West Texas Vacation - Day 2

February 13, 2016

Another day of travel ends weirdly. Of course.

Starting off this morning in Del Rio, we were awakened with chirping birds, cool temperatures, and a bright sunny day. We got all cleaned up, loaded the car and went next door to the pancake house for a late breakfast. Our waitress was from Thailand and felt it necessary to crack political jokes when we sat down. That was weird...but breakfast was good.

We headed west on Highway 90 and our first stop was at Seminole Canyon State Park. There wasn't much to see during our short hike with the dog. The indian petroglyphs along the canyon walls were too far away, so we turned around and headed back to the car, and promptly departed.

Our next stop was the awesome and beautiful Pecos River Bridge. We got a lot of great pictures and again proceeded west. We passed through Marathon, but not before stopping and taking pictures of the famous Gage Hotel. Beautiful place, and a wonderful restaurant.

Our next stop was Alpine, which was supposed to be our overnight spot, but as usual, that all changed. We wanted to stay there two nights and spend the next two days touring Big Bend National Park, seeing the Marfa lights, visit Ft. Davis, and go up to the McDonald Observatory, but all of the hotels in Alpine were either sold out or didn't allow dogs. We also checked other towns around the area, and they were all sold out as well. I'm guessing the night before Valentine's Day can be expected to fill up all the rooms. Also, while in Alpine, we learned that Justice Scalia died in Marfa, less then 30 minutes from where we were standing. It was really weird.

We ended up having to backtrack a bit and head north to Ft. Stockton and the La Quinta there. So much for hiking, photographing and enjoying my West Texas mountains. We'll get them next time.

Although we're somewhat disillusioned about not doing what we planned, I think being forced to take a different route may be to our advantage. We'll head out tomorrow towards San Angelo, over to Brady, Killeen, and on to Temple, where we might stay tomorrow night. A new route will hopefully force upon us new opportunities for photographs, antique shopping, and whatever else we can discover.

It looks like we'll get home a day early on Monday, and that's OK.

On a positive note, the La Quinta we're in tonight has dry carpet!

West Texas Vacation - Day 1
February 12, 2016

We weren't in any big hurry to leave, and I had a couple of errands to run like filling the car, going to the ATM, etc., but we did finally depart around 1PM and headed west on I-10. It was a beautiful, sunny, clear-sky day and about 80 degrees. Ah, winter in Texas.

I was driving, Lawrence was in the backseat with Desiree to keep her company, but she prefers to stay in her kennel the whole time. There's a story behind her staying in that kennel, and I'll talk about that later.

We got out of Houston before afternoon rush hour, but ended up hitting San Antonio right at 5pm and its version of rush hour. Although slow, it's not nearly as bad as Houston!

On the way we made our first stop at the rest area just west of Columbus and the Highway 71 exit that takes you to Austin. People and puppy potty breaks were in order, so we got out of the car, did the rest area waltz, and took care of business. In and out in 5 minutes.

As we approached Luling, everyone knows about the giant Buc-ees there, and it's almost an arrest-able offense to pass one, but surprisingly, we did. No beef jerky or Beaver Nuggets this time! We had lunch in Houston before we left, and we already stopped for potty breaks, so on to San Antonio we continued.

After working our way through rush hour, we diverted onto Highway 90 towards Hondo, Uvalde, and eventually Del Rio where we will stay the night. At this point we're in the 6pm hour and the sun is setting fast. It sounds cliche, but we were actually driving into the sunset, and it was beautiful. The further west you go, the more spectacular the sunsets become.

I started to get excited because not far past San Antonio you start seeing small rises on the horizon, and I don't mean just hills. They are what I affectionately call "The Foothills" of the West Texas mountains we will encounter tomorrow. They're not very tall, but they are taller than just the normal Hill Country hills, and everyone knows I love mountains, so to me they may well have been the Alps.

We stopped in Uvalde and Lawrence got a hot fudge sundae at Dairy Queen. Although difficult, I resisted. I also called ahead to the La Quinta in Del Rio and booked a room. It was surprisingly inexpensive, and of course, I was pleased to no end. I will come to regret and understand why it was so inexpensive later.

The speed limit on Highway 90 is 70, but in the dark I was doing 60, tops. I used to love driving at night, but age and wisdom have taught me to be fearful of two things whilst driving at night: Drunks and big critters. I'm not in such a big hurry to get my car screwed up by either.

