We swung by Carlsbad, New Mexico to check out the Carlsbad Caverns - home of their local bat population. Fortunately, it was not bat season so there were no bats in the bat cave. We began our descent into the cave with me finger gripping the walls out of fear of falling into the cavern. Thank goodness some kind engineer designed the entire hike through the cave with a metal rail for sissies like me to cling to! We entered the cave, looked at some rocks....more rocks....more rocks someone claimed to be whale tails, king kong, etc. It's truly all in the eye of the beholder. They looked like rocks to me :-) We took some pictures - albeit all were very dark. But, we made an attempt. Did I mention we had to leave the dogs in the car because they are not allowed into the caves? The park ranger assured me it was cool enough to allow the dogs to sit in the car until we made the 2.5 hour hike through the cave. I felt like an unfit mother doing that, but it was only about 55 - 60 degrees and we cracked all the windows. The dogs sure were happy to see us when we got back! They were none worse for the wear - they were perfectly fine in the car and we saw that other people had done the same thing. So, we walked and watered the dogs, visited the souvenir shop for a take home t-shirt, and off we went. Onto White Sands people!
So, we pulled into White Sands National Park pretty early in the morning. At first, I was trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. It looked like any other stinkin' desert in Arizona! But then, we continued to drive into the park and that's when we spotted the white sands. The white sands are actually piles of gypsum that blows into the form of sand dunes from a nearby defunct waterbed. The sands truly are as white as snow. The most unusual thing was that people actually buy those round disc shaped sleds to sled ride down the sides of the sand dunes. Hey....whatever keeps the kiddies happy, ya know! Anyway....we decided to park and hike. So, we took a bottle of water and off we went. Now, when I say "a" bottle of water, I mean ONE bottle of water.....just so you know. Well, immediately into the hike, Rudi dropped trow and took a nice big poop in the middle of the beautiful white sand. I can only estimate that he must have something against national parks - first the four corners and now this???? Geesh!
So, we began hiking. Up one dune, down another. Up one dune, down another. Up another dune, down another. Around a dune, up one dune, down another. You get the picture. When we started it was a mere 41 degrees (according to the car). By the time I hiked 2.5 miles, I think it must have been 90 degrees because it sure felt like it. Also, that ONE bottle of water was slowly disappearing between me and the dogs. Konrad is like a freakin' camel - the man can survive on an ounce of liquid per day. So we finally reach the dry riverbed. So I ask Konrad if he knows how far we have to go yet to get back to the car and he says no. I told him to get out the map and look and well.....the map is in the car. I am freaking out at this point. I just want to get a big swig of water and get my butt back to the car. Even the dogs are getting tired. At 3 miles, their tails are down, tongues are out, and Rosie is picking on Rudi for no reason. God, I love this :-)
We finally get back to civilization. I can hear children screaming. I never thought shrill screaming would put a smile on my face, but it did. I can see the glimmer of our car hood on the horizon. We finally reach the car and an additional four bottles of water. Boy, were we unprepared for that hike! Looking back, I'm glad we did it but also....I wish we would have been better prepared. Read the maps folks before you step into a giant sand box....read the map!
Well, this slight detour from our original plans has cost us about 5 hours. So, we didn't reach home Friday night as we had hoped. Instead, we reached Arizona (Mesa) at about midnight on Saturday night. We spent another hour and a half unloading the car. The next day we had to repair a chip in the windshield and clean the car out before returning it.
I don't know if it was the new lack of the motion sickness that I was experiencing in the car everyday, or the Arizona pollution, but I was ill all Sunday and Monday. Even Konrad wasn't feeling well. So, Monday I had to call in sick to work because I had a 101 temperature and felt really yucky. By Monday afternoon around 3 my fever broke and all was well. Weird! Wow - maybe my theory really is true - maybe I really am allergic to Arizona! Pray God! I don't keep it secret about how much I hate Arizona weather and everything else associated with it, but under it all, I really don't believe my theory can actually be true. Sigh.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
New Mexico here we come!
