We are back at home, safe and sound.  We were very fortunate throughout the trip to have no major issues and arrived safely.  There is still a ton of unloading and cleaning to do and I also will be providing some stats on our trip after I have calculated the summaries in our diaries. I am really only home for 2 days and then my husband and I will drive the RV back to Mesa, AZ to turn it in and pay out the contract (OUCH).  We will stay in AZ a few days to visit his uncle and aunt and to have a little personal time together after having been so far apart for so long.

We want to thank the friends and relatives that were on our route that took the time to fit us into their busy lives on pretty short notice.  It was nice to connect with all of you and we appreciate your hospitality to give us a little reprieve of a home cooked meal, a real bed and the pleasure of your company.  If you come our way – we will return the favor. Also, to those of you who have been reading this blog on a semi-regular basis  – thanks for coming along with us on our journey. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Our last day of driving took us past Saguaro cacti and Joshua Tree forests.  We saw some fall color again near Wikieup – where we also saw a life-size T-Rex and a man “carrying” a cross (that had wheels on the bottom) to re-enact Jesus’ stations of the cross.

Then, we moved into a more rocky area with boulders precariously balanced like a game of Jenga by the gods.  A purple ground plant colored the sides and median of the road and occasionally a bush or yellow or white desert flowers provided a splash of pizazz to the otherwise drab landscape. The mountains surrounded us until we reached Lake Mead Recreational area and then we were enveloped within the giants and looked down upon amazing vistas that stretched horizon to horizon.  We crossed the new Tillman Bridge that we had seen being built in 2009 when we last took our cross country tour.  This new flyover allows traffic to be diverted away from the Dam, which became a concern following 9/11.

As the skyline of Las Vegas began to emerge, we realized that most of the cities that we had passed through were different, but the same.  As we reached the local city streets, we saw people going to and from work, getting on and off buses, waiting at traffic lights, going to the millions of fast-food establishments and going about the routine activities of the day.

The words of the day (found on an advertising sign in Sun City, AZ for a housing development) are a lesson to all of us: Life at a New Pace.  We all need to take charge of how we spend our time and to re-prioritize to do the things that are important to us.  Don’t waste even one day.  We are so glad that we took the time to do this trip together and we hope that we have inspired some of you to pursue one of your dreams.  As promised, I will give you some stats about our trip soon and then we will be into the Thanksgiving and overall holiday period so look for some recipies and family stories, so keep on stopping back.

Unfortunately, my camera is not cooperating today so no photos to share.  Hoping that a re-charge will help and I will be more successful tomorrow. The temps got quite low last night and I awoke to find Dad in full sweats and his ski hat on as well.  We had come full circle – just last week we had the AC on and were wearing shorts! WOTD as quoted by Dad:  This is an amazing country with so much diversity, I am really glad we made this trip! I love you.

Our ride to El Paso took us past alot of flat barren land with mountains, bluffs and mesas in the distance.  However, the sun was out and the sky was blue so the brisk air was only a minor distraction.  The nearer we got to El Paso the more mountains we saw.  Looking towards the Rio Grande, we could see fields and orchards and green pastures.  Of course, we could also see Mexico.  The Border Fence stretched along the river like a snake, but really didn’t lok too ominous, though we were at a pretty far distance. At all of the crossing point exits we saw a reminder that guns were not allowed (a handgun with a red circle/slash) which made us feel better that we had decided to stay north of EP.  We were amazed about the sheer size of the city though as it sprawled to fill its valley, not too many high-rises, but LOTS of highway interchanges and spaghetti bowls criss-crossed our own Route 10.

Moving on to Las Cruces, NM we encountered miles and miles of cattle feeding in trough facilities, some goats and sheep as well. These appeared to be stockyards, not dairy farms.  When we crossed the NM border, we began to see pueblo style houses in unique colors and evidence of a concerted effort to maximize solar energy resources at a local level.  We pulled in early and were pleased to see the scenery surrounding us to be majestic mountains and pleasant views that should make for great sunrise/sunset photos (IF I get some, I will add to this post). Unfortunately, we have arrived just before a major Mariachi Music Festival so we will miss that, but we have to forge on. We are very close to home now and will be near Phoenix tomorrow – that is probably a good thing because I am feeling a little puny today, like an illness coming on.

It should get pretty cold again tonight, so we will get out the long johns (if we can find them).  Pray for my camera.

Our trip through the Hill Country of Texas is best told by the thoughts and photos of the day – enjoy! A Haiku that I wrote on the road:

We’ve travelled so far

Along white line zipper teeth

Closing miles to home

Limestone "Layer Cake"

Mayan Temple??

                                       

Century Plant - One Life Only

Windmills – Past and     Present.

Ride On Don Quioxte!

