Heading Home

Our plan worked. We pulled out of our site at 6:30AM while everyone was just stirring. We connected the car and hit the road. We got out of Albuquerque ahead of the RV rush and before the rush hour traffic started. A great start!
After putting a few miles behind us we stopped for breakfast and a break just after crossing into Texas.

In no time we were were at our first overnight campground as we work our way back to Mannheim. Our first stop was Amarillo Texas. It didn't take long to get set up for the night and have a relaxing moment to unwind.

Next day we're on the road again by 8AM. That allows us to get off the road by 3 PM which allows some time to relax at the end of the day. As we came into Oklahoma we came across this tower; not something you see every day.

Our next stop was Oklahoma City. A lovely campground in the middle of the city although it seems like its out in the country. The building that was bombed was only 4 blocks away but we didn't get to see it.

For the next few days we gradually made our way home. After leaving Oklahoma City we camped at Springfield Missouri, then on to St. Louis Missouri the following night.

After a beautiful night we then moved on to Indianapolis Indiana. By this time I'm starting to get tired of driving and would like a couple of days off, but the schedule doesn't allow that, so on we go.

Our last night on the road was spent in Flint Michigan. As I have every day after we get set up, I washed the windows and front of the RV to remove the bugs and get ready for the next days travel.

Finally we're home and parked. Our first visitors made us feel welcome and very happy to be back.

As we travelled, we missed the grandkids most and it feels great to be back with them. Here, Kyle and I are sharing a cuddle moment. Feels great to be back.

This may be our last blog entry for awhile until we decide to hit the road again to.... who knows where.

The Rally

The main reason we ended up in Albuquerque was so we could attend the RALLY. Its the biggest RV rally in the world with thousands of RV's showing up for the 6 days of fun and frivolity. To park that many units in 1 day, they had many lines of RV's being directed to parking areas. It actually went quite smoothly and we were parked in about an hour.

This is our street. The RV's are parked at the Balloon Fiesta Park which is a huge area used to launch the hundreds of hot air balloons during their fall balloon fiesta. Apparently this whole are is covered by balloons during that week. Its a nice grassy area which we are enjoying after sand for 6 months.

There were dozens of seminars to attend as well as vendor booths to visit and promotional events put on by major suppliers of RV products.

Free tattoos were offered and Carmen couldn't resist. Make sure you ask her about it.

All the events were at the fairgrounds which was about 12 miles from the balloon festival park. As a result we were bussed from one to the other and back. Here we are enjoying our time in line as we wait for the bus. This became the place where we could review the days events as we waited and waited for the bus to finally show up.
We tried to get back to our motorhome early enough that we had time for a glass of relaxation and a leisurely supper before the evening entertainment started. I'm barbecuing a steak before we head over. Headliners for the various nights were Neil Sedaka, Rita Coolidge and The Osmonds as well as a couple of local 50's bands.Not your cup of tea? Just remember the age of the audience, its probably pushing 70 and for them these guys are fresh and hip!

One evening they put on a balloon glow for us. They inflate the balloons and keep them tethered while burners are ignited to produce the beautiful glow in the dark. Its spectacular! There were dozens lit up and I have dozens of pictures, but you get the idea.

No one stopped us so we walked around the balloons as they were being lit and quite enjoyed the sights. After the glow was over they allowed the balloons to deflate for storage so we took this picture as one was collapsing beside us. I didn't realize there was a huge opening in the top which they can use to help remove the hot air. Carmens used to hot air so she was right at home.

The next morning, balloons were lifting off just at the end of our street. Just one of the benefits of parking at the balloon park. There were dozens going up and the sky was filled with colour.

On the last day we had some free time to walk around so we thought we'd show Yosemite the sights. Around the fairground, different toy tractors were mounted and he decided a ride would be in order. I don't think the lady in the background is too impressed that he is driving through the flower garden.

