BARRETT-JACKSON

Should I buy this six door monster truck?  I know my oldest son would love it.  The Barrett Jackson Auto Auction is hard to believe - thousands of cars and trucks and all kinds of vendors.  People with lots of money to spend.  Doesn't cost much to look!

Saguaro National Park this morning - thirty to forty foot tall cactus - millions of them covering thousands of acres.  That's Lester standing beside the cactus.  Kinda big, isn't it?

Then on to Casa Grande Ruins  

Casa Grande Ruins - remains of an ancient Hohokam village and Great House.  How did they manage to build that house?  

Canals used to irrigate crops - I had never seen that.  

Weather is absolutely perfect - around 70 degree high and sunny.  I hear it is really cold in North Carolina right now - I guess we picked a good time to travel.  

We are in Chandler, Arizona for the night - close to Phoenix.  

Windmills in Texas

Windmills by the thousands - in Texas.

TOMBSTONE ARIZONA

Tombstone Arizona - Beautiful little town - step back in time!

Carlsbad Caverns

Really amazing.

Day 4 - Carlsbad Caverns, El Paso, Tombstone, Tucson

This has been a long, busy day.

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. We spent 2 hours walking through it - the size is unbelievable. I'll try to post a picture if I can figure out how!

On to El Paso - hard to know what to say. I'm trying to be positive, but can't think of much positive about it.

Western Texas is so big, so dry, so desolate. We drove for hours and hours at 80 mph with nothing but barrenness. I know there must be beautiful parts of Texas but this was not one of them.

Tombstone, Arizona - a beautiful little town that feels like it is still in the 1800's. Driving to Tombstone while the sun was setting was really pretty - the sun behind the mountains in the west - the eastern sky the most beautiful pink and blue.

We had to go through a Border Patrol check driving back from Tombstone - seemed like an odd place for it. They just asked each of us what state we were born in - said good evening and that was it.

On to Tucson to spend the night. We got here about 7:00 - tired.

Day 3 - Abilene, Lubbock, Carlsbad

Day 3 - Tuesday, January 13

Breakfast at our hotel.

On the road to Abilene - miles of nothing except thousands of windmills and oil rigs.

Drove to Sweetwater - then headed for Lubbock - the Buddy Holly Museum is awesome.

Lester and I both really enjoyed it. Drove by the statue of Buddy and the home he lived in.

Then on the road to Carlsbad, New Mexico.  Really good dinner at Furr's Family Cafeteria.

It is so fun having my laptop - and wireless internet in our rooms.

Having a great time.  We have our cell phones if you wanna give us a call.

Day 2 Fort Worth

Left yesterday at 7:00 AM - drove 740 miles

spent the night in Vicksburg, Mississippi in a wonderful hotel casino - Horizon - the casino is a three story riverboat.  Great dinner.

Spent a couple of hours at Vicksburg Battleground - really enjoyed it.  

Drove on to Dallas - went to the JFK museum Texas Book Depository - after seeing it, it is hard to believe one man got three shots off from that position.  Drove on to Fort Worth - had a good dinner. Spending the night at a Best Western.

Tomorrow - on to Abilene and Lubbock to see the Buddy Holly museum.

We're having a great time.