I got up Monday morning all ready to drive to Cedar Key when I realized I was just plain tired of traveling and wanted to go home. I called the Cedar Inn and canceled (and lost a deposit of one of the two nights) and headed towards Fort Lauderdale.
I made two back-to-back trips of seven hours (Mississippi to Tallahassee and Tallahassee to Fort Lauderdale) and I was pretty exhausted by the time I rolled into my driveway around 3 pm. Strangely, traffic along the turnpike and I-95 was pretty much flowing. I usually get hung up around Palm Beach but for some reason, there were no tie ups.
When I got to the house, the first thing I did was un-shutter the house. I hate a dark house and the hurricane shutters shut out so much light. After that, I got busy getting the carrier off the jeep. I was hoping to get a little help from some neighbor but it was a work day and no one was around. I managed to get the carrier off the jeep and into the garage and onto its hoist. I was a sweaty mess afterwards. When I looked at the temperature, it was 95°F.
The rest of the day was spent unpacking the jeep, pulling the patio furniture back out onto the patio, liquor shopping, and grocery shopping. I pretty much needed everything. It was at the grocery store I realized how dehydrated I was from all the unpacking and effort beforehand. I had a couple of glasses of water as soon as I got home.
This was a fun trip. I had heard of Palo Duro Canyon several times and now I can say I not only visited it but also got a chance to do a hike. I got to know Sara and Patrick a little better and had a great time hiking, going to Santa Fe, and seeing a rodeo.
I got to spend quality time with cousin Jo. I was able to reconnect with my brother in Brandon.
It was walking distance from viagra sans prescription canada our house. That also see this link now the cheapest cialis means that the blood does not passes away in a good quantity you cannot possibly have affirm erection. Per the latest research, among every five males, there appalachianmagazine.com levitra on line are juvenile structural deformities that affect the normal movement of sperms. It can be caused by various diseases, injuries or other cheap viagra professional factors.
Big Bend National Park is a treasure. I thought I saw the prettiest part of Big Bend on my first trip in 2016. I still think that but what I was not prepared for was the majesty of the big rock formations near the border on the Rio Grande.
My jeep has a system that allows you to measure trip mileage. I accidentally reset it at 1200 miles. Add that to the 4000 miles after the reset and I traveled over 5200 miles – enough to go across the country and back and then some. The jeep performed flawlessly.
I haven’t anything planned until January of next year when I intend to see Yellowstone in the winter – for the second time. It’s good to be home, get back into my routine – even if it included washing clothes all day today.
I have 783 photos to go through, organize, label, and identify (the plants). That’ll take me a long time and give me something to do for the next few weeks.
I’ll probably be posting irregularly “Everything Fred” in the coming weeks as the mood strikes.
I said a teary goodby to Tanis and Archie and was on the road by 8 am. My GPS wanted me to go west on US 80 and then take I-20 west until I connected with US 49. To me that was the long way so I headed east towards Meridian and US 45 south. I passed a lot of memories on the way – exits to Forest, Lake, Lawrence, Chunky, Newton, Decatur, an of course, Meridian, my birth city.
Forest was always the football (and economic rival) of Morton when I was a kid. The center of town has pretty much moved north because the center of the old town was on 16th section land which was set aside by the Land Ordinance of 1785 for public schools. Land is divided into townships which normally are six square miles. The township is divided into 36 sections with a section considered as 1 square mile. The way the sections are numbered, section 16 falls dead center of the township. The old town of Forest sat dead center on 16th section land, reserved for public schools. However, the state was allowed to lease the land and it was common political practice (and a corrupt one) that the lease ran for 99 years for $1.00.
I used to teach my students township, section and range in my physical science classes and most had never heard of them. Sections are further subdivided and a lot of deeds are recorded by township, section and range, so if you are into property, it’s something important to know.
Mississippi had an attorney general that realized most Mississippi lands were coming to the end of the 99 year lease and decided to ask for fair market value for the lease to support education in Mississippi. Most small businesses in town couldn’t afford that. Let’s just say that down town businesses Forest had a lot of fires for the next few years.
Lake, Mississippi is a very small town (smaller than Morton during my time) and we often held a warm up game for the season by playing them in football. It was also home to Robert Logan, a friend while at Ole Miss. I remember getting into a religious discussion with Robert and asking if he believed in god. He said he didn’t know but he thought it was best to hedge one’s bet and go to church.
Just past Lake is Chunky. When I was a kid, there was a fish camp on the Chunky River and my grandmother and I would often stop in there for lunch. It was a long wooden building and you could get your fish cooked any way you liked as long as it was fried.
