Today we went to Fort Davis National Park and had our daily history lesson. We also spent about 4 hours at McDonald Observtory. That was really a treat. We went on a tour of the place and got to see how those huge telescopes work. Then we went back tonight for a star party. They had about 10 telescopes set up on different stars or planets. That was really cool. We will have to get our telescope out when we get home to try to find some of them. Speaking of getting home --- that will be tomorrow or since it is now after midnight that will be today. We will see you soon. Love N and P

Today we went to Carlsbad Caverns. Papaw is about to head down into the cavern. The entrance to the cavern is a mile long walk down a slanted walkway that descends 750 feet. I felt like I was on a blue ski slope. The walk around the cavern was about 1.5 miles. It was 58 degrees. That was a wonderful switch from our 100 degree walks. Of course the sights down there were fantastic. We are staying tonight in Alpine, TX, and tomorrow we will go to McDonald Observatory. If the weather is good we will stay for the star gazing at night. We will be home probably Sat. evening. We can't wait to see all of you. Love, N and P

We left Durango this morning and drove and drove and drove and ended up in Carlsbad, NM. We drove all the way across New Mexico. We did not intend to travel so far but "there were no rooms in the inns" along the way. We did have two stops. We stopped at a Balloon Museum. It had a history of hot air balloons. It was quite intersting, however, it did not make me want to go up in one. We also went to the New Mexico National History Museum. Both stops were enjoyable. We had not planned on getting all the way to Carlsbad, but now that we are here we will not have to drive far to the cavern tomorrow. We love you and will be home probably Saturday. Love N and P

Today we visited Mesa Verde. These are ruins that were left by people 1200 years ago who lived in the sides of the canyon walls. The picture shows Papaw and me with the pueblo Cliff Palace in the background. We had to walk about 60 feet down very steep rock steps to get there and to get out we had to climb up ladders propped against the rock walls. I am really getting brave. We visited many more sites in the park. We are staying the night in Durango, CO. Unfortunately the ski slopes are not open. We are still having a wonderful time but we have started our homeward journey. Love N and P

The wonderful thing about traveling with no set plan is that you run upon some jewels that you could never have planned on. That happened to us not once but twice today. We were traveling to Cortez, CO today so that we could get an early start at Mese Verde tomorrow. We noticed on a map a National Park -Hovenweep was sitting in the middle of nowhere. The park consisted of a series of old Indian ruins of villiages that were in and out of canyons. We walked around, in and out of the canyon seeing amazing 1300 year sites. The picture is of me trudging out of the canyon. Some of these were so remote that we went down several miles of dirt roads before we started on our hike. But the real prize came in Cortez where we are spending the night. The Cortez Cultural Center tonight had two programs. The first was Indian dancing but the next program was a talk by an 85 year old Navajo man who was a Navajo Code Talker during WWII. The Navajo Code Talkers were a group of young Navajo men who were selected to be Marines to develop and send coded messages during the war. The Japaneese were never able to break their code. It was a truly amazing story. We love and miss all of you. N and P

This morning we drove through Capital Reef Canyon and saw pictoglyphs on the side of the canyon walls. The tribe that drew them left the canyon in 700 AD. If you do the math, that makes them at least 1300 years old. We then drove to Arches National Park. This park had some of the most unusual rock formations that were caused when softer rock eroded away. The picture is with Papaw standing in front of Landscape Arch. The arch is about 300 feet across. It is still eroding. In the last few years, huge chunks have fallen off. We were careful to stay out from under it! We hiked up and down trails for about 3.5 miles. It was 99 degrees and we were glad to get back in the car. We are staying tonight at Blanding, UT. We love you and miss you. N and P

Today we visited Bryce National Park. Yesterday we walked in the bottom of a canyon and looked up. Today we walked on the rim of a canyon and looked down. This canyon was so very unusual. It was full of hoodoos. I guess you will have to wait until we get home to find out what those are. We walked part of the trail around the rim of the canyon. That was a "nail biter" for me because heights and I are not on a first name basis. One time there was a natural bridge that we had to cross. It was about 6 feet wide with drops way down there on either side. It didn't really bother me because I was distracted by a monster bee buzzing around my head. The picture was taken before we went on another part of the trail. In case you cannot read the sign, it says "stay on trail, dangerous cliffs ahead". Papaw of course was at the very tip of the drop off. I had to look away. In spite of all of that, it was a wonderful day. We took the scenic drive across country and were on top of the world some of the time. We are in Torray, UT, a little town of about 800, nestled in the mountains. We love and miss you. N and P

