It is difficult to post my photos to keep up with the miles we drive. The prior blog was the miles traveled in Arizona and New Mexico. This one will cover our road trip from Texas to Minnesota. (Is this confusing or what?) This blog begins with one of our favorite things to do…..drive the country roads.
We love these long country roads away from the freeways especially when Phil and I are the only ones on the road. Sometimes we sing old songs or we simply enjoy the scenery. This was in Arkansas and there had been just a light rain. The spring greens were so bright and fresh.
This little calf is probably very happy to be able to shed that heavy winter coat, and to have new spring greens to nibble on. The green stuff was so good, there was no interest in us as we slowed to take this photo.
After driving through Arizona and New Mexico, our GPS took us easily through El Paso, Texas. Here Mexicans who live on the Mexican side of the border in Juarez cross the river on one of 3 bridges. They come to the US side for different events and then they cross back home again. They pass through checkpoints both coming and going.
But there are walls to stop illegals from crossing although we are told not all of the miles are covered. Here is one of the walls and another looking through to Juarez.
We spent the night in a small town just south of El Paso. We had dinner at the same place as last year…..The Cattleman’s. These life-sized statues were at the restaurant. The baked potato was the best ever, and the pecan pie was awesome.
From El Paso we headed NW through the Texas Panhandle. So many trucks travel this non-freeway road, it was amazing. And there are so many motels in the small towns along the way….for the truckers. A little sleep and something to eat and they are on their way again.
From Northeast Texas, the highway scoots back into a small corner of New Mexico. Here we walked through the Carlsbad Caverns. I believe the guide said the caverns are 700 and some feet down from the surface. I did not have success taking photos with my camera….too dark. We could have stayed to see the bats come out of the caves later in the afternoon, but we chose to get back on the road. The stalagmite and stalactite formations of limestone were interesting and some very beautiful. Glad we stopped.
Just couldn’t help but share another country road photo. We are not quite alone here as there is a car or two on the road. These are the roads we travel rather than the freeway. We are lucky in that we have time to take the more peaceful, scenic routes.
We never know what we will find along the country roads. A wringer washing machine? Yes, but….it has been recycled into a mailbox!! And painted so pretty with flowers. This is the kind of wringer washing machine I grew up with on our farm. I also had this wringer washing machine when my kids were babies. When my first automatic washer and dryer were purchased, we gave our machine to a family with 5 children. One day we visited them and it was chugging away on their front porch doing its job. Am sure many of you grew up with the same wringer washing machine.
Often we share the road with these kind folks….the Amish people. The young boy is getting a glimpse of us. Seems they are here and there around our country often sharing the road with us as we drive along. Love the sound of the horses’ hoofs on the road. Clop clop clop clop.
This dog was beautiful – soft, clean fur of yellow and white. He belonged to an older man in this small town who was no longer able to care for him so the whole town adopted him. He gladly greeted us when we stopped at the small store where he was hanging out that afternoon.
Phil is cleaning off the windshield wiper blades so I can take better photos for you.
This tree has certainly had its share of trimming. Seems it might tumble over during a wind storm. Hope not as we are driving by!
Washing the dirt off my sandals in a creek. The spring water tasted great and was very cold especially on my bare feet. Ooohweee – it was cold.
Along the way we ventured off onto a gravel road headed into the woods. The road was good and we drove until there was water running across the road in front of us. There was a very nice home on the other side…and a friendly dog wagging his tail to greet us. We soon realized the water running across the road was actually a river. We drove through the water hoping the people would be at home so we could visit, but there was no one there except for the dog. We were disappointed as we wondered about their life so deep in the woods. The water was the result of rising spring flood waters. As we drove further, the road ended at a fast moving flooded river and as it obviously had rocks large enough for the water to tumble over them, that was the end of that venture. We turned around. As we passed the home on the river, there was still no one home so off we went. Sorry no photo of that house or of the friendly dog, but here is the road we were on through the woods. Lovely spring green.
This cemetery was very old as evidenced by the headstones. It seems to be cared for. The graves of some had fresh artificial flowers on them. And there was even an outhouse….so……. !!
