Saguaro National Park and Sonora Desert Museum

Today we toured the Sonora Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park near Tucson. Brian and Laura spent last night at our friends the Kayfes’ house (Randall, Angie, Alyssa and Hailee), while Teressa and I braved the cold (for Tucson) temperatures in the trailer at Catalina State Park, about fifteen minutes away. There was frost on the ground and windows of the truck when we awoke in the morning, as the temperature hovered around 32. After a quick breakfast and shower, we drove over to pick up the kids and head for the park.

With eight of us we took two vehicles across the valley to the museum. Temperatures started in the mid 40s, but warmed into the mid 60s as the day went on. The Sonora Desert Museum had been recommended by almost everyone we met on the trip, and we weren’t disappointed. Offering a unique blend of historical and animal exhibits, the museum does a great job of educating while entertaining. Our favorite experiences from the day were the big cats (cougar, ocelot and bobcat), hummingbirds, and hawks. The Harris Hawks, one of the only raptors to hunt cooperatively in family groups, were spectacular. A special program featured four birds swooping over the guests’ heads, landing on large saguaro cactus spires, and floating effortlessly on the afternoon thermals. We also enjoyed the diversity of cactus life in the desert – saguaro, organ pipe, jumping cholla, teddy bear, etc. One of the docents was describing the unusual phenomenon that saguaro cactus plants only seem to grow in Arizona, and that the minute you reach the California border, they disappear. Nobody knows why, she said. I thought for a moment, and then said “It’s obvious, Arizona is a red state!”. She laughed and said she would use that in her future talks. After thinking about it further, I’m pretty sure it is true. Saguaros are very rigid and a little prickly – just like George Bush! ;-)

After enjoying some of the best museum food on the trip at the on-site café, we drove a few miles down the road to the Saguaro National Park. Again we found the park rangers extremely helpful. Teressa was curious about the snakes in the park so one of the rangers, a retired military instructor from Spokane, educated us on all the wildlife in the park. She also gave us a great recommendation for a short hike in the hour we had before dark. We drove to the trail head and then hiked to Signal Hill to view Indian petroglyphs – drawings chiseled into the stone. With the sun setting over the desert illuminating the carved figures in the stone, it provided the perfect venue to reflect on the events of a perfect day!

PS – My brother Dirk and niece Cece made it safely home to Helena late yesterday afternoon – driving the 2700 miles from Durham, NC, in less than 72 hours! At that rate, we could have done our whole trip around the USA in less than three weeks!

Allen, Texas

The temperatures are moderating here in Texas, with the high today predicted to be near 60 and the low tonight down to 45. That’s much nicer than the 18 degrees we hit in Oklahoma City yesterday, and nothing like the -15 to -20 degrees the rest of our family is enjoying in Montana!

The kids studied in the morning while Teressa and I did four loads of laundry. The KOA here in Arlington is larger than we expected, with lots of people either living here or visiting for an extended period over the winter (we met several retired couples that are visiting their kids for a couple of months over the holidays).

After lunch Brian drove us the 50 miles from Arlington to Tim and Julie’s (my cousin) house in Allen. Essentially it is one big city the entire way, even though the names change every 10 miles or so (Arlington, Irving, Richardson, Plano, Allen, etc.). We all commented that it’s a fun place to visit, but we wouldn’t want to live here -- the drivers are insane. We drove the 60 mph speed limit most of the way, and everyone else was doing close to 80. Tim said the police won’t pull you over unless you are doing 15 mph or more over the limit, and they are really looking for people doing 30 over!

We had a great visit with the Woods/Marks clan. Julie and Lois (my aunt) had the house decorated for Christmas by the time we arrived just after 2. Julie took Brian and Laura to pick up Andy after school at 3:30, and Tim made it home from work around 4:30. We visited and munched on appetizers, and then had pizza delivered for dinner. They all seem to be doing well, and we got to tour Lois’ new RV. She didn’t have any trouble getting to Texas from Arizona, except for the high winds along the way. We finally left around 8:30, making it back to the trailer around 9:30.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Another day, another two new tires! These are the eleventh and twelfth tires to grace the Cougar since we purchased it a year ago. As we were leaving the campsite in Oklahoma City Teressa noticed a bulge in one of the tires that we had purchased in Ohio in August. I pulled back into our campsite, plugged back into power, and spent the next hour calling dealers all over Oklahoma City before finding one that carried the right trailer tire. They are the same brand, so technically I could have just replaced the bad tire, but decided to get two new perfectly matched ones on the front axle. That leaves me with two good spares, so the next blowout I won’t have to buy any more tires (no matter which tire blows).

