We visited the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, TX.  There were so many beautiful designs and colors of flowers and plants.  In the bottom picture are egrets--the swamp and bayou environment attracts a lot of birds.  It was a wonderful walk through the Gardens and the weather was pleasant today, about 76 degrees, a little cooler than the past few days. am

If you were to go to The Alamo and stop there you would have missed the best part. The big event happened at San Jacinto TX outside of Houston about a month later in 1836. There on that battlefield, with the words "remember (the massacre at) The Alamo" the Soldiers under the command of Sam Houston defeated a larger Mexican Army under Santa Anna in a decisive 18 minute battle that changed the eventual face of America. There is a very cool monument and museum on the site. And the coolest was walking in the grove with the handful of grave markers of the men who gave their lives on that day to give us nearly 1/4 of the United States that we know. It was very, very cool to be there and to understand how all this affected our lives today.

We drove from Fort Worth to Llano TX on Saturday. There, I met a man who was my age that told me he had not seen it rain in the place where he lived in West Texas until he was eight years old. That was during the second dust-bowl period.
Sunday we attended the Fredericksburg Branch, and then visited the National Museum of the Pacific War. I was so impressed. The thing that I wanted to see most of all there was the place where Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz grew up. He is a hero to me and he served as CINCPAC during the war. That is Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command. During my Navy career, I served on that same staff numerous times and was assigned to a Reserve unit that supported CINCPAC.
We then stayed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio for two nights. The photo of me is on the Parade Field at Lackland AFB and behind me is a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft - the very aircraft that our family flew from Hawaii to Guam on in 1957. It was also the same kind of aircraft that was in Dad's squadron in Hawaii and Guam. This was on the same Parade Field that our daughter, Robyn, graduated from Air Force Recruit Training. We also visited The Alamo and that was way cool to understand how that historic event played a big part in the formation of our present-day United States.
Today, we drove to Corpus Christi and then on to Port Lavaca TX. My Dad had orders to Corpus Christi in 1960; but got them changed to Oak Harbor. I wanted to see what the place was like and what might have been. Surprisingly, we loved the place.
The photo of Ann is in front of the Fulton Mansion in Rockport TX . The thing that I found cool about the place was that George Fulton collected rainwater for use in the house and had a cistern four times larger than mine - and that was in 1877.  The house had running water and flush toilets.
And some have asked what has been our favorite places or things to do and see. Well, my answer is that I have loved every minute of the trip so far and every place and thing we have done. But the best part of the trip, for me, has been being with Ann on vacation now for almost two months. She is the best and I love her all to pieces. rm

Today we spent the day with Tom & Char Spencer formerly of Edmonds. We had the best time ever. We went and watched the Longhorn cattle drive in the Fort Worth Stockyard historic district where cowboys drove the cattle down the middle of the street. Too cool! Then we went and visited the Mint and while we were there for a one hour tour they produced $16 million in currency. It was pretty cool too. Then we were introduced to our first experience with Texas dry rub style ribs at the Feed Store BBQ - a most famous rib joint in Southlake. The food was exceptional and the company too. rm

We were pleased to have spent the last two days with our daughter, Dawn in Fort Worth. We went hiking at the Eagle Mountain County Park, had lunch at Joe T. Garcia's, one of the most famous Tex-Mex restaurants anywhere - in credible. Then we had dinner at another equally famous places - Babe's. They serve only Chicken Fried Chicken and Chicken Fried Steak. Absolutely marvelous! Being with her was great, and with her boyfriend, Bobby, shown above with us at Babe's. But the very best was for Ann to have stayed over with Dawn for a slumber party one night!