Today was quite a day. First we went to Zion National Park. It was actually a big, magnificent canyon. We took a bus tour around the area and were able to get off whenever we wanted. We ended up taking several hikes along the trails. One was a mile up with a really steep rise. We had to stop very often but we finally made it. The picture is on that hike. After we left we traveled to Kanab, UT and got a room and then headed for the north rim of the Grand Canyon. This is something Papaw has wanted to do for a long time. We stayed and watched the sunset over the canyon. All I can say is WOW. We even drove through a forest fire on the way to the park. The rangers led us through. It was not a really big blaze, just the underbrush burning. They call it a controlled fire. It was kind of spooky! Tomorrow we are off to more canyons. We miss and love you. N and P

Today we left Logan and headed south. We went by the Golden Spike National Park where the trains met to complete the transcontinental railroad. Then we went to Salt Lake City to the genealogy library. It was huge and overwhelming. We spent some time there but it would probably take a week to cover everything. Next we headed south and ended up driving all the way to Saint George (from one end of Utah to the other). It made for a long day but it puts us in good shape to see the parks we are going to tomorrow. We love and miss all of you. N and P

Today we traveled to Ogden, Utah where they have a HUGE train depot that has 4 museums and some shops. We saw an excellent train museum that concentrated on the building of the transcontinantal railroad that met just north of here. Papaw and Uncle Norm really enjoyed the Browning Firearms Museum, and Avis and I tolerated it. Then we went to a car museum and saw some mint condition grand old cars. The picture is of the group looking at one of them. We will leave here tomorrow morning and I guess head south. My tour guide has not really decided!! We miss and love you. N and P

We had a technical glitch yesterday so now we are back on track. Yesterday we traveled all the way across Wyoming. We stopped and walked around Independence Rock. For the history buffs that was a landmark that the pioneers saw as they traveled across the Oregon Trail. We had a long way to travel so we did not stop often. But we did have a full day of viewing God's handiwork. The scenery was beathtaking. We stopped at a rest area for lunch and dined with the prairie dogs. The wind was so strong that after about 5 minutes my peanut butter and honey sandwich was dry as toast so I shared it with the prairie dogs that you see in the picture. We are with Uncle Norm and Aunt Avis now. Today I spent a good bit of time at the genealogy library. I made no new discoveries but had a good time. Tonight we are going to a theater to hear a young lady sing. We are having a wonderful time. We love you, N and P

One thing Papaw really wanted to do is to go to an archeological dig. We found a dig that had 55 mammoths. It was cool. Then we headed for Mount Rushmore. We took the "scenic but slow" route. We had to stop to let a group of buffalo cross the road. We also saw antelope and lots of prairie dogs. We went through tunnels in the mountains that were dug out of solid rock. Mount Rushmore was amazing and well worth the trip. We are in Douglas, Wyoming tonight and will travel to Norm and Avis's tomorrow. We love all of you.
N and P

We had a great day of driving and stopping to see sites today. We visited a Pony Express Station/Museum, a sod house, Buffalo Bill Cody's house, Chimney Rock and last but certainly not least Carhenge. This is Nevada's very own Stonehenge. The picture is Papaw with Carhenge in the background. Papaw said, "This is the strangest thing I've ever seen." I have to agree with him on this one. Another cool thing that happened is that there is a car show in town (Alliance, NE) and Papaw got to drool over alot of cool cars. We have seen alot of things that have to do with the early settlers traveling west on the Oregon Trail. I will take my car anyday. That was a rough way to travel. Tomorrow we head for Mt. Rushmore. We are having fun but you kids would probably be rolling your eyes about now. We love you,
N and P

Papaw and I traveled to the geographical center of the USA today. It is out in the middle of nowhere. Actually it is outside of Lebenon, Kansas. This is the same place we learned about in VBS last year. We also visited a Pawnee Indian Archelogical site. That was very interesting. We had a long day of gentle driving. By the way Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore. We are in Lexington, Nebraska. Tomorrow we are going to take the scenic drive along the Platte River. We love you all,
N and P

Traffic was heavy in Oklahoma. We were almost bumper to bumper going (it seemed like) about 120 mph. Every other vehicle was a truck weaving in and out of traffic. We ran over a strip of tire rubber and it bounced up and broke off pins that hold the bottom panel of the car. So---here is Papaw in a Wal Mart parking lot rigging up a "make do" repair. Everything is fine now. We are in Guthrie, Oklahoma for the night and are ready to turn in. We love all of you.
Nanny and Papaw

I wanted a picture of the Red River, the border between Texas and Oklahoma so I got out my camera and waited patiently. This is the Red River --- there was a lot of red dirt but not much river.

We set up this blog so that our grandchildren can go on vacation with us while sitting on this swing!