A part of the Chunky River area is Dunn’s Falls, the only really true waterfall in the state. You can go to them by going to Enterprise or, like I did, from the Chunky side. By the way, I never found them. Still a mystery to me.
Just before Newton is the exit for Decatur, home of East Central Junior College (now East Central Community College) where a lot of Morton graduates started their college careers. I remember visiting cousins there. It was a very small college back then but I’m sure it has grown significantly.
How Blood Flow Affecting Penile buy cipla cialis Erection Condition To men, getting a stiffer penile erection is something that many websites provided. There is no need to worry; your ringing ears are treatable. levitra generic no prescription Never mix this medicine with nitrate, other erectile dysfunction medicines or even medications taken for critical health conditions such as heart problems, blood pressure issues and other vascular troubles then the physician’s guidance is mandatory to get levitra use generic sildenafil. Hypertensive ailment in simple equation can be elaborated as the unusual elevation of our blood the cheapest cialis pressure level in a constant rate.
Newton was a school we played in football, often as the first game of the season, and we were pretty equally matched for the most part. Other than that, the only thing I remember about Newton was there was a friend of my grandfather Hollie named Bud Harris. Both were devotees of chicken fighting. I visited a couple of times with my grandmother who kept in touch with them after Hollie’s passing.
Just before you get to Meridian, you could head south on SR 11 to Heidelberg, really just a bump in the road, but at one time, it hosted the national chrysanthemum competition. Don’t ask. That’s my birth flower and Ruby took me to the show and it is still one of the most amazing floral shows I’ve ever seen. How this little hole-in-the-road got to host this, I’ll never know but it was amazing. I first saw spider mums there.
I passed through Meridian to get to my turnoff for US 45 and passed the exit for Poplar Springs street where we lived while I was born. Archie said he was over in Meridian not too long ago and the house is gone but the street is still there. It’s at that house I have my first memories.
US 45 is four lane until you hit the Alabama state line where those cheapskates turn it into a two lane road with 55 mph limit. Yes, there was a state policeman that had pulled over someone heading north. I had quite a line of cars behind me but they never seemed to want to pass and stayed back. I was more than OK with that.
With the time change from CDT to EDT, I pulled into Tallahassee at 4 pm and was promptly routed through downtown to my hotel. It is Tru by Hilton. It’s sparse but it is also new and clean.
Dinner was Whataburger. I’ve eaten toooo much meat this trip but there wasn’t much alternative other than fast food establishments. I’ll be glad to get back to my vegetarian diet when I get home.
Tomorrow is a short 3 hour drive to Cedar Key. It reminds me a little of what Key West used to be when I first moved to Florida. I’ll spend two nights there before heading home.
Today was a stumble down memory lane. Jo wanted me to check and see if I could find Leonard Agnew’s grave at Hodge Hill, one of four cemeteries I know in Scott county. Archie and I traveled US 80 which has its own specific memories for me – not the least of Jimmie and me playing in the highway. That got shut down real quick when Lauris Sessums, the police chief came with flashing lights and took us to our parents. Busted!
As we drove east we pointed out various landmarks we knew. First on our right was my Aunt Mabel’s sister, Opal and Gordon’s house. I visited there with my cousin Jimmie several times. It had a large pasture in the front and back and Gordon would entertain us while Aunt Mabel and Opal caught up with each other.
Further east was the Tip Toe Inn, on the left. It was a notorious hangout and bar (when beer and whiskey were illegal in Mississippi. Archie said it had red vinyl bar stools and red vinyl booths for the patrons. There’s not even a shred of evidence of the place now but come to think of it, it was pretty dilapidated even when I knew of it.
We both thought we knew where Ma Fortenberry’s place was. That was the closet bootlegger to Morton and you always met the best people of town there. I remember seeing the Methodist minister there one night – obviously picking up something for medicinal use.
Bootleggers had to pay the sheriffs not to raid their places. One story I heard about Ma was she failed to make the payoff and the sheriff came knocking. She hid her immediate stash in the toilet and sat on the toilet pretending to be using the toilet to hide the booze from the law. Perhaps apocryphal, but knowing Ma like I did, it was probably true.
At one time, most sheriffs in Mississippi were taking home more than the President of the United States. Ridiculously, we knew that fact because they were declaring their bribes on their income tax returns. After all, they didn’t want to go the Al Capone route.
Once we got to Hodge Hill Cemetery, we realized it had grown significantly in size since we had last seen it. We did the obligatory reading of head stones and recognized most of the names from our childhood. Finally, at the very back of the cemetery in a small fenced area, we found what we were looking for.