THE Yellow Rose of Texas

Light and Dark:  Last night after I posted, I walked out on the fishing pier and saw people catching fish as fast as they could throw in their lines.  They told me that mostly these were sea or ocean trout.  They were a metallic silver color with some nasty little teeth that were hitting on just lures.  They sparkled as they neared the surface of the dark water, as if they were covered in tin-foil. Also out in the bay, just beyond the lights that shone on the green water, were pure white pelicans with long orange beaks, just floating and bobbing on the waves. I am used to seeing the brown pelicans, but these white birds were almost fluorescent when the light shone on their feathers.  The photos do not do them justice, but I used every possible setting and could not get a clear picture of what I was seeing because they were right on the cusp of light and shadow and were also moving and I have a modest camera for all that challenge. We had rain during the night and the clouds were low and gray when we left for our trip to San Antonio, but as has been par for the course of our trip, as we got 10 miles out of our final destination, the sun broke through and we never saw a cloud again this evening and we watched the moon rise over the Alamo.

Conservation and Exploitation:  We had to go through Galveston and Houston and we were amazed at the shear scope of the oil industry in this region.  Of course we all know about Texas oil and refineries, but as far as the eye could see there was a testament to our nation’s gluttony and dependence on fossil fuel.  We did have one advantage of paying about 15 cents less for a gallon of gas and it WAS a technological marvel of engineering – but it was also sad in a way to see how much of the land was gobbled up by industrial and toxic manufacture and storage.  But, I guess that is a hypocritical view since we WERE travelling in an RV across the country, so we have no right to judge.  Gas guzzlers unite!

Dry and Moist:  This area has been suffering from a severe drought, as was evidenced by the many dry creeks and riverbeds that we crossed.  But at a road-side rest area, I tok the nature walk to stretch my legs and found evidence of succulents and berries and trees that had managed to eek out what little moisture there was and gave us a display of color and life.  Their fortitude was admirable.

The Haves and the Have-Nots: We got into San Antonio rather early and as we did, the ominous clouds disappeared and the sun came out in full glory, so we showered and took the city bus into town.  We were obviously the only two “tourists” on the bus.  Most of the others appeared to be coming home from work and looked tired and bored.  The bus went through the poorer part of town and at each stop, people of color trudged off so they could get some dinner and sleep and then start all over again.  I overheard some say they were going to their 2nd job and some were going to church services and others had to retreive their kids from friends and relatives who had watched them for the workday. By the time the bus got to Alamo Square in downtown, we were the only ones on the bus that had started out full.  Downtown San Antonio and the RiverWalk area were a far cry different than the neighborhoods that we had gone through to get here. There were great and beautiful buildings, monuments and artwork. Police patrolled the areas to keep out the riff-raff and people dressed in fine clothes scurried to make their dinner reservation time-slots.  Recreation was on their minds, not the decision about bologna or PB&J for lunch tomorrow…

Tourists that we were, we eventually found our way to the RiverWalk and went down to stroll with the others.  Dinner was Tex-Mex and Dad had a mondo Margarita, so I think he will sleep well tonight.  We are fortunate to be able to spend the time and money to make this trip and it was days like these that make us appreciate that even more.

Today, we traveled to Baytown, near Galveston Texas.  We are staying on the Gulf about 500 feet from the water with an unobstructed view.  I will miss the shore alot. The clouds are hung low and the winds are howling, yet it is still enjoyable and provided an unusual sunset.  People are fishing off the dock and the pelicans are diving head-first into the water – no hook, line and sinker for them! A viewing gazebo sits a few feet away from us and a fishing pier meanders out into the water that laps at the shore with a sound like a cat sipping water from her bowl – dainty, yet persistant.

Today was a travel day, as we quickly left New Orleans behind us, the landscape changed to swamps and marshes as far as the eye could see.  There were no buildings in contrast to the city and urban areas that we had just left behind.  Waterways criss-crossed beneath the causeways and water fowl sat motionless on stumps or in tall grasses.  Smaller birds lined the telephone wires for contiguous lengths that formed a few birds at a time until they looked like a long necklace of black pearls.  At our rest stop I FINALLY got to see and photograph my alligator in the wild at Blue Elbow Swamp.

Tomorrow, we head towards San Antonio to start a long trek across the state of Texas – we intend to do the RiverWalk, so at least I will get a small dose of H2O tomorrow, as well. Tonight, we will enjoy the sunset and be thankful for our time together.

I came across this poem while “surfing the web” and it reflects my feelings as well as the author:

THE SOLACE of the SEA

I sit on “my” rock, peacefully, quietly, soaking in the serenity…

I walk, breathing deep, absorbing the surroundings.

I’m where I want to be, alone with my thoughts-

But she’s there with me, and she’s always there for me.

No matter when I come or the mood I’m in on any given day,

When I need to get a lift, or ponder life’s questions or

Just shed a desperate tear, she is always there for me.

And I leave refreshed, recharged, renewed and content.

— Lee Harrington, Laconia, October 16, 2011