Tombstone & Bisbee, AZ

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We went to Tombstone and Bisbee, AZ, yesterday. Boys and girls, can you say "Tourist Trap"? Of course, you all know that Tombstone was where the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral occurred. We learned that the real gunfight was out in the middle of a street, not IN a corral. Some book changed the location. Anyway, didn't interest me too much but what really struck me was the amount of violence in the area back in the 1800's. So many people were shot or stabbed, and it wasn't like in the movies, where the good guy only sustained a "flesh wound". Even if it was, I imagine the wounded eventually died of infection. We visited Boot Hill and saw many graves of infants and children, too. Mortality rates must've been a nightmare, with all sorts of diseases (no vaccines or antibiotics at that time). Some of the townspeople died of leprosy! I'm so glad we have vaccines and antibiotics today.

We old timers remember the show about Wyatt Earp (brave, courageous and true). Like many other famous old-west legends, we found that he was just that...a legend with feet of clay, romanticized and redefined by Hollywood. I won't go into detail here, because I can't remember the pertinent facts!

We toured the court house, which had been restored. Fires were common back then, and the town was almost destroyed several times by fire. We saw lots of antiques in the court house. It is a state park and cost $5 per person to get in. We didn't go to any of the other areas because they charged a hefty fee to get in, and by that time, I was thoroughly disgusted with the touristy-thing.

One interesting thing I learned was how the town of Tombstone got its name. A man named Schiefflin came to the area in 1877 from Camp Huachuca, accompanied by some soldiers from said post. When he told the soldiers he intended to stake a mine claim in that area, the soldiers told him all he'd find there was his tombstone. After discovering a silver lode, he named the town Tombstone. He became wealthy but sold his interest in the mine and moved on west. Ironically, after he sold out, the mine blossomed and was worth millions.

We then drove to Bisbee, AZ, known for copper mines. Nestled by mountains, the town is built up on the sides of the surrounding slopes and is a beautiful area. We went through the mining museum (yawn) and I did see some incredibly beautiful minerals and stones which had been taken from the ground. They also have found turquoise in the mines. Bisbee is another tourist trap. There is a HUGE hole in the ground where much of the mining occurs today, and we saw a couple of those gigantic trucks which carry the ore. It was starting to sprinkle by the time we left, and I was SO glad to get back home, where we had leftovers waiting and I didn't have to cook.

There was a restaurant at Tombstone which served buffalo burgers, and you could smell them cooking, but I resisted! Ha, success! Although buffalo meat is lower in fat than beef, I didn't want to eat there because of the methods of cooking and all the extras they put on the burgers.

I'm now down another pound from last Tuesday's weigh in. Perfect.

Tomorrow we leave and head northwest. I am putting some pictures from our trip yesterday, and also from Ft. Huachuca. The houses you see are the original houses built back in the 1880's, restored, and the general and high-ranking officers live here. The snow-capped mountains are west and south of Ft. Huachuca. The victrola was in the court house. We never had one but one of our good friends had a victrola like this. The gallows was (?were?) outside the court house, and was used to hang several men who had murdered some people. Don't know if the structure was a reproduction or the real thing! We saw their graves at Boot Hill. Two of the miscreants were named Halderman! How's that for a coincidence.

More later!

City of Rocks pictures

We arrived in Ft. Huachuca, AZ, today about noon. Gary got our satellite dish for internet set up, so I am finally able to download the pictures of City of Rocks, a New Mexico State Park located about 40 miles northwest of Deming, NM. These rocks are located in some rolling foothills and rise up from the desert floor, having been formed by wind and water over the ages. A volcano erupted eons ago and caused these formations...don't ask me how!

I'll bet the old west outlaws used these rocks as hiding places. However, they are easy to climb around, as I can attest, since I dislike climbing on rocks VERY MUCH. We had a sunny day but the wind was strong and cold, temperature was about 54 degrees. We kept exploring the rocks and when we came to the end, we found a trail which circled the entire area. We walked that trail to get back to our car, since people and children were starting to arrive in the park by droves and I like to enjoy the beauties of nature without seeing people. Guess I'm a nature snob? There were picnic tables and BBQ grills all over the place, and a very neat campground.

We took lots of pictures, and unfortunately, I am limited to the number I can put on my blog, which is five.

By the way, we did not go to Columbus, NM, to Pancho Villa State Park as we had planned. We found that our friends, Jim and Gwen, had left earlier this month, and we were not too keen on seeing Pancho Villa's digs. So we decided to go to City of Rocks, and I am really glad we went there.

