Better Late than Never - Old Faithful Geyser Video

Well, I finally figured out how to upload a video to the blog, so this video actually was taken many weeks ago in Yellowstone National Park, but it is worthy of sharing it. It is the eruption of Old Faithful Geyser. Enjoy.

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Bandelier National Monument dates back more than 10,000 years and was last occupied 900 years ago, by the ancestors of the present-day Pueblo Indians. There are somewhere over 200 cliff dwellings in the vicinity of the Canyon of the Frijoles. In addition to the cliff dwellings there are a number of kivas, subterrainean cool meeting structures. Kivas were an important part of the ceremonial cycle and culture. It was a center of the commmunity, not only for religious activities, but also for education and decision-making.

The campground at Bandelier was closed so we traveled to Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos has no campgrounds, but because we wanted to see the Bradbury Museum on the following day, we wanted to stay in town. We walked into the Comfort Inn and asked if we could park our rig in their parking lot overnight. They agreed as long as we parked only in one particular area --- directly across the street from the Police station! Thank goodness, the humidity was low and the temperature dropped into the 60's overnight, as we had no hookups!

Actually had a good night's sleep!

Santa Fe, New Mexico

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! What a cute little downtown. When this downtown area was originally built in 1610, they didn't take into consideration large vehicles!!! Thus, the streets are narrow and many of the buildings are adobe, brick, stucco covered architecture with horizontial logs protruding a short distance outside the walls. Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States and is celebrating its 400th anniversary.

The annual Indian Market celebration is occuring this weekend and they expect 100,000 visitors to this population of 70,000. Two visitors (the Darst's!) are heading for the hills tomorrow morning to escape the crush of people. We were fortunate enough to experience the beginning stages of the market event and were lucky enough to experience and view some of the jewelry, crafts and wares of the vendors who are coming from all over the U.S.

A wonderful treat last night in Santa Fe was that we didn't have to use our air-conditioner over night! Temperatures dropped into the 50's at night and during the day we were able to enjoy a pleasant outdoor cafe lunch on a sunny beautiful day.
This is a photograph of an overpass in the Santa Fe area. Many of the overpasses are painted similarly.

Memorial of Perpetual Tears, Albuquerque, New Mexico

A national monument was developed to help educate the public and to honor those killed or injured by a drunk driver. This monument is called The Memorial of Perpetual Tears and is located in the town of Moriarity, east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, just north of Interstate I-40.

After visiting this memorial, we received an e-mail from law enforcement in Sonoma County, CA, where they had just arrested a 8-time convicted DUI offender, however he was being arrested for his 10th DUI and he was awaiting disposition of his 9th DUI last month. He had a valid driver's license. Do you think anything is wrong with our system?!

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

Yes, we stopped at Cadiallac Ranch! The view of ten cadillac cars, planted nose-first, at a 45 degree angle, was a big disappointment. In the past 50 years, people have removed parts, destroyed the metal and graffitied these cars over and over again. ...and they leave the empty paint cannisters out in this agricultural field. In yester-year in the early 50's, at the height of the Route 66 popularity, it might have been fascinating to see these used vehicles buried that way, but now it is just a trash spot.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Traveling through this area, we could but help to stop at the Murrah Federal Building that was almost totally destroyed by Timothy McVeigh's bomb in April 1995. We saw a very tasteful memorial to the 168 people who died. The area was about the size of 4 football fields with a huge reflecting pool and landscaped lawns and trees. With heavy hearts we entered the museum for an audio and visual presentation. It was heart-wrenching.

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Just when we thought it could not get any hotter and any more humid, it did!!! We parked our RV for about an hour and got back to an inside temperature of 105 degrees. ...and I thought I liked saunas! Hot Springs is famous for their abundant, so called health-giving hot springs. The streets are lined with Bath Houses where one can enjoy naturally heated water. Apparently they do a booming business, but personally I would have voted for an ice cold shower! All the U.S. Presidents for the last 50 or 60 years have visited Hot Springs, Arkansas. We also took a trip up a 200 foot tower which overlooked 50 or 60 miles of valley --- a 360 degree view --- Beautiful!

Bill Clinton was raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas.