On the Road...Again

We pulled out of Austin on Sunday, July 14, and by mid-afternoon we were camped in San Angelo State Park, Site #1.  Our handsome grandson, Gage Wann, and his four-legged sidekick, Zelda, joined us for dinner.  Gage is about to begin his senior year at Angelo State University, and is racking up good grades in addition to experience in the local workforce. 

We met for lunch and more visiting on Monday at What Da Pho, a very popular Asian restaurant in San Angelo.  My pho was outstanding, and enough for at least two meals.  We’ll be back the next time we’re in town.  We said a reluctant good-bye to Gage and prepared to move on to higher elevations and, hopefully, lower temperatures.

We had an uneventful trip from San Angelo to Amarillo, but were unsuccessful in finding cooler temperatures.  There is a heat wave over the entire eastern half of the country, and Amarillo wasn’t spared.  Temperatures were in the 100s, and the blast-furnace wind blew from the time we arrived until we were long gone on Friday.  

We had fun in Amarillo, though.  Besides some obligatory shopping, we drove out to the Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument some 35 miles north and east of Amarillo.  The Paleo-Indians began quarrying Alibates flint from the area some 13,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age.  This flint is durable, colorful, and breaks in a predictable patten.  It can be honed to a fine, sharp edge or point, which made it especially valuable.  The quarries, which may number as many as 2,000, were mostly shallow pits some 10-20 feet wide.  They are mostly filled in now, but the edges are covered with shards of flint that were broken off when the pits were excavated, or discarded as being unusable.  

Between 1200 and 1450, members of the Antelope Creek culture built masonry structures near the flint outcroppings along the Canadian River.  The ruins of two structures were excavated in the 1930s.  They consist of square or rectangular rooms, as well as circular spaces.  Archeologists think they may have housed multiple family units, as well as storage and burial areas.  Artifacts of turquoise and obsidian, as well as shell jewelry, indicate that the Alibates flint was widely traded with peoples to the west and north.  

Alibates was proclaimed a national monument by Congress in 1965.  There is a lovely visitors’ center with native plantings at the foot of the mesa where the quarries are found.  Because of problems with the theft of artifacts, the quarries can be visited only on a ranger-led tour.  The tour is a 1 1/2 mile round trip with some steep steps to the top.  It’s worth the climb, though.  Call for tour times and make a reservation if you’re in the area.

One of the stops on our bucket list was the Jack Sisemore Traveland RV Museum.  The Sisemores operate an RV sales and equipment facility, and theirs is the oldest Winnebago dealership in Texas.  You can tell that the museum is their real labor of love.  They began collecting and restoring unusual vintage RVs more than 25 years ago, and have quite a collection from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  Among the units on display are several vintage Airstreams, the first Itasca motorhome ever built, a 1970 Avion pickup camper and a luxurious 1976 FMC motorhome that was owned by Max Factor, Jr., of cosmetics fame.  There are also numerous dirt and street bikes from years past.  The museum is free, and open Monday-Saturday, 9-5.  Don’t miss it if you like history. There is plenty here.

We also visited the Amarillo Botanical Gardens, which were beautiful as well as colorful.  I don’t know how they manage that with the heat and incessant wind.  I took lots of photos, not only of the outside plantings, but also of the plants and a family of ducks that live in the glass-enclosed conservatory.

I know by now you’re asking, “Where are your amazing photos of these interesting places?”  Well, I took them but unfortunately that was the end of it.  After two days of sightseeing in Amarillo, I plugged in my card reader, inserted the card and saw…NOTHING!  Just a black screen with the cryptic message, “No Photos.”  I have no idea what happened.  The camera, card reader and SD card have performed flawlessly before and since, but not this time.  I made several attempts to download the images, but they just weren’t there.  Even though I had previously reviewed some of them on the camera, when I put the card back in the camera, it was blank.  So……you’ll have to wait until we visit Amarillo again to see photos of these attractions.  Sorry.

I did get some photos from one Amarillo attraction…perhaps its most famous one…Cadillac Ranch.  

Created in 1974 and characterized as a “public art installation and sculpture,” it features 10 Cadillacs buried nose down in a field along I-40 (Exit 60).  Beginning at the entrance gate, the installation continues to give visitors an opportunity for artistic expression.  

You are encouraged to bring a can of spray paint and add your own touch to the installation like these folks are doing.

On Friday, we hooked up and let the 20+ mph wind push us north and west toward New Mexico.  We passed Capulin Volcano National Monument, and were so pleased to see all the green!  It has been a good year for New Mexico.

We are now happily hooked up in one of our favorite on-the-road “homes” at the NRA Whittington Center outside Raton.  

Here is a view from our patio.

And here is a photo of the cool front that rolled in at mid-afternoon on Sunday.

I had planned to take the Practical Pistol II class here Sunday and Monday, but unfortunately not enough folks signed up and the class was canceled.  I was fortunate that the excellent course instructor, Steve Overman, had some time available and I arranged for a private lesson.  No photos of that, but I’ll have shots in a couple of days of John and me on the firing range.  I’m shooting a new-to-me pistol, a Browning Hi-Power 9mm, and feeling much more confident after my lesson.  Thanks, Steve!

In the meantime, Kota is spending a lot of her time inside where she is “safe” from the sound of distant gunfire from the ranges.  Rue, on the other hand, is unconcerned so long as we can throw balls now and then.   

More to come; stay tuned.