Carlsbad, NM

Carlsbad, NM

Friday, July 19, 2013

Summary - Trip #5

     We're back home in Georgia - got up around 4:00 a.m. in Denver to make our early morning flight. We may have seen more hot spots in our country and visited more places than in any of our previous four years. And we did OK with the good deeds - they are listed below. Remember - anyone wanting to donate to the Lawrenceville Co-op as support for our trip - please contact me and I'll let you know what you need to do. Thanks for following us!

Deed #1: Rounded up a few grocery carts at grocery store in Denver.
#2: Drove two hikers down Mt. Evans in Colorado.
#3: Helped woman with packages at Wells Fargo Bank in Jankson, Wyoming.
#4: Wrote note of appreciation and left $5 for concession worker at Bates Hotel who was verbally abused by owner.
#5: Helped elderly woman at Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming.
#6: Helped woman in wheelchair in Cody Theater.
#7: Pee Wee goes out of his way to thank and compliment the Ranger at Little Big Horn in Montana.
#8: Fed homeles woman in Butte, Montana.
#9: Brought dessert to unhappy hotel front desk clerk in Idaho Falls, Idaho.  
#10: Cleaned up grout abouve urinal in bathroom at Deadhorse Point in Utah.
#11: Helped Belgian struggling with heat exhaustion at the Arches National Park.
#12: Left refreshments for next guest in hotel in Price, Utah.
#13: Pruned trees for Aspen City worker struggling with ladder.
  

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Day 10, July 18 - Thursday

    This was our last day before we fly home tomorrow morning. So we're back in Denver. We tried a couple of stops with high expectations that didn't pan out. We tried to see the famous Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, but parking was impossible - we tried and tried but had to leave. Then we travelled to Aspen and had intentions of driving to Maroon Bells - a scenic mountainous drive that cars weren't allowed up today.  So we walked around Aspen for a while - OK to visit but wouldn't want to live there. We saw a sign that said, "Friendly, expensive, hard to park - it's Aspen." Enough said. We saw three people lose their tempers in three different parking and driving situations - sometimes the elite don't act so elite ...
    Then we drove to Independence Pass up to the top and then on to Leadville. On the way up the harrowing drive we were stopped for about ten minutes due to a Jaguar commercial being filmed - we talked to the film crew and got a photo of the camera truck. We were at the Continental Divide at the top of Independence Pass - over 12,000 feet. We passed through an area of snow to get there - exactly 24 hours after we were hiking in almost 100 degree heat at the Arches. The west is amazing and I'm not talking about Pee Wee. Leadville is supposedly the highest incorporated town in the U.S.  It wouldn't surprise us.
    Then driving to Denver we ran into a rainstorm - the first prolonged one we've had in all our journeys. Then we passed through a long tunnel and came out on the other side of the mountain and it was totally dry.  The west is amazing.
    Then we saw a sign that said to pull over for a good spot to view bighorn sheep, so we did. When we arrived, we realized we had tried the same thing 9 days ago when leaving the Denver area. On that day we realized we had tried the same thing 5 years ago on our first trip. So we idiots have tried the bighorn sheep viewing three times thinking it was our first time there. And, by the way, never have we seen a bighorn sheep. I imagine the sheep are way up on the side of the mountain getting a good laugh out of us; "Hey look Bessie - those two old guys are back again. Stay out of sight!"
    We're staying in Aurora not too far from the airport. We took a drive over to the site of the theater tragedy from almost exactly one year ago where I believe 12 people were killed in a senseless act of violence. In our journeys we have happened by and visited the Columbine, VA Tech, and now Aurora sites and memorials. This trip and everything we see makes us really appreciate our country, but when we see places like what we saw tonight, and imagine the terror and grief all those people went through, then we also see a side of our country that is nothing to be proud of.
    Tomorrow I'll finish the blog and make a list of the good deeds. Remember that anyone wanting to make a donation to the Lawrenceville Co-op as support for our trip can contact me and I'll tell you how to. Speaking of good deeds: two today. First we left several water bottles in the refrigerator for the cleaning ladies or for the next residents - we arranged them neatly with a good deed doers card. Then in Aspen, we were walking to our car when we saw a female city worker trying to get on a ladder in a precarious position in order to trim some limbs away from a street sign. She was very happy to accept our offer to help - I held the ladder while Pee Wee did the trimming - it took about 5 minutes. She really liked the good deed doers card - I've got a feeling she might pay it forward which I hope happens a lot. Good night from Denver - 4:30 a.m. wake up!






Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Wednesday - July17, Day 9

    This day was filled with shock and awe. We followed my friend Doug Echols advice on where to go in southern Utah  and Doug did good. First stop - Dead Horse Point - pretty much the Grand Canyon of Utah. Unbelievable views and the site where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff at the end of their movie. While there Pee Wee did a good deed above the urinals in the men's bathroom in the visitor center. Somebody had recently done a very poor job of cleaning up after applying lots of grout to the tile walls. So Pee Wee used his newly acquired skills from the Museum of Clean and made it look like new.
    Then we went to the Arches National Park near Moab. This was a first for us in more ways than one. We actually were in this area during our first trip 5 years ago but passed up the Arches to play 9 holes of golf in Moab. We were idiots 5 years ago because the arches, balancing rocks, and other rock formations are something I wish everyone could see. We hiked a total of 5  miles but it was worth it. Delicate Rock and Landscape Rock are the most impressive and we have some pictures of those. To and from Delicate Rock was over 3 miles in close to 100 degree heat. Some people were turning around - it was really hot. On the way down we did a good deed for a man from Belgium we had met a few hours earlier at Dead Horse Point. He was really struggling - even staggered some. We made him walk with us and kept a good eye on him. All three of us had gone through the water we had taken with us on the hike so the last quarter mile I jogged ahead and got 4 bottles of water from our car. I met up with the man and Pee Wee about the time they made it back to the parking lot and we drenched the man in water with one bottle while he drank from the other.  He spoke English but he thanked us in some other language - it might have been Flemish but considering the state he was in I think it was gibberish.
   After almost 6 hours in the park, we took a road that Doug had recommended up toward Grand Junction in Colorado. I think it was Highway 128 and it was an amazing road. Pretty much the entire 40 miles we drove next to the Colorado River while at the bottom of a steep canyon. We may have seen 4 other vehicles. Once we stopped next to a scenic view, walked around on the highway and took turns yelling toward the canyon wall to see who could make the loudest echoes. Pee Wee won easily. Then we drove to a town named Cisco, except it's not a town anymore - it's a real life ghost town! We drove around and all the buildings are old and vacant - it was spooky.  Then the road became just a little better than a dirt road and we could tell it gets washed out a lot, but we made it. Again we stopped when and wherever we felt like - in the middle of the road. We saw a prairie dog pop its head up once - we got out and got some photos and then we charged it. It ducked down and came up in another spot. We played a little cat and mouse with it but prairie dog won. Then we drove on - Pee Wee saw a crow perched on a stick jutting a few feet out of the ground. He honked his horn at it and the crow fell off - he looked at us and started cawing at us - we made him mad. I love this trip ... one more day and we fly back on Friday. Thanks for the comments!








Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tuesday, July 16 - Day 8

   Running this morning around the falls of Idaho Falls was really great - the only thing unusual was my shoes. When I got back Pee Wee informed me that I had mistakenly put on his shoes and did  my running in those (I'm wearing shoes a couple sizes too big to help with some gross looking bunions I have these days). Any exercise has felt great - the humidity has been almost non-existent all of our trip and basically no rain - sorry Georgia people.
    Our first stop was at Pocatello, Idaho to see the "Museum of Clean." A pretty famous guy named Don Haslett who made millions with cleaning companies poured some of those millions into the museum. Pee Wee and I agreed that no one else in our families or almost anyone we know would have wanted to make this stop. But we did and we're glad we did. Don took a liking to us for some reason and gave us his own personal tour. He has around 300 vacuums from the past 140 years along with brooms, soaps, etc. Lots of hands on things for kids too - he told us a couple of times we were the only adults to try some of the kid's exhibits. Don't worry mom, we didn't push any kids out of the way. That's an ancient plunger Pee Wee is holding.
    The next stop was Salt Lake City - we went to the Mormon's Temple square which was beautiful and really interesting. We even kind of stumbled into the Tabernacle where the famous choir performs - the place is amazing. We heard a girl do a demonstration from the front - we were 50 yards away in the back and could hear her tear paper as if we were standing right next to her. We realized if we could hear that then she could hear us just as easily so we shut up. The huge statue of Jesus is in one of the welcome centers where there are seats to just sit, look, and reflect. There are no written words in the room - none are needed.
    Then we went to look at the Great Salt Lake, and that will be it for me and the Great Salt Lake. It's dead, it's full of salt, it stinks, and nobody is really interested in it. I've known a couple of people like that. But at least we can now say we've seen it.
    We're staying in Price, Utah - back in deserty areas. We may be looking at some great deserty kinds of things tomorrow and will be meandering back toward Denver for our Friday morning flight back home. This trip as usual has been great, but home sounds great too.
    No good deeds today, but we've had some good days lately. We'll try harder tomorrow.






Monday, July 15, 2013

Day 7, July 15

   We left Billings and first stop Bozeman, MT for the Museum of the Rockies. Nice place - lots of history of the Rockies. Didn't know how many dinosaurs roamed the area and how many of their fossils have been excavated. We watched a 3D show in the planetarium on the northern lights and we fell asleep again - it's becoming a habit. There was a great outdoor living history of an old homestead farmhouse. There are volunteers there pretty much all the time - they dress like the 1890s and run the place as if they are living then. We watched women working in the kitchen, a blacksmith, etc. Pee Wee made himself comfortable with a woman spinning clothes - they sat on the back porch and talked and talked like they had been friends forever. The picture of me and the flowers is next to a perfect garden in the front of the house. The picture of Pee Wee is when we were playing around with the two holer in the back yard. We thought it was a model of one until we realized the women working in the house needed it.
   From there we travelled to Butte, MT and toured the World Mining Museum. Butte is famous for being such an important mining town through the years. After our tour we had a real appreciation of how hard those men had it as they worked underground in terrible conditions. Before we arrived at the museum, we did a good deed, kind of a sad one. We saw a poor old lady on a corner in Butte with a sign saying "I need help!" We drove past her as everyone generally does, then thought about it, went to a nearby grocery store, bought a sandwich and a drink, and drove back to the corner and handed it to her. She thanked us, but the sadness in her eyes was still present.
   Then we finally made it out of Montana and ended up in Idaho Falls, Idaho where we are staying right next to the falls. The falls aren't high, but they spread out over 100 yards and they are loud - we can hear them from our room. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the morning. The hotel manager is a college student here in town and is from Eatonton, GA. We talked to her for a while - she isn't at all happy here and is hoping to go back to Georgia. She really opened up with us, and she really isn't happy. Maybe the chocolate pie and good deed doers card we brought her back after eating tonight will cheer her up a little.
    Before we made it to Idaho Falls we stopped in Lima, Montana just for the heck of it. Lima is like so many towns we see in this part of the country. A few hundred people, tiny school for all the grades, dirt roads except for one paved road, and the kind of place we enjoy looking around in. The last picture is in Lima, and it's for real - they are real buildings in use and not restored from pioneer days. We got a copy of the town newspaper, which was local news on two folded pieces of paper that had been run through a copy machine. We learned a little - I bet nobody knows that this is White History Month. Never heard of a white history month. It doesn't surprise us that Montana has a white history month - only four tenths of one percent of the residents in Montana are black. Montana is a beautiful state but I need a little more diversity than that.
    Just a few more days of our trip - not sure where we're going tomorrow, but probably not too much farther from our airport in Denver.