We finally arrive in Del Rio about 7:30pm and locate the La Quinta. The front desk clerk was very nice and accommodating, give us our keys, and we proceeded to unload the car of all the suitcases, camera gear, dog stuff, etc. This is where the regret and understanding begins. I walk to the bathroom and immediately slip on the slick tile floor and almost busted my ass. The bottom of my shoes were soaked because all the carpet around the bathroom area, as well as along the back wall of our room, is absolutely soaked. It's water, but from where? It was also wet around the commode. I went to the front desk and they offered to put us in another room, but we had crap all over the room and didn't feel like packing it all up again, so we went back and put towels all over the place and will have to watch where we step for the rest of our stay. The clerk stated she would give me points towards my frequent stay account and apologized profusely. La Quinta is one of my favorite places to stay, but not this one. What a dump. I assure you I will be notifying their HQ about this place.

At this point, we head out looking for dinner, and Rudy's BBQ sounded great, and it was close by. They gave us a sample of their different meats, and the brisket and turkey were both amazing. I went with the turkey, and Lawrence had a pulled pork sandwich. The food was very good, and their prices are reasonable. I saved some turkey for the dog...It's her favorite. I try not to spoil her, but it's too late.

Oh, remember me talking about why she stays in her kennel? She used to love to stick her head out the window and sniff the air. A few months ago we were driving around and I accidentally rolled the rear window up and trapped her head in the window. She was traumatized, no doubt, and has refused to get anywhere near one of the windows since. Poor baby. We now call the car the "Puppy Eating Honda". She doesn't think it's funny.

Today we drove 357 miles, and it only took a little over 3/4 of a tank to get to Del Rio from Houston. That's about $16 in gas expense. I love my Honda.

As for tomorrow, we have no certain destination or schedule. I also have no idea where we will stay tomorrow night. Big Bend National Park? Marathon? Alpine? Marfa? We're on vacation, so wherever the road leads us, that will be our destination. It'll be a surprise.

Colorado/New Mexico Vacation - 2015

Day 9 - Saturday, October 3rd

This was departure day for everyone to head home, and most of the gang met early for breakfast. I declined and slept-in for a bit. I'm not really a morning and/or breakfast person anyway. I had plans for lunch in another city along the way and wanted to save room.

I got all cleaned up, packed, and loaded the car, then began saying goodbye to everyone. We had a great time together, made some new friends, and we all look forward to our next Chama adventure. I'm not actually sure I'll go next year though. This is the first time I've done this annual trek two years in a row, so I might skip a year so as to keep it fresh.

Driving north out of Chama I passed that day's double-header steam train. That means there are two engines on the front, which they do on weekends when there are larger crowds and more passenger cars. The small steam engines can only pull so much up a mountain, so longer trains means more steam engines. They have actually run triple-headers before, and that would be so cool so see!

Over the mountain passes I go, the highest being 10,300 feet, and make my way into Antonito, CO. I stopped and took some pictures, then proceeded north to Alamosa, CO, which is where I had my planned lunch. Three years ago I was there and discovered this excellent Italian restaurant called the Rialto, which was actually the name of the old movie theatre it is housed in. Although the piped-in old Italian music was cheesy and unnecessary, the food was excellent. I enjoyed a pasta dish with shrimp, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms, all in a delightful cream sauce. Yummy!

I headed east on Highway 160 from there through the open plains to later arrive in Walsenburg, CO and the entrance to I-25 north towards Denver. I passed through Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and eventually into Denver. It all took about 6 hours with lunch, photo and potty stops. I'm staying at my friend's apartment while they are out of town. I started some laundry and took what was supposed to be a brief nap. I woke up two hours later! I guess I was more tired than I thought. It was dark outside, and I was ready for dinner. Luckily, the place I've been wanting to go to is only about 6 miles from the apartment, and that's Helga's German Restaurant, which is where we tried to go last weekend, but Octoberfest was in full swing and I wasn't going to wait two hours. Surprisingly, being a Saturday evening, I had no wait and sat right down. I ordered the Rouladen, which is a rolled-up beef dish, along with spätzle and red cabbage.

Back to the apartment I go to fold laundry and get ready to fly back to Houston tomorrow from DIA. With that being said, this will be my final entry for this trip as tomorrow is just a travel day. If anything unusual happens that is newsworthy, I might make a brief entry, but don't count on it. I look forward to getting home as I have missed everyone a lot.

Thanks for all the wonderful comments about my daily posts. I enjoy doing this not only because of the necessity of it (my very bad memory), but to hopefully give you something different to read and enjoy as well.

