That time of year

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love the reason for the season. I love the smells, the sounds, the decorations. I especially love the memories. 

I finished decorating this week.

Also this week -- the first measurable snowfall of the season (and there is more on the way!):

 

And look -- I already got a Christmas present!

1st Day of Christmas

Day 9

On day 9 we stopped here. It was a free stop with a gigantic cross -- you can see it miles away. There are sculpture from the life of Christ. Also a very nice bookstore and gift shop.

We drove a long time this day -- all the way through Oklahoma and into Kansas.  We stayed at a motel in Salinas, KS, ate at Red Lobster, and went swimming in the pool.

View Day 9 in a larger map

Giving thanks for

my health and the health of my family.

Day 8

On day 8 we drove to the Four Corners -- this is the only place in the United States where the corners of four states converge. The land is owned by Native Americans and surrounded by reservation.


My self-portrait . . .


The monument that we saw is not the original survey -- it has been redone several times. The photo below is from the south looking north. (I have know idea who the woman is in the photo.) :-)

We were at the Four Corners about noon -- there were Native Americans selling crafts and jewelry all around the monument and there was even a live band! It was quite a nice stop.

There really isn't much to see in this area but the beauty of the landscape.

Shiprock, NM:



We drove through Albuquerque, NM. There was an accident on the Interstate so we sat downtown in traffic for about an hour -- this was the only time I have ever read while in the driver seat!

We camped outside of Amarillo, TX this evening.

View Day 8 in a larger map

Day 7 : Grand Canyon & Williams

After the Hoover Dam we headed over to the Grand Canyon. It was a long drive and we didn't arrive until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. This actually worked out very well -- it was beautiful that during that time.

We viewed the canyon from a couple of points near the South Rim Visitor's Center. This area is getting a makeover so there wasn't much parking. Thankfully, it was late in the day (and the season) so there weren't masses of people there. Although, of all the places we visited on this trip this was the most multicultural.

Before I post my photos, I just want to say -- there is no way you could ever comprehend the vast beauty of this place from a photo. It truly is an amazing creation.





After the Grand Canyon we drove back south and set up our campsite. Then we drove about 10 minutes into Williams, AZ for supper at a cafe on Route 66.

View Grand Canyon in a larger map

Day 7: Hoover Dam

My quick tips for visiting Hoover Dam:

If you are looking to save some money at Hoover Dam:

*Park at the top of the hill on the Arizona side of the dam. Parking is free there but you do have to walk a ways. To the dam is easy -- downhill -- but at the end of the day you have to walk back up.

*The main museum is fairly inexpensive, is interesting and has great interactive exhibits for kids and adults.

*Mom and I didn't take the either of the two longer tours of the power house & the guided dam tour. Both are added expenses and involve a lot of walking & and more time than we were willing to devote to this attraction.


The photo above was taken from the observation deck available with museum admission. But there are other photo opportunities along the dam that do not require any expense.

One of the things I found most interesting about the dam was the construction. If you look in the above photo you can see sections -- each of these are individually poured sections of concrete. It was poured in section and allowed to dry. Because of the inherent properties of concrete, if the dam was completely poured it would take 125 years to cure.


These are the intake towers -- they take water into the power plant to create the energy. One of the other interesting things I learned was that the Hoover Dam powers much of the western United States. It was really amazing to me how far the power was distributed.

This photo is part the monument erected across the road from the visiter center. I love the art deco!

Day 7: The morning

Leaving Las Vegas, we drove down the strip for some photos.

On to the Hoover Dam:

View Day 7 in a larger map

Day 6 La-la & Vegas

We woke up to haze on Day 6. After checking out of the motel in San Diego, CA, we drove up the coast towards Los Angeles.

We took I-5 and Highway 1 which are both along the coast line.

We were heading to Hawthorne, CA -- a suburb of Los Angeles. This is one of the places that mom grew up.

They didn't live on a base here so I got to see the house she lived in, the schools she attended, and even the building Grampy worked at.

After Los Angeles, we started heading east again. We crossed California and reached Los Vegas, NV around 5 pm.

This is a photo of "The Strip" as we came in from the south.

Very, very flat. Very, very dry.

We stayed at the Orleans -- not on "The Strip." (Our room looked exactly like the room on the homepage of the website--except it had two queens instead of a king and I think the coverlet on the bed was maroon.)

