Getting Closer
It's June 11, and we still plan on pulling out on June 15. We have a few things left to wrap up, but hopefully we'll be able to leave on schedule. A little more about our itinerary: we're leaving here and going across northern Alabama and northern Mississippi. We'll probably spend the first night in northern MS and try to see our friend Linda in Houston, MS. From there, we may take a little swing to the south and see my brother Francis and/or sister-in-law Carolyn in Possumneck, MS. (Yes, Virginia there really is a Possumneck). We'll probably cross the Mississippi River at Greenville (or perhaps Helena, AR) and head west. We may go through Texarkana and stay on U.S. 82 across north Texas, or we may go through the Oauchita mountains around Hot Springs an continue west into Oklahoma. Either route will take us to Amarillo where we would like to visit Palo Duro Canyon. We'll probably then go by I 40 to Albuquerque, where we'll pick up a rent car before heading north through Santa Fe to Taos.
We'll be staying in Taos two to three weeks assessing what we're going to do with the cabin that Lois inherited from her mother. The cabin is a small log cabin over 60 years old about eight miles "up the canyon" from Taos. Although close to a major road, the setting is idyllic. The elevation is around 8,000 feet and there's a beautiful stream with a small waterfall within a few steps of the back door. Days are cool, and nights can be downright cold. No air conditioning is necessary, and the mountain air, combined with the sound of a stream outside your open window, is one of the best sleeping and napping environments I've run across. When Lois was a small child growing up in Ft. Worth, her mother would load the kids up when school let out for the summer and head for the cabin in Taos. They would stay all summer and return to Ft. Worth shortly before labor day. Needless to say, she has fond memories of Taos summers and a strong emotional attachment to the cabin.
For the last 16 years or so, a caretaker has been living in the cabin, and none of us has stayed there. The caretaker always knew that when Lois and I retired, she would have to find other housing, but I'm sure it is still a traumatic event for her.
While in Taos, I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time shopping yard sales and the Goodwill Store (if Taos even has a Goodwill Store) to furnish the cabin. We also know that the cabin has some structural issues, and may have some other problems as well. We plan to give it a good going over and make some decisions about what we need to do to keep it as a viable summer cabin for us, our family, and our friends.
Hopefully, we won't be busy the whole time we're there. We want to do some relaxing, some revisiting favorite places around northern New Mexico, and exploring to find new places. We also want to find time to visit our friends Fern and John Lovelace in Santa Fe and Nicky and Trina Lindig in Mancos, CO. Fern and Nicky worked at Grand Canyon with me--in fact Nicky was my boss. Nicky and Trina built a gorgeous retirement home on a mountain lake outside Mancos, and I want to visit him so he can show me how to catch some ofthose trout that he used to bring home to the Canyon.
When we leave Taos, we'll take the rent car back to Albuquerque and then head west to visit our good friends Larry and Shelly Thompson who are still working at Grand Canyon. It will be good to see the Thompsons and the Canyon. I need to go at least every couple of years to get my Grand Canyon fix. if they don't mind, we'll probably stay a couple of days in the RV in Larry and Shelly's driveway and then head for one of our favorite places on earth--the North Rim of the Canyon. From the North Rim, we'll revisit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, try to make it to Cedar Breaks NM and head north. We would like to visit Timpanogas Cave NM south of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City itself, and Golden Spike National Historical site at Promontory Point, north of SLC. From there, we'll head north into Idaho and spend a little time on I 84 to Boise. From Boise, we'll head north again and probably head west into Washington on Highway 20 which eventually will take us across the Cascades and on to Puget Sound.
We should arrive in the Seattle area by July 24th or 25th and have a little time to visit with our daughters Emily and Elizabeth before we leave the RV at Emily's house in Port Townsend and fly back to Atlanta on August 1. We booked the flight back to Atlanta so that I could go on a mission trip to Nicaragua August 4 - 11, but it's beginning to look like that won't happen. Nonetheless, by this time we probably will be able to use a couple of weeks at home catching up on what's happened over the past six weeks. We fly back to Seattle on August 15. At that point, we'll make a decision whether we will continue to Alaska or not. Alaska or no Alaska, we'll head back to Taos for a week or two in late September, close up the cabin for the winter, and then head back to Georgia.