So far, no more trips planned for the rest of the year, but that could change. Lawrence and I and the dog may just take a long weekend and go somewhere. That means more stories to write!

See ya next time.....

Colorado/New Mexico Vacation - 2015

Day 8 - Friday, October 2nd

Today was the denouement of my vacation this week as our group rode the amazing Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad here in Chama, NM. This group has certainly grown over the years from when it started well over 20 years ago. Our passenger count was 34 today. The group chartered our own parlor car on the rear of the train, and includes our own car attendant who serves snacks, sodas, and yes, alcohol. It's all included in the price which is $200 per person. We also receive gifts from the railroad in ways of insulated beverage canisters, embroidered tote bags, and a lapel pin.

The railroad runs their narrow gauge steam trains between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO. Each day a train departs from both ends at 10am and meets in the middle of the line where they serve a delicious hot lunch to all passengers and crew members, again all being included in the price. We left Chama by bus at 8:30am and met the train at the other end about an hour later. It was a smooth train ride and fun was had by all. The scenery was spectacular of course with the aspens changing colors in the cool weather. Speaking of weather, it was inclement as rain was forecast today, and we certainly got it. It actually hailed on us, but we were safe and dry inside.

We arrived back in Chama just after 4pm, and we all went back to the motel and relaxed a bit before heading to dinner at the popular steak house across the street. We walked over at 6:30pm and the staff was totally inundated not only with our group, but two others at the same time. They eventually got our dinner out to us and we all enjoyed it. I had the ribeye steak.

After dinner we all waddled back to the motel where I was approached by the innkeeper, Chester. He wanted to go to the local casino about 30 minutes away and wanted me to go with him. Sure, why not! I actually doubled my money at one point, but of course gave it all back and then some for a total loss of about $75.

Tomorrow I'll have a chance to sleep-in a bit as I am driving to Denver and have all day to get there. It's about a 5-hour drive. I'm staying at Christopher and Rob's place again tomorrow night, although they won't be there. They are on vacation in Louisiana for a few days, but they gave me a key and I'll just make myself at home.

I just hope the rain goes away. I don't like driving unfamiliar mountain roads in the rain!

Colorado/New Mexico Vacation - 2015

Day 7 - Thursday, October 1st

I had a rough night last night. There wasn't a room for me at the inn, so I had to share a room with friends. There were 4 of us in there, and I got the roll-away. As you can imagine, it was lumpy and somewhat uncomfortable. They got up at 6am to go ride the train, and I went back to sleep after they left.

I met one of our group for breakfast at 8am, and we were designated as the ride back to Chama for the group riding the train, which is a one-way trip. We chased the train through the mountains and got a lot of great pictures of not only the train, but the beautiful scenery. The Aspen trees were ablaze with bright reds, oranges and yellows, and the steam train winding through it all was spectacular.

About a third of the way through the trip, the train was having air problems and kept stopping. After about 10 times of this, we decided to go to the end of the line and wait for them. They were supposed to arrive at 3pm. They got there a little after 7pm. We sat there for almost five hours with nowhere to go, and nothing to do. We went to the cafe next door for a sandwich then went to the car and took a nap. I haven't been that bored in a long time. While we were chasing the train, we went over two mountain passes, each one a little over 10,000 feet. In the lower elevations it was in the 80's. On the passes it was in the 50's. I'm not used to temperature changes like that. I was constantly putting my jacket on and back off again throughout the day. As I'm writing this, it's already in the 40's outside.

After we all got back to home base in Chama, and after more of our group drove in from all over the country, we now have well over 30 people gathered. The Thursday night before the big train ride day is always pizza night. A dozen pizzas, salad, lemon bars and other desserts, and plenty of alcohol flowing, it was a party in full swing. Being that we all have to get up early for breakfast and to ride the train, we broke it up kinda early so we will be rested and ready for the trip tomorrow. I stayed up late catching up with my good and long time friend Bob Krieger as we are sharing a room together. So many stories, so little time.

Tomorrow's forecast doesn't look good. Highs in the 60's and a 50% chance of rain will make for a messy train ride, but I'm here with a lot of great friends, so let it rain!

Colorado/New Mexico Vacation - 2015

Day 6 - Wednesday, September 30th

I slept in a little as I only had to drive about 2 hours to Chama today. I got all packed and loaded the car, went and got a late breakfast, filled up the car, and then headed about 4 miles south to a local church that was recommended to visit. It's called San Francisco de Asis and was built in 1772. That's 4 years before we were our own country! Another reminder of how old everything is in this area.