 

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Day 6, July 14

   When I ran this morning, I seemed to have a little extra pep in my step - almost like I have some extra testosterone flowing through my body.
   We notched another state this morning - Montana - Big Sky Country. We spent a few hours at Little Big Horn to see how Custer messed up. The first thing we did was attend the Park Ranger's presentation to 75 or so first time visitors to the Little Big Horn Battlefield. The second thing we did was embarrass ourselves. The Ranger was very good - we sat on the first row front and center while he spoke on an outside patio to everyone. I don't know if it was the perfect temperature, humidity, and light breeze, or our whirlwind trip and some lack of sleep, but we both nodded off right in front of the Ranger. He carried an arrow with him as he ranted and raved and pointed to all parts of the battlefield during his lecture. Pee Wee and I both felt the arrow prodding us in our nodding off moments - same kind of thing we've done to students before. Sorry Mr. Ranger - we won't do it again.
   It was a great place to visit though - the hundreds of acres of grasslands where the massacre happened 140 years ago looks the same today as it did then. We also got some photos of some wild horses on the side of the road. It was easy to sit back and imagine what was happening to Custer and his men as they fought to the last man.
   Then we drove to Billings, Montana and visited the Pictograph Cave State Park. Sometimes we kind of strike out on our ventures and this wasn't one of our better stops. We were supposed to see remnants and cave writings on the three caves from 3000 years ago, but we had to stretch our imagination to find anything on the walls. We had more fun scaring each other about rattlesnakes than we did visiting the place - there were quite a few signs warning people about the snakes.
   We got a little turned around and ended up staying at the Hilltop Inn in Billings, which is nestled in the middle of the very large local hospital area and is used by families who have relatives in the hospital. We thought about making up a story about our poor uncle Ned and his recent health problems, but that would have been a bad deed. Speaking of deeds, only one good one today, and that was a little of a stretch. The Park Ranger who nudged us with his arrow really was very good. As we were leaving the park, Pee Wee looked around to find him to tell him what a great job he did. Pee Wee didn't do it to save face, he really wanted to do something nice for the guy and he really went out of his way, so we're counting it.
   Definitely the highlight of my day came at dinner tonight. Pee Wee's favorite restaurant in the world is Perkins, so we ate at Perkins. We were joking around with the waitress which is kind of our normal procedure. Tonight I asked her who looked younger between the two of us and after a moment or two she pointed to me. Since Pee Wee is three years my junior, our very intelligent waitress received a very nice tip.
   Tomorrow we're heading west again - not sure where but that's kind of how this trip goes.
  





Saturday, July 13, 2013

Day 5, July 13
   Before we left the Bates Hotel in Wapiti, Wyoming I was able to do a decent good deed. This one star hotel only has a portable concession stand for breakfast - it was being run by a young Asian lady. The hotel manager - Norman Bates - was extremely mean and demeaning to her, other guests noticed it too. The poor girl's self esteem was noticeably low, but maybe it improved a little after we left. On the way out we handed her an envelope with a note saying how good a job she's doing, how great a smile she has, and how hard a worker she is. She should have also found a $5 bill and a good deed doers card.
   Then we returned to Yellowstone. More geysers, more sulfur smelling hot springs, more wildlife, and more unbelievable views. The picture with the waterfall in the background is at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The picture of the buffalo is when it heard our window go down from a distance of five or six feet away - it looked at Pee Wee right in the eye.
   We then spent the afternoon and evening in Cody, Wyoming. The Buffalo Bill museum was outstanding, and then we enjoyed the evening gun fights in downtown Cody. They use blanks in their guns in the nightly drama and also preach to the children about what to do if they see a gun in the house - they made the kids recite louder and louder: "Leave it alone!!" Pee Wee did the best job of any kid there, in fact he kept it up during the show. His booming "LEAVE IT ALONE!!" brought quite a bit of laughter to those around us.
   We finished off the day with dinner and a country singing show. The singing was great and the dinner prompted a new experience in the lives of Pee Wee and I. We ate at Irma's - named for Buffalo Bill's daughter, and Irma makes Rocky Mountain Oysters. If you don't know what these are, ask somebody - I don't want to explain. We quietly ordered them but later the waitress thought it would be cool to announce, "HERE ARE YOUR MOUNTAIN OYSTERS!!! Heads turned around, chuckling could be heard, and many eyes were on us as we made our first ever bites into this "delicacy." I actually kind of like them - where can you get them in Georgia?
    Pee Wee performed a small good deed at the museum. He passed an elderly woman sitting on a bench when he was on the way to the entrance. She was holding trash in her hand - he walked past her, made it inside, shook his head, went back to her and took her trash from her and threw it away. Sometimes doing good deeds can be so simple. She read the good deed doers card which led to some good conversation. Then tonight, after the country singing in the small theater in downtown Cody, I saw a woman who was trying to get in her wheelchair. Her companion was at the front of the theater and she was at the back. I safely got her in the wheelchair and waited for her companion to take over. So three good deeds today. Not a bad day.
    We're staying at another one star hotel - our car is backed up to our door. We plan to make a pretty quick getaway tomorrow and leave this beautiful state - maybe crossing over to Montana.