I'll try to update this journal every few days so that those of you who are extremely bored can follow our journey
It's June 11, and we still plan on pulling out on June 15. We have a few things left to wrap up, but hopefully we'll be able to leave on schedule. A little more about our itinerary: we're leaving here and going across northern Alabama and northern Mississippi. We'll probably spend the first night in northern MS and try to see our friend Linda in Houston, MS. From there, we may take a little swing to the south and see my brother Francis and/or sister-in-law Carolyn in Possumneck, MS. (Yes, Virginia there really is a Possumneck). We'll probably cross the Mississippi River at Greenville (or perhaps Helena, AR) and head west. We may go through Texarkana and stay on U.S. 82 across north Texas, or we may go through the Oauchita mountains around Hot Springs an continue west into Oklahoma. Either route will take us to Amarillo where we would like to visit Palo Duro Canyon. We'll probably then go by I 40 to Albuquerque, where we'll pick up a rent car before heading north through Santa Fe to Taos.
We'll be staying in Taos two to three weeks assessing what we're going to do with the cabin that Lois inherited from her mother. The cabin is a small log cabin over 60 years old about eight miles "up the canyon" from Taos. Although close to a major road, the setting is idyllic. The elevation is around 8,000 feet and there's a beautiful stream with a small waterfall within a few steps of the back door. Days are cool, and nights can be downright cold. No air conditioning is necessary, and the mountain air, combined with the sound of a stream outside your open window, is one of the best sleeping and napping environments I've run across. When Lois was a small child growing up in Ft. Worth, her mother would load the kids up when school let out for the summer and head for the cabin in Taos. They would stay all summer and return to Ft. Worth shortly before labor day. Needless to say, she has fond memories of Taos summers and a strong emotional attachment to the cabin.
For the last 16 years or so, a caretaker has been living in the cabin, and none of us has stayed there. The caretaker always knew that when Lois and I retired, she would have to find other housing, but I'm sure it is still a traumatic event for her.
While in Taos, I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time shopping yard sales and the Goodwill Store (if Taos even has a Goodwill Store) to furnish the cabin. We also know that the cabin has some structural issues, and may have some other problems as well. We plan to give it a good going over and make some decisions about what we need to do to keep it as a viable summer cabin for us, our family, and our friends.
Hopefully, we won't be busy the whole time we're there. We want to do some relaxing, some revisiting favorite places around northern New Mexico, and exploring to find new places. We also want to find time to visit our friends Fern and John Lovelace in Santa Fe and Nicky and Trina Lindig in Mancos, CO. Fern and Nicky worked at Grand Canyon with me--in fact Nicky was my boss. Nicky and Trina built a gorgeous retirement home on a mountain lake outside Mancos, and I want to visit him so he can show me how to catch some ofthose trout that he used to bring home to the Canyon.
When we leave Taos, we'll take the rent car back to Albuquerque and then head west to visit our good friends Larry and Shelly Thompson who are still working at Grand Canyon. It will be good to see the Thompsons and the Canyon. I need to go at least every couple of years to get my Grand Canyon fix. if they don't mind, we'll probably stay a couple of days in the RV in Larry and Shelly's driveway and then head for one of our favorite places on earth--the North Rim of the Canyon. From the North Rim, we'll revisit Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, try to make it to Cedar Breaks NM and head north. We would like to visit Timpanogas Cave NM south of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City itself, and Golden Spike National Historical site at Promontory Point, north of SLC. From there, we'll head north into Idaho and spend a little time on I 84 to Boise. From Boise, we'll head north again and probably head west into Washington on Highway 20 which eventually will take us across the Cascades and on to Puget Sound.
We should arrive in the Seattle area by July 24th or 25th and have a little time to visit with our daughters Emily and Elizabeth before we leave the RV at Emily's house in Port Townsend and fly back to Atlanta on August 1. We booked the flight back to Atlanta so that I could go on a mission trip to Nicaragua August 4 - 11, but it's beginning to look like that won't happen. Nonetheless, by this time we probably will be able to use a couple of weeks at home catching up on what's happened over the past six weeks. We fly back to Seattle on August 15. At that point, we'll make a decision whether we will continue to Alaska or not. Alaska or no Alaska, we'll head back to Taos for a week or two in late September, close up the cabin for the winter, and then head back to Georgia.
I'll try to update this journal every few days so that those of you who are extremely bored can follow our journey
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