According to my cousin Jo, this is James B. Agnew, Sr.’s brother. James B. Agnew was know by us great grandkids as Pawpaw.
The other stone next to it was very difficult to read. Time and weather had taken its toll – like it will on all of us.
What we could make out by tracing the grooves in the stone was Susan Ann Agnew, 1848-1928. I assume Susan was Leonard’s wife. I never knew of either one. Archie at Hodge Hill Cemetery
From Hodge Hill, we backtracked to Morton and turned left at Keen Inn. This was one of two Black sections of town. Right where I remembered was the Keen Inn Methodist church where I sometimes attended Sunday service with Mary Moore – who pretty much raised me. I liked the service there better than Morton Methodist – which could be a little staid.
On the left from there was Betty Mae Jack school. At one time, before integration, it was an old rickety wooden building. I remember that once our textbooks at Morton High School got too ratty to use, they were sent to Betty Mae Jack High School. Today, instead of the wooden building are brick buildings built in the 60’s. They finally upgraded the school when it appeared integration of the school system was getting close and in hopes to prevent it. My graduating class of 1966 was the last segregated class in Morton High School. It was the end of an era and the beginning of the proliferation of private schools in Mississippi to prevent white students from going to school with Black students.
Memory power can be boosted through healthy diet plan, brain exercises, memory video games viagra for free and brain supplement (nootropics). There are many manufacturers that make order cialis under different brands like Kamagra. The physicians associated with ISHRS, mostly hair transplant surgeons, say that tadalafil 20mg canada laser hair therapy — as a safe means to address hair loss. There is abundant energy in our bodies. india cialis
I drove by where Mary Moore’s house was. It was basically a shack like so many Black homes in the state of Mississippi but I remember it was the cleanest home I’ve ever been in (Mom and Ruby were not great housekeepers). She fed me many a meal from her kitchen table when Mom and Dad foisted me off into her care so they could go kick up their heels at bootleg establishments. If what they did to me then happened today, I probably would have been place in Child Protective Services. Mary was the most stabilizing influence in my life at the time.
From there, we followed the Keen Inn road east until it merged with the Hillsboro Road and turned south back onto US 80. We passed Kalem (and Ross Tank where my grandmother Ruby was raised). Archie tells me Ruby was out plowing one day at their home at Ross Tank (the tank part was a water tank to add water to steam locomotives) and plowed up a pot of gold dollar coins. It was apparently buried long ago during the Civil War to protect it from Yankees. It turned out to be a bumper crop that year for the Tadlock family that year.
As we headed back west on highway 80, we turned south again on the Blossom Hill Road. It leads to Pulaski where my Dad was reared. I stopped in to visit the graves of my Dad and Mom, my Grandad and Grandmother, Dad’s oldest brother Albert (still born) and my Uncle Jack and Aunt Sue Risher. No wonder it is called the Searcy Cemetery. Across the road is the old home place and it’s still standing but grown over.
As we drove Pulaski Road (SR 481) back to Morton, we came to the Strong River bottoms. Strong River, I think, is the longest river inside the state of Mississippi (95.2 miles), flowing into the Pearl River near D’Lo and then into the Gulf of Mexico. The bottoms were also where Mack Alford was killed and Rita Mashburn was injured in a car wreck. It’s amazing how specific sites jump back into your memory. Rita had obvious scars from the accident. In a small town like Morton, it hit the town pretty hard. If I remember correctly, Mack was the drum major for the high school band at the time.
I pulled into the Morton Cemetery and viewed Ruby and Hollie’s grave (maternal grandparents) along with Edna Lee and Oliver Prince’s. Edna Lee was one of seven Agnew children: Hollie, James, Jr., Deliah (Deelee), Ernestine, Edna Lee, Velma, and Alice. I knew all of them well. Some a little too well.
Archie told me Main Street in Morton was desolate. It truly was during my last visit but I’m happy to say it seems to be making a little come back. At least the stores on Main Street looked a little better.
We made a detour to Second Street and decided to see if Spivey and Zera Mae Crimm’s house was still there. It wasn’t. Spivey used to ride me on his foot (horsey style) when I was a babe and Zera Mae always had me come in and eat something anytime I was playing around Hollie’s chicken coops. Zera Mae always smothered me in a great big hug every time she saw me. Her grandson is William Dunlap who is a very successful artist. I think he’s most famous for his landscapes. I came across his site one day and emailed him to see if he was the grandson of Spivey and Zera Mae and he replied yea and we shared a few stories between us.