Fort Huachuca is in southern Arizona near the Mexican border. It is nestled against snow- capped mountains, and I vow to you that I will take some pictures and put them on the next blog. We will be here for 4 days. As soon as we drove up, we were spotted by a roadrunner. He came very close and examined our RV and us, and did not seem to be at all afraid. I have a feeling people have been feeding him. Too bad I was too busy to get some pictures, but I'm sure he will be around tomorrow. The campground is very quiet and is a long way from highway noise. I am SO looking forward to not hearing the interstate and rail lines tonight.

Wow, diet's going great. I have lost 12 lbs. after 5 weeks. I am getting used to eating this way and am very encouraged by my progress. I really like the Weight Watchers because it is flexible. I get lots of food that I consider "treats". We have fallen in love with almond milk. I don't like the taste of milk at all, but I absolutely love this stuff. Unfortunately, it is sweetened with evaporated cane juice, although an 8 oz. glass only has 60 calories, vs. 90 calories for skim milk. It has calcium, vitamins D and E added. The vanilla flavor is very sweet and tastes like chocolate milk (well, okay, WHITE chocolate milk). I REALLY love it! I accidentally picked it up the first time I bought it, and were we ever surprised.

Well, I will close my ramblings for now. We're looking forward to exploring and getting some pix of this area.

Deming, NM

Because we have a limited amount of internet connectivity here, I can't put any pictures on the blog, but I will let you know what's been going on. The area around here is very flat but about 4300 feet above sea level. To our south are some mountains with a small amount of snow at the peaks. There are very few trees here, and the ones you see have been planted and cultivated. Talk about sand in the desert! It is very sandy here. The vegetation is sparse.
To our south are located several dairy farms. Did I say HUGE! I'll bet that's a big job, milking all those cows. Makes the 28 cows we used to milk seem puny. Ours were practically pets, and seemed to recognize their names, but this operation has to be impersonal.
We have to come up a 3 mile dirt road to get to the RV park. The back of our RV was so dusty you couldn't tell what color it was! (Diesel pushers blow exhaust straight down so it kicks up lots of dust).
On Saturday, we went to the Rock Hound show at the fairgrounds. It was huge with many vendors and exhibits. There was every kind of raw rock plus cut and polished stones, set in every imaginable setting. I bought a couple of pairs of earrings and matching stones for a necklace. We are planning on going to the Rock Hound State Park, but after seeing the exhibits, I realized that I don't have the knowledge or the equipment to even make anything. We'll probably go anyway, just to see what it's all about.
Our skies are cloudy today and there's snow falling north of here. We're supposed to get some rain but I seriously doubt it. It has been terribly windy the last two days. We went out to do our walking yesterday, and there was a spring in my step as the wind was to our backs. However, different story when we turned around to come back. As Gary said, it was like walking into a hurricaine! I felt like I had walked uphill the entire way back.
Weight Watchers Online is going great and I'm getting used to it. I've now lost 12 pounds since I started on Feb. 9th. We have discovered the MOST DELICIOUS DRINK. It's almond milk! I don't like milk but this stuff's great. Gary likes it because it doesn't have any cholesterol. It's about a dollar more per half gallon than skim milk. Skim milk has 90 calories per cup, I think, but almond milk has 60 calories per cup. We like to eat it on cereal or drink it. You can get the vanilla almond milk, but it's very sweet and almost tastes like chocolate milk. It's not for young children, though, since there are certain fats they must have for brain and eye development.
That's about all from here. We may go down to Columbus, NM, to Pancho Villa State Park. We met some other volunteers at Seminole Canyon who are there. Hopefully I can sneak some pictures on this site one of these days!

Day Three: Takin' off today!

We had the most wonderful day yesterday. We drove over to Comfort, TX, where my cousin and her husband were camped. They are the most wonderful folks! Another cousin, whom I'd never met (or didn't remember meeting), drove over from San Antonio. Her name is Karen. She's the brunette. Jeannette and Karen are both from Wynnewood, OK, and we used to visit with Jeannette and her parents when I was a kid. We had a good time looking at old photos I had scanned on my computer and talking about the "olden days". I will miss seeing them. When we talk about the olden days, it makes me feel closer to my mother and grandparents. These cousins are on my mom's side of the family. Their grandmothers and my grandmother were sisters. Also, Jeannette's grandfather and my grandfather were cousins! So we're doubly kin, I guess. Confusing? Yep. But my grandfather & grandmother were NOT cousins or related!

Today we are heading west, and will stay overnight at the town of Balmorrhea, TX. No wifi at that spot. I don't know how I will survive without the internet.

I have lost another pound since Tuesday! I'm so excited because I've really been trying to be good and eat right. It's not easy when people offer you candy or goodies! I know I am a sweets/carbohydrate addict, so I just have to refuse. Maybe later I'll break down and have a bite, but not now. Don't want to get back on that roller coaster.

Well, time to close and start putting things away for the trip. We'll see you down the road!

Day One: Kerrville, TX

We left Georgetown, TX, this morning, heading for "By the River" RV park in Kerrville, TX. It's located on the banks of the Guadalupe River. There's a low water bridge between the campground and a large island, with water flowing around the island. We saw several small waterfalls around the upper part of the islands, and the river finally smoothed out, as you can see in the above pictures. There were huge trees along the edge of the river, and you can see Gary standing in the hollow of one of them.

We had a good trip down here. Didn't see a single bluebonnet yet, though. I was interested to see the peach trees around Fredericksburg were beginning to bud out. Wineries had sprung up all over the area east of Fredericksburg. We didn't stop to check them out, but some of them looked like they were copying the decor of Italian wineries.

Tomorrow we'll head to Comfort, which is about 10 miles east of here, to visit my cousin and her husband from OK. They are camped here in Texas for a couple of months until it warms up in Oklahoma, then they'll return home. I am excited because another cousin whom I have never met happens to be in San Antonio and she's coming out to meet me, too. So it will be a mini-family reunion.

I hope our internet connection stays viable. I freaked out earlier because we couldn't get the Wifi to work for about an hour and a half, and suddenly it started working. I will add more later...

Gorman Falls

Hello, everyone! We are still at Lake Georgetown, about 30 miles north of Austin, TX. Yesterday we took a trip out to the Colorado Bend State Park. It's about an hour's drive northwest of here. This Colorado River is not the same as the one which flows out west! We went with three other couples, friends of ours, and hiked down to the falls. It took about an hour to get there. The temperature was chilly but after we started walking, we warmed up a bit.
Gorman Falls comes from Gorman Springs, which bubbles up and out of the ground, flowing to the bluffs high above the Colorado. The signs caution that the falls, which flows over limestone, creates a delicate, fragile environment for the fauna and flora underneath, so the area is roped off to prevent people (read "honest") people from destroying the area. Our friend Dave retired from this park, and he told us about a couple of teenagers who somehow got near the falls and drove their car off the falls. The car wedged in one of the trees, and amazingly enough, the youths were not killed.
The falls drains directly into the Colorado River, which was flowing nicely and looked muddy. We have had adequate rains this spring. The roar of the falls was loud, and we sat on some benches, rested, and admired the beauty and solitude of the area.
It was a little more difficult going up out of the area than going down; there were some ropes to hold onto but some BIG steps had to be made. We were all wiped out by the time we got back to the car. At least, I was!
Until next time...we're trying to be good, and I've been on weight watchers for the past 5 days (yes, seems like a month or two, at least). Some bad labs jarred me into reality and made me realize that I need to get serious and start trying to take care of myself better. One day at a time...hope I don't fall off THIS wagon!

Sabbatical?

Here it's been a whole MONTH since I've written in the blog! Holidays are always busy. Well, at least, that's my excuse. And we haven't traveled any; we're still at Lake Georgetown, northwest of Georgetown, TX. We survived the cold weather without any frozen pipes or holding tanks, thankfully, due to Gary's diligence in disconnecting the water if the temps were forecast to be much below freezing.

We've been trying to plan our trip out west, leaving in April and heading out to Los Angeles. We will visit my son, Matt, and his wife Alexis for a few days. They are going to be parents around the end of July, first baby. Of course, we're delighted and proud of them both. After visiting with them, we plan to head to the San Francisco area for some GOOD sourdough bread and wonderful "mom 'n' pop" Chinese restaurants. Our plans include going to Napa Valley and then on to see the Redwoods. We will then head north to Washington and visit my cousins and my only surviving aunt. So I should have lots of pictures and interesting stories to tell.

So, we have nothing really new going on...just same old, same old. It's nice to be in Georgetown again, in a familiar place that's easy to get around. Ooh, on Saturday, January 16, we will have been married 17 years. My, how time flies.

That's all for now!