We ate at a TGI Fridays in the hotel and went to the movie Julie & Julia (excellent movie!) at the 18 screen theater, also in the hotel.

The hotel was humongous -- over 1,800 rooms. at least 20 stories tall. The decor was French inspired by New Orleans.


Las Vegas is really a unique place. I have had my fill. Enough said.



These are photos of "The Strip" from the north -- out our hotel room windows.




Mom's pictures were better but . . .

View Day 6 in a larger map

Day 5: Spanish Village Art Center & Museum of Natural History

After we spent half the day at the zoo, we walked to the Spanish Village Art Center. There were close to 40 artists there--glass blowers, painters, and any variety of artisans.

We continued on to the Natural History Museum and viewed the Body Worlds Exhibition. This is an exhibit of the human body that has been traveling around the world. It was truly fascinating -- I learned quite a bit about the human body.

The basic premise is that bodies of people who have left their bodies to research and education after their deaths go through process called plastination.

After the plastination process the bodies have been arranged into exhibits that display the awesome creation that is the human body.

The exhibit in San Diego also had a focus on the brain. We watched a film "The Human Body: Pushing the Limits - Brain Power." This is an excellent documentary on the brain and how it function.

I have to say I walked away from this museum with a greater appreciation for our amazing bodies!

Despite being tired after a full day of walking, we stopped at Mission Bay.


We went back to the motel and had supper at a great little Mexican restaurant next door. We ate outside and finished off the meal with churros.

Day 5: San Diego Zoo

The morning we went to the zoo was beautiful -- sunny and mild. We got to the zoo a little before 10 am. The first thing we saw were the flamingoes.



My favorite: the polar bears . . .

We were lucky and got to see the panda active; pandas are usually either sleeping or eating. The Panda enclosure was bizarre. Because pandas are easily frightened, it was the quietest area of the zoo. Everyone spoke in hushed tones.


The giraffes . . .


This little guy visited us while we had lunch.

Our last stop at the zoo was to see the koalas.

Day 5

We spent day 5 in San Diego. We went to the zoo, the Spanish Village Art Center, and the Museum of Natural History. There were so many other attractions in the Balboa Park area but we didn't have time for them all and we were dead tired by the end of the day.

We finished off the evening by walking along Mission Bay and eating at a great little Mexican restaurant that was right next door to our motel.

I will have photos of Day 5 up tomorrow. (I am too lazy to put them up tonight!) :-D

Day 4

Day 4 was a driving day. We drove from Picacho Peak in Arizona to San Diego, CA.

View Day 4 in a larger map

Highlights:

• We stopped for lunch at Yuma, AZ.

• It was very, very HOT!

• There were gigantic dairy farms along the interstate. It was bizarre to be surrounded by desert and all of a sudden there would be a huge field of the greenest hay -- everything was irrigated there.
  
  
• We drove close enough to the Mexico border to see border fence.

We found a motel in San Diego and that evening we went to Encinitas to visit my mom's aunt & uncle.

The end of Day 3

After White Sands & our failed attempts to visit mom's former homes on the bases in New Mexico, we headed west to Arizona.

This is one of the two times we ran into rain during our trip.


This was an encouraging sign at the rest area we stopped at:


We reached our campsite very late that night. We stayed at Picacho Peak State Park.


The peak in Picacho Peak:


Self-portrait & saguaro cacti:

(BTW: This photo was taken at 6:30 . . . IN THE MORNING . . . ON MY VACATION!)

In the distance, beneath the mountains, is the Interstate & the train tracks. Did you know that trains run at all hours of the night . . . and that you can hear them from quite a distance away?

View Picacho Peak State Park in a larger map

Day 3: Part 2

(I have finally caught up with my life after vacation . . . I think . . .)

White Sands formed when crystals break down into white grains of sand. The crystals form when gypsum-saturated rains pour over the Tularosa Basin. There is no river outlet and as the rain evaporates the crystals are formed.

Mom and I watched an interesting film at the visitor's center situated at the entrance of the monument. (See more information here.)


The dunes are constantly moving sometimes up to 30 feet per year. One of the regional plants that I found most interesting was the soaptree yucca. It is a fast growing plant (but sometimes it can't even outgrow the dunes). It's roots are on the basin floor and grows up through the dunes. As the dune moves on the stem collapses on itself until the yucca dies.

View White Sands National Monument in a larger map