Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

Located just outside of Carlsbad New Mexico in the Guadalupe Mountains. Located on US Highways 62/180. The cave is know for its many calcite formations. The Natural entrance is a steep 1.25 mile trail with several curving switchbacks that descends 750 feet into the caverns. It is the equivalent of walking up or down a 75 story building and takes an average of 60-90 minutes to complete. If you are unable to make this trek. There are elevators in the visitor center that will take you down into the cavern and return you to the surface. There are restrooms and a snack bar underground near the elevators at the start of the Big room.

There are several places to see on the way down and I have included a few pictures of some of the formations. The Big Room is the largest chamber in North America. It is almost 4000 feet long and 625 feet wide and 225 feet high. No amount of pictures can do justice to the formations in that room.

Every year from April through October hundreds of Thousands of Brazilia free-tailed bats exit the cave at night through the cavern entrance searching for food. There is an amphitheater at the mouth of the natural entrance and a free bat flight program where a ranger talks about the bats. The first time I visited the cave (I was 12) the ranger told us if we wanted to know how many bats were leaving all we had to do was count their feet and divide by 2.

I have been to this cavern several times over the years once when I was 12, I have taken my children, my grandchildren, friends, other relatives. It is probably one of the most remarkable caverns I have seen and I have seen many caverns in the USA, perhaps I will share more of them at a later date.

PETRIFIED FOREST

The Petrified Forest is an American national park in Navajo and Apache Counties in northeastern Arizona. Located near the town of Holbrook in Northern Arizona on both sides of Interstate 40. It is about 220 million years old. It became a national park December 9, 1962. It was so named because of all the Petrified wood found in the park.. The fallen trees are from the Late Triassic Epoch about 225 million years ago. The park covers 346 square miles encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands.

Most have heard of the Navajo and the Apache but have you heard of the Puerco Pueblo? It is an ancient civilization that has been found in the Petrified forest. The village was a prehistoric settlement built of shaped sandstone blocks, inhabited between AD 1250 and 1380. At its peak the pueblo had over 100 rooms, with a possible population of 200 people. Only about 1/3 of the site as been excavated at this time.

The Kiva pictured is where spiritual ceremonies, religious rituals and ceremonial preparations took place. Can you imagine trying to communicate in the form of Petroglyphs? There are a few pictures of various petroglyphs showing stories from the author at the time.

The fossilized remains of trees from millions of years ago, that have turned into rainbow colored quartz stones sccattered across the ground in the park (known as petrified wood) is what gives the forest its uniqueness and its name.

RUSSEL´S TRAVEL CENTER

Russels Travel Center located on Historic Route 66 I-40 exit 369 Glen Rio, New Mexico. Driving down the road we decided it was time to take a break this place caught our eye. We stopped in and to our surprise found an authentic Route 66 Diner and a classic car and memorabilia museum, that attracts truckers and bikers alike. There are 24 Antique cars, memorabilia of the King (Elvis) The Duke (John Wayne) Marilyn Monroe and a few others. Coke and M&M products as old or older than we are. The museum is free to the public and is so full of items it was impossible to get pictures of all.. But I will include a few for everyone to see.

For lunch we stopped at a local Bar and Grill in Amarillo, Texas called Cecils. Really nice people , we had the chicken fried steak and it was excellent.

Tuesday night gets us to Weatherford, Oklahoma. We stopped because of the weather, I swear Oklahoma and I do not get along, Every time I travel through there its either a snow storm or a rain storm chasing me. Tonight was no different, it rained and hailed so bad we had to stop. The internet was so bad I was up till 4 am trying to get my show done and pictures of my travels in to Museboat.

Lavaca, Arkansas

Time for some rest and relaxation. Made it to Lavaca, Arkansas (population 2279) to visit our cousin. She lives in a nice rural area on a farm. Nice and quiet, roomy and peaceful, and no internet. So anything we do for the next 2 days will be by hot spot of the internet on my truck.. I took pictures of some of her scenery but not her house to protect her privacy. She raises heifers ad bales hay.

I am sure many of you have had strawberries, raspberries and maybe even blackberries, But have you ever had Boysenberries? Sweet delicious boysenberries. The are so popular in Lavaca they were the star of the 30th Lavaca Berry Festival on Saturday May 21, 2022. They grow on vines much like a blackberry (see pictures below). You can grow them in a garden on stakes or just put them on your fence, they will adjust. So many goodies can be made from the Boysenberry, pie, tarts, jelly, cobblers, wine, if it can be made I am sure the good folks in Lavaca have a tried and tested recipe. The festival is a time for people to shop around and purchase anything from dog neckerchiefs to princess headdresses, beef jerky to pickled garlic, berry cobblers to gourmet cookies. Area musicians playing in the background trying to appease the whole audience.

Off we go today, after breakfast and what did we have on those biscuits?? you guessed it homemade Boysenberry jelly. I had never had it before and it was yummy Our cousin took us to her nieces house to show us were she got her supply (see picture below) We decided to visit a few cemeteries to further our genealogy research. Visited some of the old homesteads, ate at the Senior activity center. The folks there are a hoot. I found one of the landmarks of Lavaca (picture included) it was the tallest beer can, the person that had it painted was the local distributor of Budweiser beer in Lavaca. (thats something you won't see just anywhere). What a wonderful end to a beautiful day.

