Starting to post pictures

Well, we're finally getting settled enough to start posting pictures from the trip. The first 3 days are up at www.missouridaytrips.com. Will post more as time permits (we went to some scenic places and took an awful lot of pictures - but you need only to click on the expande pictures for those you like the most).

Bill

Home at Last

"Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Thre's no place like home!" Even if it was 28 degrees out this AM.

We pulled in at 8:05 PM last night after a 448 mile/12 hour final leg. Sandra had to run right out and hug Scruffy, who put on quite a show for her. Then it was time to dig thru the mail, take care of the bills & enter everything into Quicken, and make sure all the emails were answered. Ooops - problem. The ISP changed the settings required for outgoing emails and I have no idea how to fix them - guess it's a call to tech support, after I get Sandra back from the dentist.

After a night in the best motel we stayed at (HI Express, Weatherford OK - said they were ranked 41st out of over 1200 nationally), we hit the Cowboy Hall of Fame in OK City shortly after it opened - great western art, plus the stuff you expect to see at a "cowboy" hall of fame. If you go there, check out the rodeo exhibit with lifesize displays and tell me if the bronc riders got a score.

We stopped at the Cherokee casino in Tulsa for a buffet lunch, then played about 30 minutes. I lost $5 and Sandra won about $3.50, so I think our casino stops came out even on the trip. Supper and pick up some supplies in Clinton - back in home territory.

Total miles for trip: 3,427
Total time on road (plus sightseeing): 87 hours, 37 minutes

Bill

Friday PM report

Dateline: Holiday Inn Express, Weatherford OK

High winds again today caused a slight change in plans. We went to Palo Duro Canyon, Canyon, TX as planned. It was nice and scenic, but some clouds came in and messed up the photography. Besides, when one has been to Canyon de Chelly, Bryce, Zion and Canyonlands (not to mention the big daddy), it wasn't that impressive. Since it's in Texas, they shouldn't call it a canyon, just a Texas-sized gully.

Then came the change in plans. Instead of continuing on to the Washita Battlefield, we visited the Panhandle/Plains Museum inCanyon, on the campus of West Texas A&M. Good decision! Art, history, paleontology, geology, pioneer town, oil derricks ... could have spent more than the 90 minutes we were there.

Got in to Weatherford OK at 7 PM at a NICE Holiday Inn Express. Processed today's pictures and will send the one on the post below to some of our lodging industry friends.

Tomorrow: Leave here at 7:30, get to the Cowboy Hall of Fame in OK City when it opens at 9, then on to Tulsa, Carthage and home!

Miles: 375, time on road (& sightseeing): 9:55. Gas prices paid: $2.55 to $2.65.

Bill

Friday AM Follow-up

On our way out of the Comfort Inn this morning, we saw this sign. Fortunately, they were not entirely successful in their quest, as we were satisfied with the bed comfort and internet access - but little else.

Bill

Friday AM Report

From Comfort Inn, Tucumcari NM

Motel was OK except for the sheets (& chintzy towels). Slept well, anyway.

Today: Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo, Washita massacre site near Cheyenne OK. Tonight in Weatherford OK.

Tomorrow: Cowboy Hall of Fame in OK City, possibly the Gilcrease in Tulsa or the ne Cherokee casino, then HOME.

Bill

Thursday PM report

Well, you didn't get anything last night or this AM because the HI Express server went down. Just one of many problems on the day.

Started out on Wed AM from Flagstaff in a cold, driving rain, temp about 39 degrees. Naturally, we skipped a few sites we had planned - Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater - to outrun the rain. When we stopped at Painted Desert, the wind just about blew us off the overlook - the park people said gusts were hitting 60. Then we stopped at a neat welcome center in New Mexico, run by Navajos - very friendly. Next stop was Gallup, where we split a Navajo Taco at the same restaurant we visited in 2002 - same meal, same table even, but not the same price. Went to the same thrift stores we visited last year, but only good stuff was a "Navajoland" T-shirt.

Got to the HI Express in Albuquerque (Balloon Park) and the reservation was screwed up. They had us in a cramped, non-smoking handicapped room. Pool was down for maintenance. Went to visit Madge & Larry Harrah (Madge wrote the Blind Boone book) and they took us to an excellent Mexican restaurant. I'm starting to figure out how to get around Albuquerque.

Miles: 360, Time on road: 8:15

Thursday we left at 7:45 AM for Petroglyph NM. Can you say COLD. I thought you could. Temp about 40 and wind was blowing. We cut the visit short and went to the Pueblo Cultural Center. I finally have the Pueblo language assortment straight in my head. Left about 10:30 and headed for Santa Fe.