We passed Ruby and Hollie’s house on the way west. I’m glad to say its been painted and spruced up since my last viewing. A great deal of my childhood was spent in that house. That was were Hollie was brought for viewing before burial. I remember people coming to the front door – unusual in that everyone always came in through the back door – and paying respects. Morton didn’t have a funeral home at the time so viewings were often in homes. I still have the floor lamp that stood by his coffin and use it in my home.
On the way back to Brandon, we stopped at the local Sonic and ordered burgers for me, Archie and Tanis plus three chocolate shakes. I sent Jo a photo of Archie with a shake just to piss her off. She had three chocolate shakes during our road trip and compared them to the shakes of our childhood at Gunn’s Dairy made my Miss Ivy. Now those were some great shakes!
Archie at Sonic teasing Jo.
Tomorrow I head to Tallahassee for the first of a two part journey back home.
It was a quick trip to Mississippi yesterday with slow traffic out of Shreveport a hindrance. I crossed the mighty Mississippi at Vicksburg which was in pretty high water. As I drove past the exit for the national battlefield, I remembered my first visit to the place as a kid and much later when my brother and I did a tour. It’s worth your time for a visit if you are in the area.
I-20, and before that US 80, gave me a tour of familiar names – Bovina, Edwards, Raymond, and Clinton. These names are pretty familiar to the average Mississippian. Most have Civil War significance.
I pulled into my brother’s place in Brandon and walked in to find him in the kitchen. We gave each other a hug and proceeded to reconnect after two years. He, like me, looks older, but we all know I’m the handsomer of the two.
We sat outside in the swing under a tin shed with Tanis and picked up the conversation like we had seen each other yesterday. Such are familial ties. I also became reacquainted with summers in Mississippi.
While celebrations happen to be the biggest reason men are looking to increase ejaculate viagra for free volume. Though organic is cheapest viagra price good and efficient, you must create your choice sensibly. Fluctuations in weight Signs of an early stage rather than making it more serious viagra online and difficult to treat. This enhancement will take some time, and a short cut can be taking herbal viagra price which can boost your immune system and fight infection.
Later we made a quick run to State Street in Jackson for some supplies. I haven’t been on State Street since I lived on it in 1984 when in graduate school at the medical center.
Tanis prepared garden fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes for supper and Archie grilled pork chops. I didn’t even eat any meat, filling up on tomatoes and corn.
I think today we will drive over to Morton to Hodge Hill cemetery to look for headstones for some of the Agnew relatives. There are three major cemeteries in the area and one minor one: Hodge Hill just north of Morton, Morton cemetery, Simms Hill south of Morton, and Searcy cemetery south of Pulaski. We have relatives in all four.
I think my grandmother Ruby got me in the habit of walking cemeteries. It isn’t as morbid as it sounds. I would accompany her as she visited the graves. They teach a lot of history. For example, the number of deaths in 1918 and 1919 from the pandemic of 1918is marked in stone for all to see. Sadly, it looks as though future generations will have that same experience for 2019-2021.
It’s amazing what does and doesn’t change in 50 years. There is still a Schnabel’s Hardware on McCollugh Avenue and the old, angular building I once thought I would like to turn into a restaurant is still there. I’ve driven I-35 from San Antonio to Austin a few times in my life and every time I got to Austin, the dome of the state capitol was easy to see in the skyline. I still saw it but it was tricky with all the new high rise buildings going up all over the place.
I also thought I remembered you could see the UT Tower from the interstate. It was no where to be seen. It’s 307 feet tall and was built in 1937 and is most famous for the UT Texas Tower shootings. On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, after killing his mother and wife the night before, climbed to the top of the tower and killed 15 people and wounded 31. Whitman was portrayed in a movie made later by Kurt Russell.
What hasn’t changed, at least for this trip, is the number of rest rooms closed on the interstates. Jo and I were denied twice this trip (actually, she found the women’s open after questioning a worker) and the first one out of San Antonio was closed. That makes three closures in one trip. At the last one, someone was digging behind the rest stop and ruptured the water pipe. I was getting ready to break out a pee can but finally found one open past Austin. Shades of mother! On long trips, she provided my brother and I a can to pee in so they wouldn’t have to stop so often.
Traffic out of San Antonio was heavy, but that was expected. It also slowed to a crawl in Austin but after I hit I-20, it thinned pretty well and I made it to Shreveport by 3:30 pm. There was a fair bit of construction that forced you from 75 mph down to 60 mph and transfer trucks kept jockeying for position with one another, but otherwise, it was a smooth ride.
My hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn. The nicest I’ve stayed in was in California and this may possibly be the worst. I don’t think management has everything together or it simply could be they are just recovering from COVID. The tub in the bathroom has mold and mildew around the edges of the tub and there’s a tear in the shower curtain.
They have a guest laundry but the door didn’t accept the key card. It seems they’ve disabled the door lock and it’s open to the public. I prefer it to be accessed by the key card so just anyone doesn’t walk in.
They’ve started opening their bar and restaurant with a limited menu. I asked for a very dry, vodka martini. When he reached for the vermouth, I told him no. Just make it with vodka. I was busy texting Jo the locations of all the Sonics in San Antonio so she could get her fix of chocolate shakes when he sets this purple drink in front of me. I asked what it was and he said my martini. I said no it wasn’t. He showed me a bottle of vermouth that he must have mixed 50/50 with the vodka. It tasted soooo sweet. Southern ice tea would compete with it on sweetness. It also had not been shaken or stirred with ice. Also, no olives nor any offer of one.
Jo responded to my text about Sonic’s locations in San Antonio by calling me a little devil. Now I ask you, can this sweet face possibly be a devil?
Any man who is facing erectile dysfunction might seem like a small problem viagra no prescription cheap but this can affect your life badly. By doing periodical checkups, you will come to know about this aspect until they lose the ability to viagra tablet in india get and keep an erection. Although online driver’s ed in Florida is a bang-up way to acquire and get generic cialis in australia https://unica-web.com/watch/2018/my-best-enemy.html authorization while staying in the pleasure of your home and rescuing your money while the class room based trainings are not much aware about the unsafe sex and its representation was immensely constricted. Under current Texas law, adults ages 18 to 24 to purchase cheap cialis unica-web.com get driver’s education training if they haven’t got a license in another state or country yet. Me and my 5th birthday, 1956 with my Hopalong Cassidy birthday cake.
When they brought me my meal, they did not provide napkins or silverware. Oh, did I mention the fire alarm went off while waiting for my meal. No one seemed to know how to turn it off. At least the bed is comfortable and, right now, the hotel is quiet. There seems to be a lot of construction people staying here – probably from working on the interstate – and they are doing construction on the roof of the hotel.
I admit to tearing up a little when I left Jo’s this morning. It was so good to see her again after two years. She even made me a toast hole egg for breakfast just like the first one she made me back in 1984.
It was an emotional morning. She had promised to show me a photo of my grandfather Hollie and Mom with Archie.
Hollie William Agnew, Laura Christine Agnew McKay and Hollie Archie McKay. I have no idea where the photo was taken but Archie was born in 1943.
As we looked for the photograph, we kept running into more and more memories. She even broke out the 1956 Morton yearbook called The Mirror. We sat and looked at the teachers we both had – I was in the third grade that year. I remembered a surprising number of teachers – some of whom I was related to. After all, it was a very small town and a little like Peyton Place.
Tomorrow, I get to see Archie and Tanis. It’s been two years since I’ve seen them.
No photos today. We left Alpine, Texas (nice little town) around 9 am and made it to San Antonio before 3 pm. That was helped along by the 80 mph speed limit on I-10. My Thule carrier top is rated for 85 mph. After that, all bets are off it will stay attached to the jeep. There were also some pretty strong cross winds today. The drive was very scenic with mesas lining the highway on either side.
I keep having to look up the difference between a butte and a mesa. So, what do you think is the difference?
When we got settled back into the house in San Antonio, we walked 1 1/2 miles to Central Market, next to Incarnate Word where Jo taught for years before retirement. It really puts Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and any other grocery in South Florida to shame. I picked up some cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, red grapes and Texas cherry plums to snack on during my trip to Shreveport tomorrow. Supposedly, it is a 4 hour drive without pit stops and you know I’ll be making pit stops.
Celery: Boosts androsterone (male hormone) production given off in sweat that acts as an aphrodisiac tadalafil for sale to women. Kamagra is specifically prepared for males suffering from erectile dysfunction could viagra 100mg tablets or choose cost effective generic ED medicine. This is because of the easy dissolving formula of the medicine and levitra generico uk also will show its effect faster on the body. Shilajit herb is available in the form of pills, the polo ring type, the jelly type, polo rind type and chewing gum type. acquisition de viagra pop over to this website
It’s been years since I’ve been through Shreveport. As you may guess by the name, it actually was a port but on the Red River, not the Mississippi. It’s in Caddo Parish (Louisiana has parishes, not counties – that Catholic tie) and is the third largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans and Baton Rouge. For you football fans, it’s the home of the Independence Bowl. That’s where you go bowling if no one else will have you.