Memphis, Tennessee

In the middle of the journey today we changed our minds and direction and decided not to go to Kentucky but instead decided to head to Memphis, Tennessee. I love the area around Memphis just as you enter off the Interstate 40. Starting with the welcome Center. There are 2 more than life size statues of the King of rock and roll (Elvis Presley) and the King of Soul (B.B. King) Inside are pictures of many of the greats that fashioned the blues and jazz of the time. So I found out some interesting facts while at the Welcome center. Elvis was so flashy because he grew up poor. They had to live in public housing and rely on the goodness of other people to help them out. The song “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding is actually the demo that was released. The whistling at the beginning of the song was supposed to be replaced by lyrics by he had passed away before that could be done so the demo was released as is.

Down the road from the welcome center is the most unique Bass Pro shop in all of the USA and Canada that I have see so far. For those that do not know what Bass Pro shop is, it was founded in 1971 and headquartered in Springfield, Missouri and is a privately held retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and outdoor gear as well as outdoor footwear and nature-themed gifts. There are about 70 of them in the USA and Canada and the sizes of the stores range from 20,000 square feet to 320,000 square feet. The one that I took pictures of is in the shape of a pyramid, the only one I have seen with that shape but is the theme of Memphis which has many places themed after the Egyptians.

There are several pictures included of the inside of Bass Pro to give you an idea how enormous the inside of the store is. The pond is just the beginning. If you look there is actually a live fish swimming in that pond, The elevator inside Bass Pro Shop is the tallest free standing Elevator at 321 feet. Its called the Lookout at the Pyramid. It takes guest to a glass observation deck at the top so they can take in the sights of Memphis. The elevator lights up in changing colors and is filled with fake cypress trees. The price to ride is !0 American dollars.

The scenery inside is unbelievable, from Mountain goats, to geese, from bears to bucks and doe. And if that is not enough they have an inside waterfall and an aquarium. When you think what more could they possible have you round the corner and see the fish bowl bowling alley. If you are tired after walking through this massive store you can always stay in the lodge after your buying spree or walking adventure.

Finally made it to Beale Street in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, I have been wanting to go there for many years and this was my lucky year. Beale Street is the most famous street in Memphis and is the soul of Old Memphis. It was created in 1841 but peaked in the 1920's, It has been the to everything from bars and clubs to gamblers and musicians, and prostitutes and churches. Throughout history is was mostly occupied by white shop owners who traded along the Mississippi River until..... the 1862. Many black traveling musicians began performing on Beale, and the street became a Mecca for African-Americans from all over the south. By the end of the 1800's Robert Church a freed-slave and the first black southern millionaire, had become interested in Beale. He created a cultural center and a Church Hotel. By the 1900;s Beale was filled with many shops, restaurants and clubs and many were owned by African-Americans.

Today we look at Beale as the birthplace of the Blues. The blues and Gospel spirituals rooted from the cotton fields of America and incorporated with the harmonies and rhythms of Africa combined with the music of the church helped to form was was considered the blues. Beale Street saw a decline during the depression but a re-emergence around 1966 and was placed on the National registry of historic places. Walking down Beale street today I could hear a mixture of music. Some blues but some newer sounds as well A little reggae, rock a bit of jazz. I am sure there are more depending on the time of day you are there. It seems every music venue of any quality has a Hard Rock Cafe, so Beale Street is no exception. Many of the great blues men have clubs on Beale street, BB King, Silky O'Sullivan, WC Handy (actually he has a park there) There are signs with history I did not include. There are funnier signs that I suppose are a part of history as well and life on Beale street at the time.

It was well worth the afternoon to walk down Beale street and see the parts of history. There is a guided tour maybe next time. I wanted to top off the day with a picture of Graceland so I drove the 10 miles to get there only to find out things have changed so much since I was there last. You can no longer see the front of the house to get a picture of it. So you all will have to settle for the painted picture that is on the side of the house wall. Somewhere buried deep in my treasures I have a picture I took back in 1975 if I can find it I will post it at some later date.

End Of The Week

Saturday 6-4-22
I have decided I am not completely sold on goggle navigation. We had a 5 ½ hour trip to get to our final destination which was supposed to be Mobile, Alabama. The navigator found every back country road possible to get us there. Although scenic some of the roads made me wonder if something happened, would they find my body before the vultures picked my bones clean. You have to love modern technology. Finally about 16 miles from our final destination we got directions to the first interstate (which is the fast main roads most people like to travel). I had hoped to stay there to further my genealogy craving but unable to find lodging we headed out to Foley, Alabama which was actually tomorrows final destination, and the point that we will turn around and head back to Arizona.

Sunday 6-5-22
Headed out for breakfast and ended up in Pensacola, Florida to visit my old stomping grounds. The house I grew up in got a face lift I did not even recognize it. I got so side tracked we ended up with no breakfast but finally got lunch.