As we decided to leave the fairground for the last time, Yosemite, being a take charge kind of guy, decided that the lineup for buses needed some control. You'll notice his organizational skills has resulted in no line up at all. He should have been running this from the first day.

Tomorrow we'll be on our way back to Ontario. Because over 3000 motorhomes will be trying to leave on the same day, we will be gone by 6AM. Hopefully that will allow us to beat the rush.

Albuquerque New Mexico

Well, its time to leave beautiful warm Las Cruces and head to Albuquerque for the next part of our adventure. After arriving at our destination we went to bed to a lot of wind and a powerful thunderstorm and this is what we woke up to.

You know it was bad when one of your travelling companions was up to his waist in snail (thats what I call this stuff which was part hail and part snow; I just invented it).

The cold stuff didn't stick around long and here's what we saw in our site on Easter morning. He didn't leave any candies and the little chocolate drops we found looked suspicious so we didn't try them.

Monday was such a beautiful day that we decided to explore old downtown Albuquerque. The original buildings are there but as is usual in these old town areas it has been turned into a haven for artisans and schlock artists. This is the entry gate.

The area where we parked is surrounded by museums, art galleries and interactive displays for kids. It would be a great place to spend the day with your kids or grandkids. Look closely at the dinosaurs nose and you'll see a local pest has taken up residence.

As we walked around we came across this group of settlers who were having trouble on this hill so I offered to help. After tremendous effort it became obvious I was the only one putting any energy into the problem so I took my leave with nary a thanks from the ingrates I tried to help.

After my exertions, a rest was in order and we found this lovely spot in the shade to recuperate. If you'll notice though, I don't seem to be doing any of the recuperating. Slackards, the both of them!

Finally, I had my chance to take five although I'm sure it was only because we got lost and I needed to figure out where we were.

Duh! We're in old town Albuquerque, thats obvious. We found some lovely old buildings and got history lessons on the founding of the city so it was a fun day in the sunny south.

White Sands Park

After going through the Space Museum and stopping for a Mexican lunch (love that Mexican food) we stopped at the White Sands National Park. The park is in the middle of the White Sands Missile Range and is on the way back to Las Cruces from Alamogordo.

The white sand is actually a crystal form of gypsum formed by centuries of freezing and thawing gypsum. It feels and acts exactly like sand while regular gypsum is a fine powder. The dunes cover 275 square miles and is the largest gypsum dune area in the world. In places it's estimated to be 2000 feet deep.

Although its a controlled park, you can walk anywhere you want on the dunes. Some people hike out into the dunes and camp over night as long as they get permission first. Winds soon cover foot prints so pristine dunes to walk on are easy to find.

We visited the dunes on a Sunday and a number of families were out for the day. They sell round snow discs at the gift shop and people take them out and slide down the dunes just like on snow. Although they weren't going as fast as on snow it looked like they were having as much fun and without the frostbite.

Roads are pushed through the dunes by graders and are solid for driving on although you'd swear its snow. It develops pot holes and a sheen to it just like winter roads. I even caught myself tapping my brakes to check on how slippery it was, duh! This motorhome gives you an idea of how high the dunes get.

If you didn't know better, doesn't this look like I'm sitting on a big snow drift? The sand is a brilliant white and blows into shapes just like snow.

The dunes are constantly moving across the desert. They build, crest, and then decline as they move on at about 30 feet per year. Kind of like waves except it takes years to build and decline. As the dune grows higher, some plants survive by sending down deeper roots to get to water and the plant grows taller to stay above the sand. As the dune declines the plants are left standing in the air because their roots keep the sand in place. Then as the wind blows the sand around, depressions are created around the plant. This sand mound is about 10 feet high.

A boardwalk has been set up in one area to allow you to see the interdune areas which can't be walked on due to delicate plants. This area will be completely under sand in 10 years or so. This is where the dunes are headed to and the ecosystem is changing as plants try to survive the sands advance. This area looks very similar to a beach at the ocean; you almost expect to see water on the other side of the dunes.