Did a lot of walking, took some pictures, had a nice lunch and froze our tails off trying to sit in the Plaza. Not many people to watch. Went to the State Art Museum and the Georgia O'Keefe museum. Sandra likes it; I reserve judgment.

The Comfort Inn in Tucumcari has some real problems. We had stained sheets & blanket, so we had to get sheets and remake our own bed - well, we need the practice.

Miles: 264, time on road (& being tourists): 10:35

Bill

Wednesday AM report

Flagstaff - It's 41 degrees and rainy. There go our plans for the day. We'd planned to go to Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater, Painted Desert, Gallup and Grants before getting to Albuquerque, and that was going to be a long day. Will have to see what we can do under the current circumstances. There's some things we want to see in Albuquerque that we didn't have on the list, but can add now.

This evening we meet Madge Harrah, who wrote the Blind Boone book, for dinner in Albuquerque. At least 355 miles, and lose an hour, anyway.

Kind of looking forward to getting home. This is our 10th day on the road.

Bill

Tueday Night in Flagstaff

Got thru Phoenix pretty well during rush hour, thanks to the HOV lane (glad I learned what those are). The neat forest road we were told about was closed because of weather worries (like maybe snow), so we had to double back 22 miles. Total miles: 227, total time on road & sightseeing, 9 hours.

Dateline Montezuma Castle NM - Sinagua ruins well preserved and think we got some good pictures.

Dateline Sedona - Can you say Branson? Without the music and with somewhat less tacky tourist traps, but with the traffic? Yep, we saw a lot of red rocks (and took a lot of pictures, naturally). Sandra thought it'd be arty like Taos, but it had nothing like the collection of galleries within easy walking distance. Oh, well. Red rocks are nice.

Dateline Flagstaff - The Mexican food here was completely different from what we had elsewhere; seems more California than NM or southern AZ.. Not sure we like the diference. Motel room is the smallest of the trip, and the table sets way too high for comfortable typing. Gas is either $2.55 or $2.69 per gallon - guess which we paid. First place we've turned on the heat.

Bill

Tuesday Morning Departing

It's been a few days - conference has been intense and after dinner with various friends we've gotten in late.

Last night we met some old friends from our days in Rome, New York. Steve and Jackie Miller retired here where she has old family property; they took us to a little town called Cave Creek where we ate at a "rustic" BBQ place. OK, but it's not KC BBQ!

Today it's back on the road. We're going to Sedona and Flagstaff. Ought to get lots of pictures and have some stories to tell.

Bill

Saturday Evening Report

Still in Tempe. This AM, we picked up Lois Hoover (Su Casa B&B, Kansas City) and went to the Heard Museum. It wasn't open yet, so we drove up to North Mountain Park. It wasn't open, either, so after a few pictures we headed back toward the Heard. Ooops - a Thrift Store. I pulled in without orders.

The Heard was definitely a highlight. It concentrates on the tribes of Arizona, with cultural items and art.

Then it was look for lunch. Drove for an hour and ended up in same place we'd eaten Thursday night. That wasn't all - went there with the CAIK group this evening. Good thing we like the food there!

It was back to the conference for workshops. Sandra says she learned how to make a cucumber sandwich (she came to a conference for that?) - she may even share the recipe. She says this conference is hard work. I went to internet sessions.

Tomorrow: More sessions.

Bill

Saturday Morning Report

Yesterday was spent sightseeing in the morning, and Sandra had adventures while I was at a meeting.

Highlights:
1. Tour of South Mountain. Great views from a volcanic massif. Talked to a ranger and learned a lot about the area from her. She was there to keep people from selling stuff to tourists. It was Cesar Chavez day & schools were out.
2. Sandra had a 35% profit at the Gila River Community casino
3. Seeing a lot of old acquaintances at the vendor preview at the conference.
4. Good food

Lowlights:
1. Meeting. I hate meetings
2. Call from our house&horsewatcher. With the tornado reported nearby, any call was a worry. As it turns out, no real damage.

Small World Department:
1. Thursday night, our waiter attended CMSU in Warrensburg for a year; he's from Drexel MO south of KC.
2. Friday noon, we ate a quick bufffet at the casino mentioned above, run by the Pima & Maricopa Indians. I had to run early to get to my meeting and left Sandra to pay the bill (& play). She got into a conversation with the waitress, who turned out to be Navajo from the Canyon de Chelly area. Sandra mentioned a stop at a trading post last year, in Lukachukai. The waitress did a double-take and said "My parents own that trading post."

Comments:
1. The B&B Association meeting was better focused than the one in Providence.

Today: Meet Lois (Su Casa B&B, KC) and go to the Heard Museum here. Then, it's off to the conference for the afternoon session. This evening, will meet other B&B folks for another SW/Mexican dinner.

Bill