Yesterday we visited Fort Gibson, OK and stayed at Gore, OK. Fort Gibson was a fort that was the last way-point in southern water-route of the Trail of Tears - the forced relocation of the Cherokee tribes to Oklahoma. The fort which was a recreation of the original was interesting; but to me the interesting part was the field beside the fort where the Indians would have encamped. This is where we ate our lunch. Interestingly, the Indian Relocation Act was signed in 1830.
The photo of me standing by the door is inside the Presbyterian church in Norman, OK, very near the University of Oklahoma. Inside that door was where our family, one other family, one or two University of Oklahoma students and one or two Sailors would hold Sacrament meeting. We were a dependent branch of a Branch. The final photo is of the Stake Center in Norman - the outgrowth of those humble beginnings. Interestingly, this is the same building design as the Stake Center I helped to build when I served as a Building Missionary in Upland, CA. rm

Today, Sunday, was another day that I have been looking forward to for about 20 years. We returned to Oklahoma City and Norman Oklahoma. We started the day by attending the Oklahoma 1st Ward - a friendly ward and the successor to the Oklahoma Branch that I belonged to from 1952-55. I lived in Norman in the little white house at 604 Iowa Street. It hasn't changed much. The photo at the top is of the church building in Oklahoma City where we attended for Sunday School on Sunday mornings. At that time even though we had a building it was only a Branch. The photo is of the building as I remember it. It has since been torn down and replaced with a new school. However, they kept the top of the spire and placed in on the new building. The photo at the bottom is of the back of the Presbyterian church building in Norman, OK, where we rented a classroom in order to hold a Sacrament Meeting. For that tiny dependent branch of a branch there were only two families, a few Sailors stationed nearby and a few university student. It was sooooooo cool to visit those places again. rm
Ps. Once, President Henry Eyring's father visited our family in that humble home on Iowa Street. He was very kind and spoke with me as though I was a grown up.

Liberal, Kansas is the town where Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz lived so we saw a replica of Dorothy's House, the Yellow Brick Road and the Tin Man.  Then we continued toward El Reno, Oklahoma and on the way we passed a historical marker showing where the Run of 1890 and 1892 started when the people rushed to stake a claim on a 160 acre homestead in Oklahoma.  This was something Richard was very anxious to see and to be there to feel how it might have been.  In El Reno (very near Oklahoma City) we again were able to travel along historic Route 66.  It's especially thrilling for Richard since his family traveled this route when he was young, moving from Oklahoma to California. We had a pleasant day enjoying the green rolling hills and lack of wind, refreshing after the crazy wind yesterday. (Ann)

(Richard) In the land rush the Sooners were the ones who sneaked in early and staked their claim and the Boomers were the ones who followed the rules, waiting for the cannon to go off before they left to stake their claim.  When we stopped at the Chisholm Trail Museum we met a man whose Grandfather staked a claim and then lived 7 years in a dugout.

Yesterday and today were all about places in the center of the "Dust Bowl". We had read the book The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan about those who stayed and endured the period. I had to see the place for myself - and as it turned out we got to totally feel the place too. The wind blew relentlessly the whole time we were there and carried tons of dust aloft. Ann thought it was creepy. The three cities we visited were: Dalhart TX, Boise OK and Liberal KS. The photo in the center is of the typical dugout that the homesteaders lived in for the first year or so. This one was a real one that had been used. Inside it was about 8' x 12', had rough walls and a dirt floor. A family of five lived in it.
The photo of the combine was where it was left in the field when the dust bowl and a ruined market caused the homesteader to finally leave. Often as not, the banks would not even go and collect the piece of machinery that was defaulted on because they had too many already and there was no market for the equipment. All in all is was a very sad time and we got a good feel for the experience. Boise City (pronounced boys city) had an incredible museum.  We were in 4 states today-Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Here are the amateur spelunkers (cave explorers) Richard & Ann in Carlsbad Caverns. Holy smokes it was sooooo cool. I cannot imagine that I might not have ever gone there to see this marvel. It was awe inspiring.
We ended the day in Clovis NM and passed landscape the included many of the old windmills that are still working today.

On Sunday we attended the Cherry Hills Ward in Albuquerque and then visited Old Town. Monday we drove to Alamogordo NM and stopped at the road that leads to the Trinity site where the first atomic bomb was detonated that ultimately saved a million lives. Later, we visited the Space Museum in Alamogordo and also White Sands National Monument nearby. And we stayed at Holloman Air Force Base. A great day on the road.