As I was headed out of town I crossed the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which is about 1000 feet above the river. I took a bunch of pictures and then continued on my way. It was a lovely drive up through the mountains until I reached Chama about 1pm. All my friends I am meeting here were out chasing trains, so I did some laundry, took a nap, then headed to Subway for a late lunch.

The inn we always stay at is owned by a wonderful couple named Starla and Chester. They live here on the premises, and we all met in their attached home about 6:30pm. Starla cooked a delicious dinner of Indonesian egg rolls called Lumpia, Cole slaw, white rice, cantaloupe, and for dessert, lemon bars. Some people reading this will be familiar with the term Lumpia, as this is what they call their same rolled delights in Guam. Starla told me the name originates from the Dutch that occupied Borneo for 500 years. Starla lived and worked in Borneo many years ago.

After dinner we all just sat around and told war stories, caught up on each other's lives, dove into politics a bit, and then called it a night. Tomorrow we don't have any special plans and we'll just see what happens as the day progresses. We might go chase the steam train a bit...always fun.

Colorado/New Mexico Vacation - 2015

Day 5 - Tuesday, September 29th

I am not a morning person, but I had no problem getting up at 7am to start my day as I was meeting a new friend who was going to tell me all about Taos, New Mexico.

It all started when I drove through this town last year driving up from Albuquerque to Chama for our annual train ride. It was amazing and beautiful and different from any place I had seen before. I knew right then I would come back for an extended stay, and today was that day.

Through my sister and a couple of different groups I am a part of on Facebook, I ran across this gentleman named John Hoyt. I found out he was from Houston, now lived in Taos, and we have a lot of mutual interests. We met for breakfast this morning at the same place I ate dinner at last night. I had no idea what he looked like except for a couple of pictures on Facebook, but somehow I knew it was him when he walked in the front door. We shook hands, said hello, and the whirlwind day started from that moment. I was thinking he would give me a few suggestions on places to visit, trails to hike, etc. then be on his way. He didn't give me any suggestions...we jumped into his Honda CR-V and he drove me all over town to see all the beautiful homes owned by famous artists, novelists and movie stars. He showed me art galleries, old hotels and shops, and everything this town had to offer. We then headed up into the mountains to places he likes to hike, river gorges that are vast and amazing, and wide-open expanses where you can see for miles. I was snapping pictures all day!

Taos is very old, and dates back thousands of years to the original Indian settlers nestled at the base of the mountains. There are no cookie-cutter homes in straight-line neighborhoods here. No building is over two stories high, and all buildings, be it a home or business, has to be fashioned in an original Adobe style. The city is very strict as to what materials you can use, and what colors can be painted. The homes here give no indication as to what economic level the residents are at. Rich people can live next to not-so-rich people, and you can't tell the difference driving by. The size may be a bit larger or smaller, but the look is all the same for the most part. Coming from a big city, and seeing big cities all over the world with their big gated communities with every house in a straight line and looking so different, this town has none of that, and that's why I have quickly become attracted to this beautiful place.

We stopped at John's residence for a quick break and I met his lovely wife, and his best friend, Buddy the dog. Buddy is 13 years old and was moving a little slow with arthritis, but he's very sweet and took to me right away. He was laying in the yard and I was scratching his chest and around his ears, and massaging his joints where he had arthritis. His eyes closed with relaxation, then he lifted his head and gave me a big kiss right on my hand. I was hooked, and I am proud to say I'm now a F.O.B. - Friend of Buddy.

After our whirlwind tour of the area, John brought me back to town and I took a nap and got a shower. We did a lot of walking so I was tired, and I wore a big sweatshirt all day since it was about 50 degrees when I left this morning, and it got pretty warm later in the day, so I definitely needed that shower.

John and I coordinated again to meet for dinner at a great local Italian restaurant. The service was good and the food was excellent, and we talked about his living in Houston and elsewhere throughout his life. He's quite the storyteller, and is a wealth of knowledge on the history of Taos. He loves this town, and it shows. He just beams when he speaks of this place.

Afterwards, we walked to the original town square and got some ice cream, then continued to walk around looking into some of the shops and galleries, and ended up at the Adobe Inn, which had a live band playing in the front lobby and bar area, and the locals come and have drinks and listen. There is never a cover charge, so it's very popular. It started to rain slightly during our walk and it turned chilly, but that just added to the incredible ending of an amazing day.

I couldn't thank John enough for everything he did for me, and we had a wonderful day together. I consider him a new and valued friend, and I look forward to coming back next year for another visit.