Bless the Republic!) depressed. Admittedly we were feeling a little depressed humming along the I-20 corridor ourselves. In some places whole villages looked like they would better be termed "ghost towns." I had "Trailers for sale or rent; rooms to let 50 cents" on my King of the Road mind as we drew closer to the Oklahoma line.

But I was noticing round patches of green in the otherwise brown or leafless deciduous tress that grew along the ranch field lines more or less as wind breaks. Only a few at first and I didn't think them worth mentioning. Maybe a squirrel nest of some kind or a section of the tree that steadfastly refused to submit to the onset of winter. But as we drove along I saw more and more of them and noticed a pattern that did bear mentioning.

"Hey, Mar, what are those round clumps of green in those trees along the road and on the windbreaks?"

"I've been looking at them too. Looks like some kind of air plant or something- but I wouldn't expect that here...."

But as we saw more and more of them and drove closer to a few of them, Marilyn, the former florist extraordinaire, suggested that they must be mistletoe.

"Mistletoe? In Texas? "

And upon further investigation and a stop or two for a closer look, that is indeed what it turned out to be. Mistletoe. And with that discovery, the region became a much happier place. A festive prognosticator of the holiday season had come upon us in an otherwise desolate part of the state....Or so I thought. The cattle in the field took on "Away In A Manger" status....and the holiday season had begun anew.

Starting at the top: see what we saw in the trees while driving. The closer we (or the telephoto lens) got, the more the results of the mistletoe suspicions were confirmed.

Shiloh To Shallow

Fortunately I really like driving the coach. That makes getting from point A to point B half the fun - maybe more. And that's a good thing especially at times like this when we are changing the part of the country we are going to explore. Shiloh, LA might have been a milestone if this were the first trip into that state, but we've chalked up that state previously and so instead of a giant thrill, Shyloh is just a map tack on the map headed westward. Not that there is anything wrong with Louisiana. We like that state; some parts better than others. Same is true of Texas, where this evening we are camped out in a cold and blustery Shallow Creek RV Park, a half day's ride from Dallas, TX. Tomorrow's run will take us past Dallas and on up into Oklahoma- a state we have not yet visited at all. So crossing that border, entering that state, visiting that venue for the very first time WILL be exciting. I've got my "first time going into this state" song ready to belt out! There is a certain palpitation the heart experiences with each thing that is new. There is a certain calm about doing what has been done before (travel wise that is). But I'll be honest: the venture into Oklahoma is not for a thorough exploration of the world of wonders that awaits us there. Not this time anyhow. Rather it is for the express purpose of working towards our goal of visiting every state by coach that we can visit by coach. As we roll into the very beginning of our third year in the business of full time "coaching," we have but seven states left to fill in on our electronic blog map of the visited states. Time spent in each state this time around is a matter of priority (or not) and a function of what can and can't be fit in to a certain time frame within which we must work at this point in our lives. Seasonality has a great to deal to do with those considerations as well. I cannot, for example, begin to imagin how, while headed to the southwest with winter coming up quickly, we can possible make it to North Dakota- which will no doubt be the last and most difficult state to hit. To some states (like Alaska) we have dedicated over three months. To a few others, less than three days. No insult intended. They are just further down on the "to do" list than the rest. Admittedly, there is a sense of "hurry up" to reach the goal of the 49.

But back to the points on the map. The drive itself is of great value. Driving back and forth across the country (did I mention we crossed the Mississippi again for about the 7th time) one learns a great deal. It's a matter of seeing with your own eyes what a place looks like. Whether the people you talk to along the way are helpful and friendly, or otherwise inclined. Whether fuel prices are higher or lower. Whether businesses are open and thriving or struggling and perhaps even closed. What topics are most discussed. What energy sources have been developed. The geography of the place. The flora and fauna. Points of interest that are discovered in some small way even as you blow by them on the highway at 55 miles an hour or so.

"Hey, would you make a note of that?" I'd like to come back here another time...."

Another New Feature- Where in the World Is Gundyville?

You'll find it on the side bar (to the left and down a mite bit). It's a new "live" Google Map with our past, present, and future travel plans- or at least as far out as they A) go so far, or B) as I have had the opportunity to make updates for. Like all things Google - It's Cool. You can enlarge the map to see more of the route and stops. Drag it to a better position. Zoom in or out. Click on a map tack to see where we were, where we are, or where we're headed and the dates we either were...or expect to be there. And as I get a little more experience with it, maybe even some news, weather, photos, notes, or what have you. But for now, it's pretty straight forward. Please give it a try. Check it often for new features if you'd care to.

I'd be remiss if I did not credit my Geeky pals Jim and Chris for "educatin' me" on this here bloggin' stuff - and, yes, I did mean to spell them just like that! Blogger's license. It's like poetic license, only looser! I just wish I could pick up and get these new elements a bit faster than I do so I didn't have to post stuff like this at 2 in the morning when I should be getting some sleep for a long drive tomorrow. You too can learn computer skills beyond your pay grade just by checking out their on line video tutorials. I know I do! Some times I even amaze myself!!!

Night all!