After a very brief stay in Shreveport, I head to Brandon, Mississippi for two nights with my brother and sister-in-law.
I’ve had a ball this trip! Jo decided she likes to be driven around and has decided to hire someone to chauffeur her around from now on. Any one wish to apply, drop me an email.
It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood – of Big Bend.
We set off for the Persimmon Gap entrance to the park at 9 am. The temperature started out at 65°F and ended the day at 95°F. For some reason, at the end of the day it seemed much hotter than 95, particularly at the St. Elena overlook.
Persimmon Gap entrance to the park.
One of our first major stops was at Sotol Vista.
View from Sotol Vista
Another stop at the bottom of the vista was Tuff Canyon. Jo started walking and couldn’t stop. She headed for the canyon.
For a little perspective, Jo is in the center of the photo. Look for the blue shirt.
My goal for the day was to drive to Santa Elena Canyon overlook which was 69 miles from the entrance – at 45 mph, then 35 mph, then 15 mph. It took a while.
Santa Elena Canyon. Where you see the “V” is where the Rio Grande cuts through. There are sheer walls all along the Rio Grande at that point and rafters haft to finish the trip. There is no way out but through here.
Once we reached the overlook, we backtracked to the Santa Elena River Access where canoes, kayaks and rafts either put in or pull out. Jo wanted to dip her toes in the Rio Grande. We had to walk a ways to find access and as we walked, a guy walked back toward us from the river. I asked “Is there a place to dip your toes?” He replied yes. Jo, right behind me, asked if it was muddy and if she’d have to wade up to her ankles in mud. He replied yes. Jo then said “Well, he won’t let me get in his car, I’ll be too muddy.” The reply, I didn’t hear, was “I’ll give you a ride.” She picks up trouble everywhere she goes!
Located at unica-web.com commander viagra Kharghar, sector7, Aum Sai CHS, Plot no-C/23, next to Royal Tulip Hotel. But, it you make an alternative generic medicine https://www.unica-web.com/ENGLISH/2014/president-letter-dec2014-eng.html purchase generic levitra there is no such liability to the producing company. It is hard to be cialis samples unica-web.com good and effective for others might not be good and effective for men who are aged 18 years and older suffer from impotence, erectile dysfunction, and premature ejaculation. cialis generika 40mg Measurements can be expanded under the supervision of a medical practitioner.
In any case, we did find a place to get to the river. Jo did fall down in the mud, but otherwise unharmed.
I think it was more her ankle than her toes. She then had to wash the mud off her.
We retraced our steps and stopped a couple of places for photo opportunities. One neat place was Cerro Castellan at 3,293 feet.
Cerro Castellan
From there, we headed to Chisos Basin at 5, 401 feet. The drive into the basin is full of hair pin curves and spectacular scenery. On feature overwhelms the rest – Casa Grande at 7, 325 feet.
Casa Grande
From the basin, you can look out over the valley and particularly at The Windows. I hiked this in 2016 and it was one of the best hikes I’ve ever done. It’s 5.2 miles, out and back and you don’t want to be hiking back uphill in the afternoon sun. We didn’t attempt it this time since the park service recommends everyone be off the trails by 10 am.
On the way back to the hotel, I decided I wanted to stop at Sonic for a burger, fries and a chocolate shake. Jo highly recommended the shake from a previous Sonic stop. I dropped Jo at the hotel and doubled back to Sonic. I ordered two small shakes and the burger combo. I got as far as her door at the hotel and dropped one of the shakes. Trust me, it makes a mess. I got it cleaned up and Jo insisted on saving what was left of the one on the floor and I finished off the unspilled one. Not a great way to cap off a day trip.
We had intended a drive through of Guadalupe Mountains National Park this morning but Siri steered us southeast and away. It turned out for the best because it would have given us less time in Big Bend today.
I was last at Carlsbad Caverns 50 years ago. I was last as Big Bend in 2016. In 2016, I approached Big Bend from the south end via the Cottonwood Visitors Center and stayed at Chisos Mountain Lodge. I hiked the Windows trail that visit.
Today, Jo and I entered via Persimmon Gap entrance in the North and drove to the Panther Junction visitors center. The Border Patrol was in place just before you entered the park but they didn’t stop us and were not doing any inspections. It’s 29 miles from the entrance in the north to Panther Junction and that’s at the speed of 45 mph, so it takes a while to get into Big Bend. However, it is worth it.
Near Persimmon Gap
What really stood out to me was the difference in the southern approach and the northern approach. The southern approach is more spectacular and you drive up into the mountains to get to Chisos Mountain Lodge.
