My plan was to avoid the political landscape for the next month and take in the wonders of the American landscape as the wife and I made our way to Oregon and back. Alas, these are amazing and wondrous times we live in and the pick-up came with satellite radio. All I really wanted was the tow package, which includes a transmission cooler and electric trailer brakes, but the satellite radio is nice on these long treks and if you are manhandling a 12,000-pound rig across country, you must listen to Willie’s Roadhouse, which plays nothing but classic country. Driving across America listening to Faron Young is just the sort of thing that built this great country.
The downside is this satellite radio gizmo also gets all the cable news channels and for several hours each day it seemed to find its way onto one of these despite my best efforts. We listened to Jeff Sessions before Congress and heard 45 say he was being investigated, so we have not been as isolated from the world as I dreamed. A man has to keep his oath, especially to himself. If he can’t keep an oath to himself, how can others expect him to keep those he makes to them? I said no politics for a month and despite the wealth of commentary worthy news, it will just have to wait.
In 1832 Brother Andrew Jackson signed a bill setting aside land in Hot Springs Arkansas for recreation. This predated the National Park idea by several decades and was the first time the Federal Government had set aside land for the purpose of recreation. Hot Springs was our first stop. We filled large water bottles at the public water trough and learned that this water fell as rain 4000 years ago. Boggles the mind!
The wife made reservations for a hot bath and a steam cave sit at one of the few remaining bathhouses still in operation along bath hose row. I was game but she also wanted to get a massage and tried to talk me into it, but this is a hill I decided was worth dying on. Not having a stranger rub on me and then give them money. Not no how, not no way! I held firm and sat on the porch of the bathhouse watching the world go by, a much higher and better use of my time.
On to Clinton Oklahoma. I only mention it because Bill Clinton is from Hot Springs and the town in Oklahoma has no connection to him that I know of. After a drive of 400 miles and getting the RV leveled up at the KOA, I sat in my new rocker sipping a cold brew totally unaware that my feet and lower legs were being brutally and ruthlessly attacked by what we call in Tennessee no-see-ums. They invaded from every angle in full force, no reserves held back. “Take those feet and legs at all hazards boys.” The attack was a complete success, I put up not an ounce of defense as I came to realize about an hour later. I now have red polka dot feet and ankles and I can’t say I’m sorry to see Clinton Oklahoma in my rear view mirror.
It’s off for two nights in Santé Fe New Mexico. While Oklahoma and Texas seem to be cowboy themed, New Mexico takes on an air of Native Americanism coupled with a Mexican flare. If you move to Santé Fe, I suggest you go into the stucco business. They use it a lot on their adobe style buildings that are everywhere. It’s a great town, friendly people and one I would like to spend more time in.
We went to an interactive art exhibit called Meow Woof. There was a theme; it was something about a family that suddenly and mysteriously vanishes due to perhaps an alien influence. They lived in a regular house but when you crawled through the living room fireplace or the door of the refrigerator you found yourself in a different world. The idea was to discover clues along the way but I was hopelessly clueless. It was a fascinating experience though. Can you find the clue? See what I mean?
The Santé Fe area was home to indigenous people that called themselves the Tanoan. They lived in Pueblo villages along the Rio Grande. These people lived in what is now downtown Santé Fe as early as the year 900. When Texas declared its independence from Mexico they claimed this area and sent an expedition to occupy Santé Fe. The Mexicans easily defeated the small force and this ultimately led to the Mexican War of 1846. This war became the training ground for many men that would become leaders in the Civil War.
When you RV you look for Wal-Marts along the way. The have big parking lots, easy to get in and out and if they don’t have it you don’t need it. In my regular life I would rather take a beating than go to Wal-Mart, but RVing changes a man. We found the country’s tightest Wal-Mart parking lot in Flagstaff Arizona, but through superior skill were able to successfully navigate the maze.
With the larder filled and a night of rest we continued west with a side trip to Petrified Forest National Park. For this Tennessee boy this part of the country looks like a different planet. People have lived in this area for at least 8000 years and by 2000 years ago were growing corn and other crops. Changes in the weather forced many to leave the area, but those that remained developed the Pueblo style of building.
The trees that have been fossilized and make up the Petrified Forest lived about 200 million years ago on the same latitude that Costa Rica is now. They were submerged in mineral laden waters allowing the minerals to replace their organic material and transform them into rocks. When they arrived in what is now Arizona, erosion and other weather patterns exposed them. Because they contain minerals when they are stressed, they break perpendicular to their length and look like they were cut with a saw. To stand among these ancient living things that have been so preserved is indeed a humbling experience.
I am amazed to watch as the American landscape changes as one travels west. The rolling green hills of Tennessee and Arkansas give way to the flat plains of Oklahoma and Texas where trees seem nonexistent. The red soils of New Mexico stain what little water there is and the desert of Arizona seems stark and inhospitable, making it even more impressive that folks have lived there for so long.
We are off to California and Yosemite; a place I have wanted to visit ever since I saw the photographs of Ansel Adams when I was a young teenager. The camera batteries are charged and the spirit is willing, so let’s head into the mountains.
Love to All!