Mississippi Thanksgiving

Driving all day on Thanksgiving Day is a weird and eerie thing to do! But that's what the plan called for and so that's what we did. The goal was to make it to Mississippi so that at least we would be with some friends to help celebrate on Thanksgiving Day. And mission accomplished. Most of the day, though, we felt like (and we were) about the only people on the road. Everyone else who had somewhere to go for Thanksgiving had apparently done their traveling the day before. I had thoughts of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and "Night of the Living Dead" as we cruised westward on one empty highway after another. We have no shortage of things to give thanks for, but on this day we added at least one other - the fact that we had no mechanical problems on a day when getting help would most certainly not have been an option.

So late afternoon we arrived in Meridian, MS (NOT to be confused with Meridian, MI, which is what I put in as the new default weather setting on Yahoo Weather upon arrival, thereby faking myself into thinking it was about to plunge below freezing and start to snow by morning) It turns out the weather pattern in Mississippi is strikingly different from that of Michigan this time of year! Another thing to be thankful for, you see, as only rain was produced by the approaching clouds. . A phone call to Dutch and Margie, friends from the gold prospecting circuit that we have also shared some time with in Georgia, North Carolina, and, yes, Michigan, helped to firm up plans to meet for dinner around 6pm. Now in some parts of the country, the restaurant business booms on this holiday, but it was more of a bust here in Mississippi, so the number of choices of Open For Business eateries was very limited. No problem, right? It would just be fun to get together and share some stories and catch up with what's going on in our respective lives. Their daughter joined us for dinner. All well and good.

I've been struggling with the idea of whether or not to name the place we ate because they are normally quite excellent and dependable and are heavily relied upon by travelers such as ourselves for those occasions when there just is not time or inclination to fix our own meal. And a full size, full meal deal on Turkey Day in an RV kitchen is best avoided whenever possible. But THIS PLACE ( I guess I won't be naming it, huh?) had a full turkey (with ham) dinner on the menu- beverage, entree, sides, corn muffins, biscuits, dessert - all for a more than reasonable asking price. I'll have that! Thank you.

The drinks came. The unsweetened tea was sweetened. That should have been a warning, but, hey, that's no big deal right? Five of us sat down to dinner. Five meals came out of the kitchen and were placed in front of us for our approval. Only I had her mashed potatoes. She had my beans. The coleslaw was missing in action. He had her stuffing. Who ordered white gravy that smells like onion soup? And what exactly is that? I don't know - you try it first. We juggled sides where we could, sent an item or two back, made a strategic exchange here and there and went about our business....and meal....and conversation...all the while laughing at the more than slight imperfection of the meal and the service. No one was mean or unpleasant. Just a bit miffed. The waitress, bless her pea picking heart, knew very little about bringing the food and nothing about clearing the table what-so-ever, so by the time we were ready for dessert, the table for two at which 5 had been seated was piled nearly 18 inches high with dirty dishes, most still containing the remains of the least palatable elements of the meal. So four pumpkin pies and one pecan pie arrived. Pray tell why does only one have a scoop of ice cream on it? Two we ate quickly by hand and the rest we took in plastic wedges made just for that- because there was no room on the table to put them down to eat them - not that there were any clean forks left on the table to use anyhow. And I suppose that would have been OK as well except we didn't get enough of those cute little plastic wedges to do the job so in one we "doubled up" and made the Pilgrim's first-ever pumpkin "whoopee" pie!

So the meal was strange to say the least, but yes we did have an absolutely good time at that table. Could we have the bill please? Yes, sure. Well, that bill was more bizarre than the meal, but let's just pay it and go back to the coach to visit and have coffee there. Sounds good.

Register clerk, "How was everything tonight?"
"Honestly, it was a little strange."
Manager, "Well did you get everything you ordered?"
"Sort of, yes, but it was on someone else's plate."
Manager, "Well, but was the service good?"
"Well, perhaps at some other table it was really good...."
Manager, "Yes, I know, it's been like this all day. No charge for today's meal. Please come back and see us another time."
"Uh,............ OK"

Long story (not short, but summarized): It was a holiday. The "A" team was off for the day. The "B" team was on the register. The "C" team was in the kitchen. The "D" team and any live body that wasn't dining at home with their own family was the wait staff.

We really did get plenty to eat, although I still remain unsure as to what some of it was. And had it been a regular meal at the local diner there would have been not one trace of a decent story to tell for years hence. But because it wasn't just so ordinary, and because it was shared with friends - on this day, and on all days, WE Give Thanks!

Now to some pictures:

The cotton fields were in full bloom as we drove through Mississippi, if that's the correct terminology, meaning that the plants were dried and the cotton balls were seemingly ready to harvest. Only a few of the fields showed signs the harvest had begun, but they all looked like they were ready to go.


Some of the cotton blows off the plants and can be picked up along the roadside. We got one cotton ball as a souvenir- but not to worry we checked it for boll weevils and other undesirables that we didn't wish to bring on board.

Dutch and Margie have three dogs and they simply begged to be included on the blog, so here they come!
After taking the tour of their property, we headed off in the rain to an adjacent lot where they are in the process of building a shelter. This is Mississippi. You may not think of it as prime tornado territory. But those of us who have lived along the Gulf of Mexico Coast know full well that the worst of the hurricane is neither the straight line winds nor the high water. It is the tornadoes that get spun off as the storm passes you by. This project is well worth pursuing. It is somewhat reminiscent of the nuclear bomb shelters that people planned when I was growing up. Whether or not they were a good idea, I don't know- but living here- sooner....or later....this will be a blessing to have.

The tornado shelter- a work in progress: