From Here to There

Life … On the Road Again

We had a preview of Grand Canyon at this stop at Little Colorado River.

Coleen is mesmerized by the size of Grand Canyon.

In the tower at Grand Canyon.

Deep and wide, deep and wide, …

Each is trying to take it all in. Emily, Glen, Claire, Mother, Coleen, and Polly

This canyon is massive.

Yes, we got through without scrapping the top.

Our Route 66 Experience

We had a good breakfast here on Route 66.

Dustin and Gabriel, this picture of a teardrop camper is for you all.

The ceiling and part of the walls were covered with dollar bills, and other things.

We stopped at Sileigman for a memory back in time. I remember when we had a 1958 Edsel that was black with red wings, push buttons for the transmission, and how I could hardly wait until we would get a new car so that it could sit out behind the barn so I could “drive” it, push the buttons and turn the steering wheel.

In this large picture, can you find … Glen?

It seems like we stop to get gas way too often!

Hackberry’s General Store on Route 66

Mother remembers the old wringer washer and was telling me how she had to turn the crank to feed the clothes through the wringer into another tub.

Emily

The ceiling inside at Hackberry’s.

Out back was an old shop with more antiques.

These Berma Shave signs were also behind the store.

BIG MISTAKE – MANY MAKE -- RELY ON HORN -- INSTEAD OF BRAKE -- BERMA SHAVE

And just look at this old Corvette. The man inside the store said it’s worth $150,000.00

Hoover Dam

A small scale model showing how the concrete was poured for the dam.

Hoover Dam

Wonderful electricity.

It was hot out there, 110 degrees.

We saw our “ride” from way over across the dam coming to pick us up.

The new bridge over the Colorado River at Hoover Dam.

… as a Quilter

I love the bright colors, lines, and designs …

Silverton, CO and Further West

The majestic beauty between Silverton and Ouray had steep mountains, blue skies, and winding narrow roads that were scary to me.

 

We stopped in Delta and met Paul’s niece, Paula & Jerrel and family at Rocky Mountain Pantry. She had coffee and doughnuts ready for us. It was a refreshing break.

We drove from Grand Junction, CO  to Arches National Park down along the Colorado River. The rusty red bluffs were beautiful with unique rock formations.

You can see how big this arch is by the size of the people under the arch.

There were over 300 arches in the park.

Claire Bleu set up an outdoor studio and did some plein air painting while we drove through the park.

Just look at how her painting looks like the scene behind her.

We stopped at this little quilting shop just south of the park in Moab.

Driving on south we came upon Hole in the Rock, and Claire Bleu hollered out that we need to stop there and take a tour of Albert and Gladys Christenson’s house in the rock. He dynamited out the rock to form rooms and living quarters for them. He also worked as a miner, sculpturer, and painter. Gladys was like Mother and was very artistic, creative, and made do with what was available.

There were lots of old memorabilia and souvenirs around for tourists.

This road grader looks like it was horse drawn. Maybe it could smooth out Davis Rd. for us.

Polly, Claire, and Mother take a rest in the shade.

Mr. Albert carved the face of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt in the rock of his home.

This Jeep was sitting in front of the Souvenir Shop. It is made from farm tools, metal scraps, and license plates.

Emily

Monument Valley

Claire Bleu was in her glory snapping 100s of pictures in Monument Valley. If anyone wants to stop, they holler and, bless Jim's heart, he steps on the brakes and pulls to the side of the road for a photo shoot that lasts anywhere from 1/2 a minute to 1/2 hour.

Durango to Silverton

Carlsbad Caverns and Roswell

Our travels today started out with troubles. When we went to leave our motel, there were funny noises under the hood. The serpentine belt had shredded. Glen and Jim put on a new one. Thankfully we weren’t out in the middle of nowhere with 100^ heat. We could wait in our room until repairs were done.

 

Then it was on to Carlsbad, NM where we went through the magnificent caverns.

 

Mother got along very well with her cane and walker.  We walked over a mile at her pace …

… to enjoy the beautiful formations.

Driving north through the town of Roswell we saw lots of space ships, green martians and …

 

… aliens, the town’s mascot.

When it took longer than expected for me to snap these pictures, everyone speculated what might have happened to me. Maybe I was whisk up into the outer spaceship, maybe they did a brain transplant on me, maybe … and then the martians didn’t think I was fit so they spewed me back down to earth. When I got back on the bus the ladies were all chirping and twirping like martians.

Traveling West

 Life …

We traveled to Texas to my sister Emily & Perry’s place.

Their son Adam and his girlfriend Megan helped to host us for the night.

The pool was a welcome and relaxing spot for June. Most of us sat along the edge and “cooled” our feet in the hot tub.

At College Station, TX we had a tour of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

In 1948 George drove his red two-door Studebaker, a graduation present from his parents, from the East Coast to West Texas.”

Acting president Barnhart.

These gifts were given to the president but since they were worth more than $300.00 they couldn’t keep them.

I guess they really belong to us, the American people.

This tapestry really caught my eye. You know it would have taken a lot of hours to make it.

 At The Alamo in San Antonio we learned some of the history of Texas.

Emily and Polly are standing by the fort wall.

This live oak tree was in the courtyard and I thought would make a lovely tree for the grandchildren to climb.

Then we traveled to Fredericksburg to …

… the Insight Gallery to view an exhibit of Oil Painters of America. Claire Bleu, my niece painter/artist was in her glory!

I really liked this painting of the old car.

While Claire spent more time at the gallery, we walked and toured the streets of Fredricksburg.

Mother, Coleen and I posed outside of a candy store as lollipops.

 

Texas – Longhorns – Lone Star – Cowboys

… as a Quilter

This piece of art was a gift to George and Barbara Bush. Isn’t it great inspiration for a quilt?

Coleen finished the feather stitching on her velvet doll comforter that Mother pieced.