Friday, July 12, 2013

Day 4, July 12
   I  started the day off with a good deed. I was standing in front of a huge Wells Fargo in Jackson waiting for Pee Wee to pick me up when I saw a nicely dressed woman about 75 feet away struggling with a bouquet of flowers and packages while she was trying to get out of her car. I made my way over to her, asked to help, and carried some of her things into the bank where there was to be a meeting of some kind. Not a major good deed but it counts.
    Then we traded our rental car in this morning at the Jackson Hole, Wyoming airport for another one with 4 good tires. Then up to the Grand Teton National Park and wildlife and views and shock and awe. Bison right up to our car until Pee Wee started making MOO sounds.
   Then a few hours at Yellowstone National Park - we're thinking about going back tomorrow. We're staying near Cody, Wyoming and might make it back to see Yogi and Boo Boo. Speaking of Yogi, you can see the picture of a Grizzly Bear below. We were walking along when out of nowhere it charged Pee Wee. I ran over to the monster bear, jumped on its back and put on a choke hold until it ran away.
  OK the truth ... it was about to cross a road and we positioned ourselves with many other tourists and got some good photos before it disappeared into the forest. It was pretty scary to see a Grizzly up close and not in a zoo.
   Then farther into Yellowstone and Old Faithful. There are actually hundreds of geysers and hot springs all over the place, Old Faithful is just the most famous and we're glad we can now check it off the list of places to see.
   The place where we're staying really does resemble the Bates Motel - I'm not kidding. Old scary house on the hill next to it included. Very eccentric and impolite manager. Only about twenty rooms all with doors to the outside. I locked the door real tight when I got a shower. The Grizzly doesn't seem as scary anymore ...








 