We drove as far as Alamagordo New Mexico on a last minute whim to go visit the White Sands National Park. The folks in Alamagordo are quite nice and the ladies at the Super 8 allowed the dogs to stay for free! I believe they do this for pest control reasons.......allow me to explain.
We were preparing to settle in for the night. We walked the dogs, got the jammies on, found a good station on tv, and were prepared to turn out the lights. Rudi wasn't having any of that business. Instead, he wedged himself between the wall and the bed and decided to dig, dig, dig at the baseboards. Apparently, something was living in our room that was neither human or canine and Rudi wanted it! Real bad! We looked and looked and didn't see what it was. Rosie was too tired to investigate the ruckus....until later that night. While we were dead in the middle of sleep, I heard a rustling noise next to the bed. "What is that????" I thought to myself. All of a sudden, the rustling was followed by a quick scramble and something ran forehead first into the entertainment stand.....yep, it was Rosie all right. Whatever Rudi was chasing earlier that evening finally caught Rosie's attention and she tried her darnedest to get whatever it was. Whatever it was still remains a mystery. All I can say is that I was quite careful when I opened the suitcases at home later that night!
On our way to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park!
We were preparing to settle in for the night. We walked the dogs, got the jammies on, found a good station on tv, and were prepared to turn out the lights. Rudi wasn't having any of that business. Instead, he wedged himself between the wall and the bed and decided to dig, dig, dig at the baseboards. Apparently, something was living in our room that was neither human or canine and Rudi wanted it! Real bad! We looked and looked and didn't see what it was. Rosie was too tired to investigate the ruckus....until later that night. While we were dead in the middle of sleep, I heard a rustling noise next to the bed. "What is that????" I thought to myself. All of a sudden, the rustling was followed by a quick scramble and something ran forehead first into the entertainment stand.....yep, it was Rosie all right. Whatever Rudi was chasing earlier that evening finally caught Rosie's attention and she tried her darnedest to get whatever it was. Whatever it was still remains a mystery. All I can say is that I was quite careful when I opened the suitcases at home later that night!
On our way to Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands National Park!
Did they ever get out of Texas?????????
So you're probably all wondering....did they ever make it out of the deep heart of Texas??? Well, of course we did!!!! What happened was the on/off button on my laptop bit the dust and we no longer had internet access because of it! UGH! Needless to say, I am quite happy that the DELL rep made arrangements for me to get it fixed when we reached Mesa again :-)
A highlight from our trip through Texas......
- We were at a gas station in the middle of the night and I decided to wedge myself into the back seat of the SUV to take a little nap. We had just purchased some chocolate milk for Konrad, a soda for me, and of course...some road snacks. So, I shoved both dogs in the front seat and squeezed into the backseat. I was turned the other way tucking a blanket into the crack of the leather seat and turned back around to lie down. Well.....there were two dogs sitting next to me. Imagine my surprise - I had just given them the go ahead to rule the front seat but no.....they have to be where mom is. So, I mumbled an expletive and was trying to reason with Rudi that he truly should ride in the front seat. Konrad was sitting in the front seat and spun around to see what all the commotion was. Upon hearing my expletive and upon seeing the endearing look of Rudi's little face listening to me reasoning with him so intently, Konrad couldn't hold it back - he burst out in laughter which was slightly muffled until he spewed out the chocolate milk resonating ahead of it! Yes, that's right folks. He had just filled his gullet with a nice cold mouthful of chocolate milk and was preparing to swallow....until he decided to laugh instead. I don't know if anyone has truly witnessed anything projectile coming out of one's mouth - be it vomit or otherwise but I must say, it really is quite remarkable. Konrad probably spewed a three foot range. The leather seats of the RENTED SUV were dripping with sticky sweet chocolate milk. Shortly thereafter, we ran out of antibacterial wipes!
A highlight from our trip through Texas......