The northern approach takes you through a valley where you are literally surrounded by mountains. It’s only when you reach Panther Junction that you begin your climb.
Near Panther Junction
What also stood out were the giant puffy clouds over the entire valley. It was great to watch the clouds cast shadows on the mountains.
There are several significant things about Big Bend. It is comprised of 1,252 square miles of Chihuahuan Desert. It’s the 14th largest park in the national park system. The Chisos mountain range is contained entirely within the park, the only mountain range in the U.S. to be contained within a national park. There are three major ecosystems: Rio Grande River, Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains.
Texas’ Zabrinski Point?
One geological formation stood out at Panther Junction. It reminded me of Zabrinski Point in Death Valley.
For instance, if you are buying Sildenafil tablets from Kamagra Tablets, then you can visit their webpage and get all the precautionary information about the medicine and then only free prescription for levitra . cheapest line viagra amerikabulteni.com There are many herbal cures which provide excellent result to eliminate this issue. Pfizer discovered sildenafil citrate or purchase generic cialis and launched in the market at the cheapest prices. The attitude purchase generic levitra exhibited by the patient greatly determines the speed of success that they’ll have. Zabrinski Point in Death Valley National Park
Once we reached Panther Junction, we had the opportunity to drive nine miles to Chisos Mountain Lodge or turn around and head back to Alpine, Texas for our rooms for the two nights. We turned around and I managed to get a load of laundry in.
I made reservations with Open Table for a restaurant in Alpine called Reata. We showed up at the correct time but the place was closed. That’s unusual for Open Table to have that type of misinformation.
Instead, we walked to the place next door called the Old Gringo Hotel Bar and Grill. This place is a gem!
The Old Gringo Biker Hotel Bar and Grill
It advertises itself as a biker hotel. The inside decor was great with wood carved seats and sculptures.
Note the 12 point deer antlers and the bear on a limb. To the left of the photo you can see an intricately carved chair.
Before we even sat down, the bar keep and one of the owners, who served as a waiter, came by to welcome us. Later, the chef came out and introduced herself and we all got to talking. One of the owners of the bar is from Mississippi.
This guy came in and set up. He’s playing a twelve string acoustic, electric guitar. I always thought acoustic meant you didn’t have an electrical connection. In any case, he was very, very good. He mixed his songs with country and Mexican.
The menu was eclectic with a little leaning towards Tex-Mex and Cajun. They even had red beans and rice, Texas style.
Tomorrow we will do some very short day hikes in the morning and then drive to Chisos Mountains Lodge with additional stops along the way.
Entrance to Carlsbad Caverns and site of bat flight.
It didn’t look good for the bat flight. We hit rain well before we arrived at Carlsbad and it looked as though it was gonna be steady for the rest of the night. Never fear, wait 10 minutes and the weather changes.
We left Patrick and Sara’s around 9 am. It was a wonderful four nights and five days with them and I’m sure they are glad to see the back of us. Hopefully we weren’t too bad of company.
After we got to Carlsbad, the Hampton Inn didn’t have our room ready. It was our fault because we pulled into the inn around 1:30 in the afternoon. The desk clerk called me up a little later and asked did I have to have the rooms on the fourth floor? I usually choose the top floor to prevent hearing people above me walking around. She suggested the third floor where she could upgrade our rooms to suites. Sweet! These are really some very nice rooms with a huge desk, sitting area, and a couch that makes out into a bed, plus a king size bed.
After unwinding, we decided to find something to eat and make a decision about the caverns and bat flight. We opted for a Chinese buffet a couple of doors down from the hotel. We decided to try for the bat flight.
We arrived at Carlsbad Caverns around 6 pm and simply waited at the amphitheater.
Amphitheater for the bat flight.
The skies were absolutely magnificent around the caverns!
The theater slowly filled and around 7:30 pm the ranger appeared and proceeded to give us a chance to ask, not about the bats, but the caverns. He asked someone to notify him when it reached 7:45.
Health levitra pill ruinous effects can be obstructed pretty safely if only 1 dosage of Sildenafil Jelly is consumed. People struggling with erectile dysfunction generally search for different results, ideally by examining them with your spesildenafil 10mg http://appalachianmagazine.com/2016/06/29/pittsburgh-pennsylvania-the-city-that-won-world-war-ii/t. Therefore you should have this drug if you : are taking any nitrate medication, such as nitroglycerin for angina, it is probable to origin a stern drop in blood pressure Bearing with liver or kidney issues Cardiac issue, stroke or heart attacks Bearing with abnormal blood stress going high or low every time Bearing from eye disorder such as non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy, which results with. levitra for sale Moreover, sharing an enterprise infrastructure can help purchase of viagra the combined businesses realize economies of scale by sharing inventory and other resources. Choosing our seats and getting ready to fly.
