It is already the end of May. Time certainly flies by quickly. All is green, flowery and warm here in Minnesota. As Phil says, it is nice to go away, but it is always nice to come home. Here is the second half of our 6-week, 7000 mile road trip.
Because it was recently Memorial Day, I wanted to share a photo from our National Military Cemetery at Fort Snelling. It is one of the largest in the country. I think I heard it was the 4th largest, but don’t hold my toes to the fire on that one. I know it encompasses 436 acres and 225,000 graves. It was also placed on the National Registry of Historic Placers in 2016. One man buried there we will all recognize is that of Tom Burnett, a hero when he was a passenger on Flight 93 that went down in the field in Pennsylvania during 9/11. Let’s Roll!
Second half of our 7000 mile road trip. We left Minnesota on March 15 and the second half of that road trip took us to Texas. After finding a motel for the night just south of El Paso, our dinner stop was the Cattleman’s Steakhouse. What a spectacular place – not to mention the food. It was indeed good stuff. Started years ago on a small scale, it is now a place where movies have been made (including one with Denzel Washington…..don’t recall name). The man who began this operation is about 80 years old today. He started small. Today he has a huge spread with a lake, cattle (that he raises and butchers), peacocks, coyotes, and other creatures. He has life-size, 3-dimensional statues of caribou, buffalo, deer, horses, and almost any other animal one can name all around the outside of the restaurant.Inside he has room for conferences, lots of beautiful wood furnishings and antiques all around the place. For dinner I had a Lady Steak and Phil had one a little bigger. Biggest steak was a 24 ounce. We both passed on that one! We were told that people who fly into El Paso come to the Steakhouse specifically for dinner. I do not eat much beef, but when it is the only thing on the menu,one must go for it! My steak was perfectly done (well) and the baked potato was the largest I have ever seen. It was delicious. There were large groups of people there and some people eating there were also large!!! Had no idea what an unusual setting we would find here so did not bring my camera. We kind of checked into the motel and left right away to get something to eat. Darn!
Off again the next morning staying off the freeway. It was a road with little traffic and just nice traveling.
We stopped at a little town and ran into two guys who had ridden bicycles from Florida. They had bundles of gear hanging all over their bikes. They told us there are places along the way for bikers to stay, take a shower, and sometimes even get a meal. Nice guys….we talked for some time. But when we left driving the road they had just traveled, I wondered how they had managed the hills as this road was up and down, up and down….so hilly.
Arrived in Marfa. Interesting town. We spent a few hours there. Marfa is known as the last American frontier. The altitude is just short of 5000 feet. The town is protected by mountains on 3 sides. In 1911 the Government sent cavalry troops there during the Mexican Revolution. They built canvas hangers from which biplanes flew reconnaissance missions. The U.S. Government established a “mounted watchmen” to deter aliens from crossing the Rio Grande for smuggling liquor during Prohibition. The Border Patrol has now replaced this organization. In 1983 Marfa celebrated its 100th birthday. There is a World War II Veteran living in Marfa. It is said that every day he visits the Dairy Queen for a little ice cream. We considered visiting that Dairy Queen to meet him, but it was mid-afternoon and we thought he would likely be napping.
Border Patrol – In several places we encountered the U. S. Border Patrol blockades. They did not search our vehicle; maybe because we had Minnesota license plates or maybe because we are old….don’t know, but they just motioned us on. I guess they know from experience what vehicles they should check and who is okay to go through.
Blue Barrels Marked Water – When we were heading south toward South Padre Island, we were driving on a 2-lane highway. Along the roadside we saw blue barrels with the word AQUA (Spanish for Water) written across them. From the barrels a marker was high in the air. Obviously, these were for migrants coming across the border from Mexico. I also saw a large area with many artificial flowers likely marking the place where someone had died.
Stone Markers Along the Highway – Don’t know for certain, but it seems these piles of stones might be markers for migrants. There were many of them long the road. I wondered what kept them from falling over. Many of them were this tall.
These tall stone markers may be for helping migrants find their way.
TXDOT’s Wildflower Legacy – For more than 90 years, the Texas Department of Transportation has worked to conserve and preserve the state’s wildflower species. Texas was among the first states to put in place a program of planting wildflower seeds along the state’s roads and highways. Early in the ‘1900’s, rights of way were often completed cleared during the road building process.
Then the TXDOT noticed the wildflowers were the first plants to return in springtime. These plants helped prevent soil erosion and looked attractive. By 1934, the state stopped mowing along the roads and highways (except for safety reasons) until the spring flowering season ended. Today the TXDOT purchases and sows about 30,000 wildflower seeds along the 800,000 miles of rights of way. The result is miles of beautiful color, which we have seen along our trip.
We all probably know about Lady Bird Johnson and her love of wildflowers, especially the Bluebonnets (Lupines). I have seen them blooming in Minnesota as well. And we can buy the seeds and plant them in the spring. So far we have not found them here in Texas because the season is nearly over and they bloom further north than where we are. Most of the early wildflowers were yellow although we did see some purple, pink and white as well.
This is what I believe about wildflowers. They beautify the earth with their colors, are useful for our environment, and feed our souls. From the time I was a little girl growing up on that northern Minnesota farm, I have loved the wildflowers.
Laughlin Air Force Base – We didn’t know if we could get in, but Phil’s military card was all it took…..and we were on the base. I was familiar with the name of Laughlin as my older brother was in Air Force Basic Training there. But it has changed….no more Basic Training. Now it is an Air Force Flight Training Facility. Planes everywhere. And we were given a tour of the facility with all of its history. We were taken to the Flight Deck and saw some of the planes taking off with new pilots in front seats and instructors in back. It was pretty exciting. The man who took us onto the Flight Deck would soon be taking his first flight; I asked him if he was scared and he said he was. but not as much as his parents back home in Illinois. Of course, no photos could be taken on the Flight Deck.
More Photos of Our Journey:
Louisiana: We had so much fun in New Orleans, but first we had to get there. We drove on a very narrow, 2-lane highway from the Texas border to just south of New Orleans. That was quite a few miles, but almost no one else was on the road so it was nice driving. Then all of a sudden, the highway ended at a waterway…..and the only way across was a ferry that ran every 15 minutes. It was not far across the water. Once on the other side, we continued on our way.
My second husband, Ucy, who died of lung cancer was from New Orleans. Phil and I stayed with his sister there and what fun we had. We went to dinner at a really -great-food restaurant with about 10 people from this family. It was an opportunity for Phil to do puzzles, etc. and what fun he….and everyone….had. Lots of laughs.
Mississippi: Yes, we got there too. One of Ucy’s nephews lives in Ocean Springs and he had caught these crabs (photo below). He boiled them in seasoned water and we ate to our heart’s content. They were delicious. These were not long-legged like the ones we get in restaurants here in Minnesota.
Bye for now. Take care and enjoy your summer.
Anne in Minnesota