AMARILLO TO PALO DURO STATE PARK, Tx

We spent the night at Loves in Amarillo after using the walky-talkys to determine whether Loves or Flying J had better gas prices. Flying J won the gas prize but Loves was a more scenic place to stay J We thought about leaving real early and then decided not. I think it was a good decision since we would have been driving into the sun. Chris has a great Scenic Byways book that suggested that early morning or late afternoon was the best time for a particular drive

After a confab, Chris is off to Amarillo to check out Best Buy and do laundry and I will head on down to Palo Duro.

Along the way south to Palo Duro I saw a large modern church with a 20 foot high banner across the front…PRAY FOR RAIN… this area of Texas is in the midst of a great drought.

Arriving at the Park before Chris, I found there were two campgrounds.. a 30 amp for $23 and a 50 amp for $25. I took two spots at the 30 amp campground and then, after checking both campgrounds drove clear back to the entrance to change to the Mesquite campground. It is open with clear views of the surrounding cliffs… well worth the extra $3.

By the way… if you were born before September 1^st 1930 you can camp FREE at any Texas State Park.

SANTA FE with SHARON and MIKE

Sharon and Judy 40 years later

Detail of one of Sharon' quilts.

I think the last time I saw Sharon was 1972. She thinks 1975. In any case.... a long time so there is a lot to visit about. Santa Fe is known for many things... Georgia O"Keefe, Opera, Art, Restarants.... Sharon and Mike"s new favorite is Jambo, African homestyle cooking. It was great and I have some leftover for tonight! Check it out at www,Jambocafe.net.

I ended up staying in Sharon and Mike’s condo parking lot and slept well despite worry about glasses. By morning I had decided to get my

Rx from Dr. Dixon and have Lenscrafters make me a new pair. I figured that if they couldn’t make them in a day that I could pick them up at Lenscrafters in Oklahoma City. (There are three stores there).

Mike and Sharon’s Café had coffee, eggs and sausage on the menu and I even got a load of wash done. Thanks, S&M!

The Goldworks said they could probably fix the glasses so I decided to get them fixed and order a new pair.

Mike took me downtown since Sharon is suffering terrifically from the Juniper Pollen in the air. Goldworks did a great job with my glasses… so good I decided I didn’t need another pair (which meant that Chris and I could follow our plans to meet in Amarillo tonight) While we were waiting for the glasses Mike showed me a little of the Santa Fe Plaza and we went into Packards, (shoppackards.com), a beautiful Indian Arts store that has been on the Plaza since 1920. It appears that I should treat the Ganado Rugs that I inherited from my folks with more respect. Mike also took me to a camera store where I was able to get SD card that will accommodate my microSD card in my phone so that I can easily download phone pictures to my computer. Kit had showed me how in Kingman. Thanks, Kit!

I have always known that Sharon was artistically talented and I have known for years that she was making quilts but this was the first time I had an opportunity to see some of them. Wow! She made the one in the pictures for her grandson. I only saw pictures of the one she made for her daughter depicting her athletic accomplishments. Many panels from the time Lara was sledding at six years to rock climbing as an adult. Awesome work!

ALBUQUERQUE TO SANTA FE

We spent the night at Enchanted Trails RV Park where Chris has stayed when visiting her Dad. It was great to have electricity. Caught up with CNN and the Weather Channel. We have had beautiful, clear weather so far. I hope we can stay inbetween storms for a while. I just looked at Chris' new blog. You sure can write a lot more when you get up at 5am!

How nice to relax through the morning. At about noon I headed up to Santa Fe. First stop was at Trader Joe’s and, boy, did I stock up. I should have enough Tart Montmorency Cherries and almonds to last the whole trip. They are staples in my oatmeal… along with pieces of apple.

OH, NO! While arranging groceries I grabbed my glasses the wrong way and they BROKE in half at the bridge. I do have a backup pair but they are fragile, rimless glasses that will never last the trip.

I had arranged to visit with Germaine before meeting Sharon. Germaine is a Solo Trekker and was at Amado. We had communicated earlier and she had graciously offered her driveway for my night in Santa Fe. When I got there the smell of homemade bread wafted out the door. We had a great visit with warm bread and real butter before I headed for Sharon’s house around 4:00.

Sharon and I met in about 1960 while we were both at San Francisco State. Today she was busy making Cambodian Lemon Grass Curry for the Interfaith Shelter that their church helps support. Another great smell as I arrived at their home. Mike took the curry and went to help at the shelter and we went to Jambo.

Glasses! After dinner we went to Lens crafters to see if they could fix my glasses. Sorry… they are titanium and so we can’t fix them but perhaps the Solder Man can… so I called him. Well, he didn’t have the right materiel to fix them but perhaps The Goldworks on the Plaza would be able to help you….but they are closed by now.

I will call tomorrow.

PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK

We spent the night at the south entrance of Petrified Forest National Park. I need to remember to have my "NP Passport" stamped! http://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm

ON OUR WAY!

Bacon and Eggs for Breakfast. A step up from the usual oatmeal. Kit is a mavelous hostess.... make sure you include the Rawhide Doodles in your travel plans!

After a leisurely morning we said goodby to Kit and the Doodle and headed east. We have walky talkies and when I saw a sign for ROADKILL CAFE I called Chris and we decided to stop at Seligman, a cute little Route 66 town. We had Angus Burgers rather than the roadkill offerings. Yum!

KIT'S KINGMAN

What a great way to start a trip. After an overnight stop in Barstow I arrived at the house of Kit and the Doodles around 3:00 pm. We visited a while and then started out for Chloride, a colorful old mining town, for dinner and line dancing at Yesterday's Restaurant. The food was great at Yesterday's and Professor Bill, a personable and entertaining singer, had us all up and dancing. Kit and her friends come out here to line dance about once a month. The "town" is fantastic... apparently you gain status by having more artfully displayed junk in your front yard than your neighbor.

Chris and Lacey arrived from Hemet on Saturday afternoon and we spent the afternoon discussing the trip and where to go from here. We have planned for a long time to go to Canyon de Chelly and we are now torn. Should we go there or get on our way to the East??? I'm a little concerned about the recent rain and whether it would make tours of the canyon difficult.

SPRING RAMBLE TO GEORGIA 2011

Spring is sprung and so have I. It always takes a little bit longer than planned to get out. Chris P. and I are on our way to a Rally on the other side of the country. Our original plan had us leaving on March 20th but we slipped that a few days and it still was a time filled with surprises that take longer that anticipated to handle. Last night I was still washing clothes but by 10:00 this morning I was almost ready to go and so I plugged my Ipod into the computer for one last download of podcasts. SOMETHING WENT TERRIBLY WRONG. "Do not Disconnect" screen was showing but I couldn't get the thing to close so that I could disconect. Then the computer started misbehaving. I decided to just close the computer but I couldn't even do that. I finally ripped the Ipod off the cable and decided that I would take my chances.