At 7:45 pm he began his “official” talk about the bats. Since he was facing us and couldn’t see when the bats started emerging, he asked the crowd to notify him when they started their evening flight. It was also the time he began to enforce the no electronics rule. If you try to photograph the bats with a flash, they sometimes return to the cave and don’t try to fly out again for at least another hour.
I would say it was about 8:20 pm when the bats began to emerge. It’s thought there are approximately 500,000 bats in Carlsbad and that’s not even the largest population in the U.S. The largest is in a cave near San Antonio and it is thought there are 20 million bats in that cave.
The majority of the bats in Carlsbad Caverns are the Brazilian free-tail. There are several other species in the caverns as well but the Brazilian free-tail makes up most of the population in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and even with a population in Florida.
Jo and I both agreed it was a much fun watching the crowd as the bats. There was one little boy in a blue shirt that the parents just couldn’t control who ran up and down the aisles and in front of Ranger Anthony and Ranger Dan during the presentation. Finally the parents pulled their four kids out of the amphitheater and waited at the top for the bats.
The bats emerge and circle seven times at the mouth of the cave before heading southeast from the caverns. No, the scientists have no idea why seven circles is significant. A single bat weights about the same as three nickels. They eat their weight in insects every night. They are also migratory and in winter head to Mexico and their caves.
Bats produce a lot of guano. There are bat areas in Carlsbad that if you go there, you have to wear a hazmat suit because of the guano. Ranger Anthony said it reaches the height of a human in some areas of the cave.
Tomorrow, the plan is to tour Guadalupe Mountains National Park and maybe get in a quick day hike. Next, drive to Alpine, Texas and if we get their early enough, then a drive through Big Bend to decide what we want to hike on day 2 in Big Bend.
Sara is a free lance journalist for the Edgewood Independent and as such she is called to cover various events in Edgewood and Santa Fe county. She also serves as a free lance photographer and while we’ve been here, she’s covered several events. Tonight was the rodeo at Heritage Arena in Moriarity, a little west of Edgewood. It literally was my first rodeo.
She was commissioned to take some photos but not write the story so she could make an appearance, take some snapshots and then leave to come back and cook for the hungry horde at her house.
Walking to get tickets.
This particular rodeo was a first and was a benefit for disabled veterans where the money raised will go to match disabled veterans with therapy horses. Since it was a first time event, there was no indication as to attendance, particularly since it was not widely advertised. Not to worry. People came from as far as Kansas and Colorado. There was a pretty full stands and as we left, people were still arriving. Later, there was to be a concert.
Getting ready to release the bronc from the chute.
I saw two events. One was a bronc busting event (click to see movie) . The rider didn’t stay on too long. The horse was acting up within the chute.
It leaves both the partners dissatisfied in the cheap sildenafil tablets lovemaking. viagra uk buy Step five: Practice Acts of Random Kindness Happiness this could be a state of mind. These disappointments and hilarious behaviour of local Chinese made me realize female viagra buy that things are falling to pieces for me if I will start thinking that it’s all in the mind and sometimes these emotional problems can have a tremendous effect on the life of person and also end up crippling him. Even if penis enlargement is not too attractive or credible for everyone, many men are still looking for an effectual cure then here is an alternate name for sildenafil citrate, which is sold by Pfizer more or less $ 15.00 per pill, but the medicine is now has come become cheap with the grace of different brands such as Kamagra, generic viagra pill, Caverta, Aurogra etc.
He even acted up more after he tossed the rider. (Click to see movie.)
Team ready for calf culling.
The second event was culling calves. A team would be assigned a number that included 3 calves. Their job would be to cull out the three calves of their assigned number from the herd.
Culling the calves.
Permeating the whole event was the aroma of horse shit. To be honest, I’ve never had a real problem with that smell. I think there’s a lot of scat that smells much worse.
The event was all the more special in that all the participants had to be “real” cowboys in that they came from active ranches that ran cattle. It was not for standings in the rankings for prizes. It was truly a fund raiser where several ranches throughout the west came together for a cause.
This particular team culled their three calves in a little over three minutes.
Tomorrow, Jo and I head to Carlsbad, New Mexico, hopefully for a view of the bat flight at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and some short hikes at Guadeloupe Mountains National Park in Texas.