The day started innocently enough. I got up at 4:30 and got a lot of things accomplished before Teressa and the kids stirred. We left the trailer and drove down to the Federal building memorial in Oklahoma City, the site of the bombing back in 1995. The reflecting pool was frozen over due to the cold temperatures, but the site was beautiful. Across from the reflecting pool are rows of chairs, one for each person that died in the bombing. Two park employees greeted us and provided lots of history about the site and event – we were the only ones out on such a cold weekday morning. I think the kids are getting tired of seeing so much death and destruction (e.g. Revolutionary War battlefields, Civil War battlefields, the Holocaust Memorial, 9/11 memorials, etc.), but it gives them a much deeper understanding of our nation’s history. Life’s not just iPods and roller coasters!

The Goodyear dealer was located right in the middle of downtown Oklahoma City. They didn’t have a facility large enough for our trailer, so while they stopped traffic on the main street, I backed the trailer into their main driveway and as close to the building as possible. Luckily I was able to avoid hitting any cars or their building, as it was a rather tight squeeze. Our tire adventures did allow us to sample a great little Thai restaurant across from the Goodyear shop. When the owner found out we were from Portland and on a trip around the country, she sent us out the door with two additional “take home” containers of food from the buffet, so we had Thai food for lunch and dinner yesterday! With our late start in Oklahoma City, we violated my “no driving after dark” rule by an hour, arriving at the KOA in Arlington at 6:30.

Other than the propane running out in the middle of the night (I had to go out at midnight and switch to the backup tank) and the water line freezing (it was 5 degrees colder than forecast last night), it was a perfect day and evening! ;-)

Branson, Missouri

It is a cool 19 degrees here in Oklahoma City, with the wind chill factor hovering around 5 degrees. We arrived at the Twin Fountains RV Park shortly after 4:00 yesterday afternoon, and after fighting 30 mph winds and freezing rain most of the way down from Branson, abandoned our plan to outrun the storm into Texas. Apparently there were over 100 wrecks across the state of Oklahoma yesterday, and one tornado near Tulsa, but thankfully we just caught the edge of the storm. We’ll wait till things thaw out a bit this morning, and then wind our way down to Arlington this afternoon.

Our one night stand in Branson on Monday was highlighted by a trip to see the Grand Jubilee at the Grand Country Music Hall. Here is Laura’s account of the day:

Today we took a long drive down to Branson, Missouri. To get to our campground, we drove through the town to see what it was like. The whole way, I was glancing out the car window thinking... "Cheap version of Las Vegas". There were tacky stores and hokey displays all along the road. I told the family, "I don't think I'd want to live here. I'm more of a NYC girl." Later, we decided to go to a play called the Grand Jubilee. While we were getting our tickets, someone decided they didn’t want their front row seats, so we immediately took them! The usher escorted us to our seats, and was very interested in our trip across the country (see our picture together). In the performance, there was a quartet, a female singer, and a couple comedians. I got to go up at intermission and get their autographs, and we all had a great time. Plus, at the beginning of the show, I recognized one of the singers in the quartet as a man named Jason Pitchett, who was in last season's "America's got talent" that I love to watch. As my brother put it, I was pretty "star struck". :^) I got to talk to him a little and got a picture with him, where I suppose my smile went from ear to ear. Yup, I would have to say I'd give that show a 10! It was a fun night full of great music, and amazing talent! **And I am so thankful for such loving, caring, amazingly BEAUTIFUL and HANDSOME parents! ;) Thanks mom and dad! **

Laura now thinks that living in Branson might be a great thing to do, assuming she can get a job performing in one of the shows!

Throwed Rolls, Sikeston, Missouri

As Teressa mentioned in her journal entry, we arrived at our campground around 1:30 and then took a leisurely Sunday drive across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers into Western Kentucky to explore. We had fully intended to have dinner back at the trailer, but kept seeing signs for Lambert’s – the home of the “throwed rolls”. When we arrived back at the campground, Teressa went to the office in search of enlightenment on this new culinary mystery. The staff here said that Lambert’s is “the destination” in Sikeston, and that people come from all over the Midwest to experience their unique southern comfort food. Rationalizing the experience as part of the kids education, we jumped in the truck and headed to Lambert’s.

When we arrived, the place was hopping. License plates from every state and neon signs grace the walls. The main restaurant is a large open room with booths around the edges and open booths with big wooden tables in the middle. Everyone in the place seemed happy – the staff, the customers, the cooks. Their strategy is simple – great comfort food in large portions – and throwed rolls! What’s a throwed roll you ask? Well, just stick your hand in the air, and from across the room comes flying a hot freshly baked roll. The only tricky part is catching it, although I’m happy to report our family was three for three (maybe we should get the kids back in baseball!). When you catch your roll, the place erupts in loud cheers. If you miss, there are groans and another server comes by and tosses you a short “gimmee” from the aisle! And this is all in an establishment that doesn’t serve alcohol (probably a good idea or things might quickly degrade into a full blown “Animal House” food fight!).

The most amazing thing was that the food was outstanding – meatloaf, chicken and dumplings, hamburgers, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried okra, etc. I don’t think we have ever enjoyed such good “comfort” food at a restaurant, and with the portion sizes, we will be having it again tonight. If you ever come to Sikeston, don’t miss Lambert’s – but make sure to practice “catching” beforehand.

Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee

Teressa provided the write-up for our visit to Memphis:

Saturday morning Brian drove us from our campground in Mississippi to Graceland in Tennessee. Graceland exceeded our expectations in that it had all the warmth and charm of a real home--not a show home like the Antebellum houses of the south. Throughout the self-guided audio tour, we heard Elvis crooning or watched him on videos placed throughout the house and grounds. He truly was gifted--especially in his younger days, in my opinion. During one of his concerts he sang a medley of Dixie and the Battle Hymn of the Republic that brought me to tears. As much as we appreciated Elvis' amazing voice and talent, we were disappointed to hear that more people watched Elvis's Aloha concert in Hawaii than watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon!

After Graceland, Brian drove us into downtown Memphis to Beale Street. We were all hungry and on these kinds of excursions we just can't go back to the RV to eat. Too many miles. Within a block of parking the car we were conned out of some money by a recovering drug addict who claims to have been clean for 11 months. His gig is to approach the tourists and give them all kinds of information like best places to eat on Beale Street and history about the statue we were looking at (at first I thought it was Louis Armstrong, but was corrected as it was WC Handy, the Father of the Blues). The guy wanted money to help pay the costs to sleep at the Baptist church/rescue mission. Whether he conned us or not, we were impressed that he was offering a service. We saw him hit up a bunch of other tourists and wondered if we might have to borrow some money from him when we return from our trip...

Beale Street was...unique. It's a pretty run down part of downtown Memphis. We did get to hear good music coming from many of the clubs (all taped as it was afternoon). The whole of Beale Street is about 4 blocks of clubs and restaurants. The kids wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe but we talked them into trying one of the local joints – Alfred’s. It was reasonable and had the ambiance of a not-quite-seedy blues club, and it had good food. Brian thought the Cajun fettuccine was one of the best things he has ever eaten.

Saturday evening Gary and I had errands to run. We left the kids home and went to get gas and buy some things at the local Walmart. Upon checkout, I happened to do a 360 degree scope of the place. Of over 100 people, Gary's was the only white face I saw. Quite a contrast from our demographics in the West. To me, it was fascinating to be seeing the reverse of what so many African Americans in the West see every day.

Today, Sunday, we left Mississippi and drove north through a piece of Arkansas into Missouri. You won't believe us, but we probably saw 300 hawks today. They were perched in the trees or on telephone posts along the freeway. Pretty cool. We are staying at Hinton RV park in Sikeston, MO. In order to get our Kentucky post cards, we had to drive 30 miles, across the Mississippi (again) and the Ohio rivers. We found a little shop in Wickliffe, Kentucky. I kid you not---1/3 of the store was cigarettes. The rest was staples and tourist stuff. We found our post cards showing Kentucky horses and stables, none of which we saw, and hurried back to Missouri before dark. Oh---most of the Arkansas post cards had hillbillies on them! I chose not to buy those and perpetuate the stereotype, but I thought that was interesting.

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Here is Teressa's account of our visit to the Vicksburg battlefield:

Brrrrr... it is cold here in the south. The temperature dropped into the low 30's last night. Fortunately our propane heater keeps the trailer toasty warm, but the dog walking chore is not the most popular these days.

This morning (Thursday), our first stop was the Vicksburg Park and Museum. The museum has one of those boards that light up with red for the Confederate troops and blue for the Union troops and shows their movements throughout the days of the battle. We studied that for a few minutes and proceeded to the auditorium for a short film about the battle followed by a drive through the battlefield with an informational CD.

Everyone, it seems, wanted to control the Mississippi River, and for a long time the Confederates had it. But, Federal naval and military forces fought southward from Illinois and northward from the Gulf, capturing post after post. By the summer of 1862 Vicksburg was one of the last areas on the river still controlled by the south, and it was--according to Lincoln--the "key." General Grant marched his troops down the Louisiana side of the river and circled back to trap General Pemberton at Vicksburg. After trying to take Pemberton's army the honorable way, through hand to hand fighting, Grant finally resorted to a siege and basically cut off all supplies to the Confederate troops as well as the civilians of Vicksburg until, nearly starved, the Confederates called a truce.

Again we were amazed and horrified by the number of dead. The cemetery at Vicksburg contains the remains of 17,000 Federal soldiers. Only 4,000 are identified (and have full-sized grave markers). The other 13,000 graves are marked only by a 4" square white marker. Although the Union won this battle, only 5000 Confederates are interred in Vicksburg making it a monumental win but at an incredible price.

Our children are sick of Civil War battlefields, so I believe this will be the last. ;-) The rest of our day was spent driving. We were underwhelmed with Mississippi. The small towns between Vicksburg and Memphis are depressed. The countryside is heavily treed and views were few until we got to the northern part of the state. Tonight we are at the Audubon Point RV Park in Horn Lake, Mississippi. Upon arrival, they filled our propane tank and sent someone out with a compressor to top off our tires. This is a pretty area and is just 10 miles from Memphis.