Museum of Space History

60 miles north east of Las Cruces is the Museum of Space History in Alamogordo New Mexico. White Sands Missile range and Holloman Airforce Base are next door to Alamogordo. After the end of WWII the German rocket technology and most of their scientists were brought here to continue their work on developing rockets. They developed more and more advanced rockets which eventually lead to landing on the moon and the current space shuttles.

The outdoor displays show a lot of the rockets and missiles that were developed over the years. Most were used for atmospheric tests but, being the military, a number developed into anti-aircraft missiles. The short fat rocket to the right was used to test the escape pod on the top of the Saturn V rockets without having to use a Saturn V which was 10 times larger.
This is one of the anti-aircraft missiles. It was 2 stage and was towed behind a truck and used to protect military targets from air attack. All of the missiles like this one were developed and tested at the White Sands Missile Range nearby.

This sled was mounted on tracks over a mile long and when the rockets on the back were fired it would go over 600 MPH before stopping. A man rode on the seat and was used to test how much G force a person could take. After one ride his head was all bruised and his eyes were full of blood. Safety harness testing on this sled led to the design of seatbelts for cars.

Inside the building were a number of displays having to do with space. A lot of the early satellites like Sputnik 1 and this one used to test the damage caused by micro meteorites are displayed.

This simulator lets you try to land the space shuttle from 10,000 feet which is about 1 minute of flight. On my first try I ran out of runway but, due to my superior flying skills, my second attempt was right on the money so I quit while I was ahead. The guy behind me gave up after crashing 4 times so it wasn't that easy.

More Airplanes

Just outside El Paso, Texas sits the War Eagles Air Museum which is a private collection of mostly WW2 fighters with a couple of jets and a bunch of vintage cars thrown in. So, either skip this posting or be prepared for some aircraft info. This is a P40 Warhawk and was used even before we entered the war by the Flying Tigers in China. Although the Japanese Zeros were more advanced, the P40 still shot down over 25 planes for every one that was lost.

This is a TBM-3 Avenger and was used as a torpedo bomber. President Bush (1st) was shot down near Japan in one of these. These are also the type that in the 1940's, 5 flew east from Florida into the Bermuda Triangle and disappeared. Most movies about the Bermuda Triangle have these planes showing up somehow.
This is the P51 Mustang which was brought out near the end of the war and was probably the best fighter of the war. It was very fast, maneuverable and with its supercharged Merlin engine could out perform any German fighter. Bomber losses dropped to 10% of before once the P51 started escorting them to bomb German targets. P51's still fly today in air races.

This is probably my favourite airplane of all time, the F4U Corsair. Its probably twice the size of the P51 and was the only plane that could match its speed. The Corsair was used in the Japanese war and could fly circles around anything the Japanese had. More Corsairs were lost in landing accidents that were shot down. It was used in Korea and was the last propellor fighter plane built by the American military.
This is the Mig 15 which is the Russians first jet fighter and first saw action in the Korean war. The F4U-4 Corsair was its main adversary and although the Mig was 100 MPH faster and dominated the F4U, they still managed to shoot some of the Migs down. The allies introduced the F86 Sabre fighter jet partway into the war which equalled the Mig in performance.

Although there were lots more fascinating fighters, I need to throw in at least something for those not as excited by them as I am. There was a huge vintage car collection of everything from Model A Fords to Rolls Royce Silver Shadows. Carmen likes the black one beside her because it looks like Archie Andrews old jalopy.
We were glad the museum was in a hanger because the wind was blowing so strongly that the hanger doors sounded like they would blow in. The planes probably would have blown away if they were outside. As we drove back to Las Cruces the sand was blowing across the road and almost hid the mountains. Apparently, spring is the windy season down here. We had a great tailwind coming fromTucson; I just hope thats not going to be a headwind when we leave.