- We were at a gas station in the middle of the night and I decided to wedge myself into the back seat of the SUV to take a little nap. We had just purchased some chocolate milk for Konrad, a soda for me, and of course...some road snacks. So, I shoved both dogs in the front seat and squeezed into the backseat. I was turned the other way tucking a blanket into the crack of the leather seat and turned back around to lie down. Well.....there were two dogs sitting next to me. Imagine my surprise - I had just given them the go ahead to rule the front seat but no.....they have to be where mom is. So, I mumbled an expletive and was trying to reason with Rudi that he truly should ride in the front seat. Konrad was sitting in the front seat and spun around to see what all the commotion was. Upon hearing my expletive and upon seeing the endearing look of Rudi's little face listening to me reasoning with him so intently, Konrad couldn't hold it back - he burst out in laughter which was slightly muffled until he spewed out the chocolate milk resonating ahead of it! Yes, that's right folks. He had just filled his gullet with a nice cold mouthful of chocolate milk and was preparing to swallow....until he decided to laugh instead. I don't know if anyone has truly witnessed anything projectile coming out of one's mouth - be it vomit or otherwise but I must say, it really is quite remarkable. Konrad probably spewed a three foot range. The leather seats of the RENTED SUV were dripping with sticky sweet chocolate milk. Shortly thereafter, we ran out of antibacterial wipes!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Deep in the Heart of Texas!
Well folks, we finally made it to Texas today - we are staying at yet another Motel 6 just across the border - somewhere between Beaumont and Houston. We had an exciting day in New Orleans today. We went to the French Quarter where we spent several hours standing in sub zero temperatures hoping to gnaw on some deep fried alligator tail. Seriously! We gave up at one restaurant when some customers came out saying that the chef had walked out during their meal and that everything they ate was cold and it certainly wasn't worth the $35 they paid for lunch. Decision made! Down the street we trekked where we were able to eat at another fine establishment for about $50. But at least the food was hot!
So, we did some exploring around the city and then went in search of the 9th ward. We found the 38th ward which was also explosively damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The situation there is still quite sad folks. People are still living in campers out in the front yards of what used to be their warm and loving homes. We would literally see neighborhoods of a hundred houses with only about 10 of those houses occupied. We spoke to a store owner who said that the residents in each ward were only given less than $5,000 for all the damages and to rebuild their lives. He also told us that with all the locals chased out of town, the Big Easy is now becoming snobby lane because the rich are moving in and sucking up property and the like in the hopes of a big boom there again someday. He said that because of this, the place is getting more high class and rush, rush, rush......hmmmmmm...reminds us of the Phoenix area!
Anyway, we hit the road and headed toward Texas in the hopes of meeting up with my friend Tracy in Austin. Well, she wrote tonight saying that during the week of Christmas, she had picked up and moved everything to Tampa Florida!!!! DANG! Well...looks like there is another vacation in our future :-)
I got a call from my mom today while on the road - my dad gets his blood tested tomorrow and if all goes well and his white blood cell count is up, he will get his December 27th chemo treatment this FRIDAY! Whoo hoo!!!!! My inner hope and spirit hopes he beats this thing, but realistically I understand the gravity of his illness and realize I'm grasping at straws. One can always hope though.
So, we did some exploring around the city and then went in search of the 9th ward. We found the 38th ward which was also explosively damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The situation there is still quite sad folks. People are still living in campers out in the front yards of what used to be their warm and loving homes. We would literally see neighborhoods of a hundred houses with only about 10 of those houses occupied. We spoke to a store owner who said that the residents in each ward were only given less than $5,000 for all the damages and to rebuild their lives. He also told us that with all the locals chased out of town, the Big Easy is now becoming snobby lane because the rich are moving in and sucking up property and the like in the hopes of a big boom there again someday. He said that because of this, the place is getting more high class and rush, rush, rush......hmmmmmm...reminds us of the Phoenix area!
Anyway, we hit the road and headed toward Texas in the hopes of meeting up with my friend Tracy in Austin. Well, she wrote tonight saying that during the week of Christmas, she had picked up and moved everything to Tampa Florida!!!! DANG! Well...looks like there is another vacation in our future :-)
I got a call from my mom today while on the road - my dad gets his blood tested tomorrow and if all goes well and his white blood cell count is up, he will get his December 27th chemo treatment this FRIDAY! Whoo hoo!!!!! My inner hope and spirit hopes he beats this thing, but realistically I understand the gravity of his illness and realize I'm grasping at straws. One can always hope though.
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