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Day 3, July 11
   Very different day today - the most different of all our journeys. It started out OK - we visited a state prison in Laramie, Wyoming from the 1800s and early 1900s that had Butch Cassidy as one of its inmates. Pee Wee locked me up in one of the cells and then he proceeded to find a female inmate to befriend. So what if she's pushing 80.
   Then we made some good time and made it to some cool landmarks north of Rock Springs, Wyoming. First we had to travel over 20 miles of dirt and gravel roads through some of Wyoming's sage bush desert. These trips continue to be learning experiences - I didn't know Wyoming had deserts, but it does. In fact when we finally finished the 20 miles we walked around on sand dunes that are supposedly the largest in our country and only second worldwide to the sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Shortly before that though, the interesting part of today's trip began.
   We drove 5 miles in another direction to the White Mountain Petroglyphs where we parked and walked a half a mile to the drawings and writings on the face of one of the mountains in and around caves. The writings were done over 2000 years ago. (See who can identify the animal behind me in the picture). That was really cool but what happened to me wasn't. It must have been the hard boiled egg from breakfast, but whatever it was hit me hard at the petroglyphs. I told Pee Wee that I had to hurry back to the outhouse near the start of the trail, but I didn't make it. It's a good thing that we were the only two humans within a 20 mile radius of the place because I got sick - real sick. Some kind of food poisoning I'm sure. I don't want to gross anyone out, but let's just say some sage bush in the desert is dying tonight.
   Then, after visiting the sand dunes we were halfway back to the highway when our rental car got stuck in the sand. This could have been pretty serious because we were ten miles from any civilization, the temperature was a little over 90, no cell phone coverage, and we were in a desert. I know Chevy Chase and Wally World may come to mind, but it was kind of serious. We dug down low around the wheels in the sand, we found driftwood and pieces of pavement from an attempt at a road that didn't work and placed them in front of the four tires. I drove, Pee Wee pushed and .. success! High fives, chest bumps and shrieks of victory might look weird from old codgers like us, but in the middle of a desert who cares. (We reenacted the victory in the sand in the picture below). We jumped in, took off on a little steadier ground, and then ... flat tire. Taking it off and replacing it with the small emergency tire wasn't easy in the sand but we made it and now we need to buy a new tire in the morning. We took it to a tire place but the tear in the sidewall means it's history.
   We're staying in Jackson, Wyoming and had planned to get an early start to see what's up with the Grand Tetons, but the Tetons are going to have to wait until we have four normal tires. No good deeds today but we probably saw fewer than ten people all day due to our adventures, which makes good deeding kind of tough.
   Even with today's bad luck, it has still been a great trip. Our country still continues to amaze me and I'm sure I'll be amazed more as the days go by.





  

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Day 2, July 10
   After a few hours sleep I managed a 26 minute run outside our hotel in Denver. I'm training at high altitudes now. It was actually already quite warm at 7:30 a.m. Three hours later we were in a snowstorm. We drove on the highest paved road in North America to the summit of Evans Mountain about an hour from Denver - the summit is one of the many "fourteeners" in Colorado, meaning over 14,000 feet. The drive up is amazing - views that only God could craft including many snow capped mountains and the "perfect" Summit Lake. When we finally reached the summit we got hit by a driving ice and snowstorm that bordered on a blizzard for a few minutes. The grimace on my face in the picture of me getting pelted by the ice and snow is there because Pee Wee thought it was funny to take his time taking the picture and play around like there was something wrong with the camera while he sat in the warm car.
  When it was time to head back down the 14 mile narrow road, which by the way often has no shoulder and caused quite a few KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD comments, we carried out a good deed that has kept us smiling all day. Up to then, the only good deed we did was at a grocery store in Denver when we did a repeat of one from last year and rounded up some grocery carts in the parking lot. The second good deed was helping a very nice young married couple out. They had hiked six hours to the summit and while I was in the one person restroom at the summit I heard them ask if anyone would give them a ride to the bottom. Knowing this was a great chance for a good deed, I actually finished my chore in midstream which we all know isn't easy to do. Then I quickly opened the door and asked who was needing a ride. But Pee Wee had already accepted the request so off we went. Ben and Rachel are teachers in their late twenties, lovers of God, and they are now our friends. In the thirty minutes it took to get to the bottom we learned some of each others past, present, and future. We had a great time and even got to get up close to some mountain goats. They were very appreciative but as usual, we felt like we were the ones receiving instead of giving.
   Next we had a beautiful drive up various highways in northern Colorado and kind of wandered over to Laramie, Wyoming - a new state for us. We just got back from the Laramie Fairgrounds where we watched the area's bull riding championships. This was Pee Wee's first rodeo, which he announced to the people around him as soon as he sat down. Most people like to use the expression, "this ain't my first rodeo," but not my travelling partner. He has no problem telling people this IS his first rodeo. At any rate, it was a beautiful night - cool breeze, mountain range in the background, small town families doing what small town families do ... this is the kind of thing I had in mind all along for this trip. Good night and thank you to those who have been sending texts and suggestions!