Phil by the outhouse. Fresh toilet tissue enclosed in plastic. Very clean and fresh. There were not even any spiders or other creatures who normally like to move in. And there was even a “lock” on the door!!!
The Baker Hotel in Mineral Springs, Texas was quite a place in its day. The wind on the day we were there made it hard to walk. It was so strong. The Baker Hotel has an interesting history beginning a couple of weeks after the big stock market crash in 1929. It was too much to photograph so get out your magnifying glass and read about the historic Baker Hotel.
AT first look, these yellow flowers are a lovely sight, but it is indeed a WEED and even the cattle do not eat it. We stopped and spoke with a man who climbed down from his tractor to talk with us. He says the weed is bitter, the cattle won’t eat it and have to eat grass growing up alongside the flowers. I wondered how the cows would ever find grass among this sea of yellow?? We saw fields and fields of it through Oklahoma and Arkansas. It must be terribly aggressive.
Driving through a small town, Phil noticed men cooking outside. We stopped and learned they were cooking the mid-day meal for every Senior who had birthdays in that month. They invited us to stay and eat with them and after lunch, I am not sure who had more fun….Phil or the people who watch him do his magic with the playing cards.
Oops, missed this story in my last blog about Arizona. We stopped for a bite to eat in Pima, Arizona. On the wall was a very old photo of Lavon Taylor who was killed during WWII at Pearl Harbor. According to the text with the photo, the U.S. Census #s from 1940 listed .3% of the U.S. population was lost during WWII. Pima lost 27 young men or 5% of Pima’s population. Their photos were also displayed.
Also on this sign was written, “With this display, we desire to keep the sacrifice of our Veterans alive in the hearts and minds of all generations, more especially those of future generations. Our young people are the ones who will be the next leaders of America. They will be the ones who ensure the Flag will always be flown in honor of those who have given all for our freedom and its privileges.”
A thought: Immigrants are haunted people carrying with them the ghostly landscapes of their origins. The lived past is never really past – it endures in us in more ways than we understand….author unknown
The Dogwood trees welcomed us with their snow white blossoms all the way through Arkansas and Missouri. I picked and pressed some blossoms. I also saw a pink Dogwood and snapped a photo of it. The pink blossoms are less common than the white ones.
The dogwood tree is a hard, dense wood and was once a tall, sturdy tree. Legend has it that the tree was used to make the Cross that Jesus carried. Legend also says that the tree was sad to have been used this way so Jesus said that the dogwood tree would never again be a cross. Today its trunk is slender, bent and twisted. And it is a small tree growing under other taller trees (an under-story tree). The legend continues saying the blossoms are in the form of a cross….2 short petals and 2 long ones. At the center of each petal is a mark that signifies the nail prints (brown with rust and red color), and the center of each flower is the crown of thorns.
Missouri’s State Tree is the flowering Dogwood. It adorns the woods with its snowy white blossoms amid the green leaves. A little rainy mist on this photo, but the contrast in color was beautiful.
Can’t recall where this snow-tipped mountain was, but remember it seemed out of place in an area where the day was very warm.
A beautiful Arkansas sunset.
In Bradley, Missouri, we drove onto a ferry boat to get across Schoales Lake. It was a nice ride.This lake divided Arkansas and Missouri.
Don’t know if the flood waters reached the 5 foot mark, but the marker was there just in case.
We saw some indication of flood waters in Arkansas.
To Think About:
Here I am a Dollar Bill. You may use me for what you will. I once was new, but now I’m old; the places I’ve been have never been told. I’ve sailed the ships far out at sea, been high in the sky with others like me, in homes of the rich, I’m just one of many, in homes of the poor, they count every penny, in the Halls of Justice, in dens of sin (I even bet on the ponies, but never did win.) and now I’m in your hands, my dear….And it’s up to you where I go from here.
Now we have been home in Minnesota for a couple of weeks and will be here for the summer. That said, we will take a couple of shorter trips so you will hear from us again. Stay well, be happy and keep in touch. We will do the same.
Home for a while, Anne & Phil