Sail EaglesWings - California Dreaming

  Following our visit to the Georgia O'Keef   in Santa Fe, we drove  to Durango   Colorado. We had tickets to ride the  Durango Silverton Railroad  the next day.  The map shows our route from Santa Fe to Durango, 212 miles, and then on to Moab with a visit to Mesa Verde National Park, another 201 miles. Richard rode the train many many years ago getting off along the tracks at the Neddleton Flag Stop to backpack up to the Chicago Basin . a      The Station in Durango     We had seats in the Prospector Passenger Car. Sometimes on Cliff Edges Sometimes Close to the Rocky Mountain Sides Running Along the Amanas River  The rail line following the Amanas River  Through the Mountains to Siilverton Stopping for Water Turned Around for the Trip Back to Durango Back Into the Mountains The Needleton Flag Stop

  The road stretches from Whites City to El Paso without services (gasoline) for a hundred miles and without much to see either. We did pass by Guadalupe Mountains National Park south of Carlsbad National Park.  We skirted to the north of El Paso before joining the interstate before reaching Las Cruces where we washed our very dirty car before heading for Joe and Diana's magnificent home.         Leaving Carlsbad Caverns National Park                           Crossing the Chihuahuan Desert                             Guadalupe Mountains                             Joe and Diana's Home  Organ Mountains View from Their Home                            In the Front Yard  ...

  From Yukon to Carlsbad Caverns for 573 miles there is not much to see, at least that is how it felt to me.  We followed I40 west to Amarillo along the old Route 66 route and then turned south toward Lubbock. When Richard was about nine living  outside Amarillo ,  he watched the western sky darken before the sand blew so thick we couldn't see the road in front of our house. No sand today though, just the old sun beating heat down on us. Driving south of Lubbock through the Permian Basin  ( shaded pink area on map to left) seemed as if we were traversing an alien and desolate land. The Permian Basin is home to the oil, gas and mining industries.  We had reserved a room at the only motel in Whites City located at the entrance road to Carlsbad Caverns National Park.   Whites City consisting of a few tourist shops, an RV park and the motel is not a city at all. So we ordered Mexican food for dinner in Carlsbad to take with us. In the evening, we drove up...

  After three delightful days with Marcia and Roy, we hit the road for a long 916 mile stretch to Yukon, Oklahoma to visit Richard's brother.  Along the way we stopped to see the Gateway Arch in Saint Louis and then spent the night in a motel before passing through Joplin, Missouri. A short detour allowed to step into Kansas at Baxter Springs. We found there Route 66!    Along Route 66 in Baxter Springs No Longer a Soda Fountain - Now a Learning Center The next day we enjoyed barbeque in Oklahoma City with Bart and Nita. In the evening we dipped in the backyard pool at Ashely and Matts house.