There are many special people in this world ...

Several years ago in the comic strip Peanuts, by the late, great, Charles Schultz, Charlie Brown was enamored of "the little red haired girl" but he was too shy to approach her directly. One day she passed by and dropped her pencil which Charlie picked up and as he was trying to build up the courage to give it back to her he noticed that she had chewed on the pencil. He clutched the pencil to his chest and cried out "She's human!!" I think that is what we (I) sometimes forget. While we are all human with our faults, baggage and frailties we also have our gifts to share.

Thank you for the reminder Charles, Charlie and Kim.

Springtime in the great Northwest ....

Rowena Crest, Tom McCall preserve

The Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest, Woodburn, OR

I love springtime in the great Northwest. Scenes of wildflowers and breathtaking vistas are all around and I plan to take in as many of them as I am able.

Saturday I spent up at Rowena Crest on the Tom McCall preserve (plateau). The wildflowers are just beginning their displays and I will be going back in the next few days to see if the Lupine are blooming. Sunday I spent most of the day at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Fest near Woodburn. It was one of the first days outside that I hadn't worn my cap, so my forehead got a little too much sun but that's okay as it will heal quickly. Later this week I hope to make a trip through Bend and the high desert plains near Wasco. It's a good time to be out and about.

Highlights of Road Trip 2010 (leg 1)

I'm home now after 5 weeks and 10,315 miles on the road. I hit the road the day after my aunt Ivy passed away and was in a very contemplative mood. Even though I wanted to see friends along the way I avoided visits for the next few days. I spent two days in the San Angelo State Park (Texas) waiting for my mood to change and the storm to pass.

My first visit was with my two half-sisters in Waco and Seymour, Texas and along the way I payed my respects at the Walls family graves in Cleburne, Texas.

Then I made my way up into northeast Kentucky to the town of Carlisle where I found documents that confirm that my family lived there and that my great, great, great grandfather, Thomas Walls was in the Revolutionary war and lived near Richmond, Virginia.

Then I was off to visit Margie and Mason at their RV Park in Elkton, AL before heading to Charlotte, NC to visit my cousin Kay and her family.

From there I made my way to Atlanta to pay my respects at aunt Ivy's and aunt Frances's graves.

I then made my way to Clearwater, Florida to pay my respects to my fraternal grand parents graves and then I had 3 wonderful days off the road with my friends George and Janet in Brooksville, Florida.

From there I made my way to pay my respects at my mother's grave in Shreveport, Louisana. All of these visits to family graves were, in part, to document their locations (GPS coordinates) for the genealogy research I have been working on for the last 15 years. This work will continue as I find more relatives locations, especially those of the Walls line.

From there I drove straight across Texas and then zig-zagged through the southwest visiting Carlsbad Caverns, Chaco Canyon, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Zion National Park and so many other little places along the way. It was cool driving some of the old Route 66 again.

I headed home from Kanab, Utah by way of Las Vegas and Los Angeles because the route through Salt Lake was pretty bad at that time.

All in all it was a great trip even though the weather did not cooperate (stupid weather !). It is good to be back in Oregon City so I can begin to plan leg two of Road Trip 2010.

Home again ..... for a while

I left Kanab, Utah the day before yesterday and made my way through Las Vegas then bypassed Los Angeles to the east. I spent the night in Santa Clarita and then continued up I-5. I got through the Shasta and Ashland passes with no problems. There was a little blowing snow at the 4,000 foot level but nothing was sticking to the roads. I spent the night in Sutherlin, Oregon and then had a good breakfast before driving the rest of the way home with only one stop for gas. 10,315 miles on this leg of "Road Trip 2010". The next leg will begin sometime this summer - probably in August.

Now it's time for a shower and a nap.

What's up with that ?????

So, after a wonderful day at Chaco Canyon I decided that since I had never been to Four Corners I would go out of my way, just to say I had been there. Well, as you can see, "close" is about as close as I got. What's up with that ????

What a difference a day makes !!!!

It was actually 20 degrees last night in Gallup but I was "snug as a bug in a rug" and woke to a sunny morning. I had a good breakfast at El Rancho (Huevos Rancheros) and went outside to survey the sky 360 degrees. I had several directions I could go but decided on Chaco Canyon. I did have to backtrack a ways to the east but as I turned north the sky began to look threatening and I was about to turn back, but something kept pushing me toward Chaco. The wind picked up a bit and there were several times that there was a light snow fall.

The last 20 miles into Chaco was unpaved, sometimes rocky, sometimes washboard but it was worth it. I won't be able to post my photos on flickr until tomorrow but I have to say, in spite of the 37 degrees and windy conditions IT WAS A PICTURE PERFECT DAY !!!!! I spent a good deal of the afternoon there and still there is so much more to see. I will be back.

Gallup, NM

6 pm after the storm has passed

The Gallup Cultural Center

Statue of the Wind Talker

The snow finally stopped about noon so I was able to go out for a nice late lunch and enjoy some sights too. It is now about 6 pm and the wind is dying down. The sky is clearing too so it looks like the worst of the front has passed through and tomorrow should be a good travel, sight-seeing day. I won't hit the road until I'm sure the temperature is above freezing and then only after a good breakfast. If you look closely at the photos you will see some traces of snow, especially on the statue of the Wind Talker. (click on any photo and it enlarges)

Yuck !

It was a little chilly in the van when I awoke this morning. I could tell that the wind was still whipping around so I looked out the window to find it is raining and snowing. It's sticking in some places but the roads are clear so getting around town is no problem. I would have to go through Flagstaff to get to Casa Grande but they say it is worse there so I will hunker down here for another night. They are predicting a low of 22 tonight here in Gallup, Brrrrrr, so I will see what it's like tomorrow after lunch as they say the roads will be clear by then and the front will have moved through. It's quite a difference from the 88 degrees that I enjoyed just a couple of days ago in Carlsbad. That's traveling for you!