Today, Saturday, we drove from Gallup to Albuquerque. This is a city with a very old and varied background. We visited the wonderful Museum of Art and then went to Mary & Tito's restaurant. We shared a unique dish called a turnover. Actually it is a Sopaipilla that is rolled as a tortilla with all the stuff inside and then fried in oil. It was incredible. Then we had some Mexican wedding cake with lots of pineapple pieces in it. Mary herself, 88, came by to talk with us. Her husband, Tito, was the force behind opening the restaurant and originated the turnover. They have been in business for 50 years. What fun.

Here I am "standing on a corner" beside a bronze statue of Don Henley "in Winslow Arizona" with the mural behind me of a "woman driving a flatbed Ford slow'en down to take a look at me." A little tribute to the Eagles song that put Winslow back on the map. To my right is Route 66. And on the street in front of me is the red flatbed Ford that is depicted in the mural. Pretty cool. My eyes are closed in the photo because of the wind - at least 40 MPH. Turns out the wind blows a lot in Winslow.
Tonight we are in Gallup NM and had the most wonderful dinner of what is called a Navajo taco. At the base is Indian fry-bread. Yum. rm

We were in Phoenix area on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We visited Wendy Hutchison-Wagner, her husband John, daughter, Rachel and son, Clark. in Gilbert.  The top picture is of Wendy and Ann.  We had a great visit.  They moved to Arizona from Edmonds and it had been a long time since we had seen them.

We stayed in Sun Lakes with Ursula and Dean Masters, our good friends who used to live in Edmonds too (bottom photo).  We had a wonderful time with them and enjoyed the nice warm weather. am

The middle photo is of my multi-talented younger brother, Michael. He is the only person I know who has stood atop Mount Everest. Here we are standing in front of his two airplanes. The second one, that is not so obvious in the photo, is of a Glassair III that he has been building. The wing is below the fuselage of the twin and you can see the left side of the Glassair III fuselage suspended in the air behind me. When finished it will be a real screamer. We had an outstanding visit. rm

Between Williams and Kingman we stopped at the Seligman Sundries in Seligman which was a general store, mostly a gift and memorabilia store with lots of 1950's merchandise on display.  It was a trading post and soda fountain since 1904--Ted's Fountain & Trading Post until 2007 when it was renamed by the new owners.  We had a delicious hand made chocolate malt and stayed 45 minutes talking to the owners.

Monday, we traveled on historic Route 66 from Williams, AZ to Kingman, AZ. The photo of the road is what I remember from 1955. I was 10 years old and our family was moving from Norman, OK to Hawaii. We traveled on Route 66 to Los Angeles, stopped at the brand-new Disneyland, the brand-new LDS Temple in Los Angeles and visited some relatives in Oakland, CA on our way to Hawaii. It was so fun to be there again and see Burma-shave signs too.
I also remember carrying a canvas water bag tied to the bumper of the car - water evaporates from the canvas and cools the water inside to a tolerable temperature.
The picture above is of a centerpiece in one of the two museums in Kingman. It depicts the plight of the Okys who traveled Route 66 from all over the depression and dust bowl times and places hoping for a better life in California. The scene ripped my heart out. Reading about those times is one thing. Seeing what it actually would have looked like was quite another.

Before we left Bluff, we drove out on the highway to photograph grooves carved in the sandstone by the original San Juan Mission pioneer wagons. The photo at the top is of one of the original wagons that helped carve those grooves. The hardest part of their journey was through a place called Hole in the Rock. They had to use dynamite and picks to carve a trail through a fissure in the canyon wall that would take their wagons down an incline that in the space of three quarters of mile lost two thousand feet in altitude. The only team of animals that would venture down with the first wagon were blind. Incredible!
We then traveled to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and then on to Williams, AZ - the very last town bypassed by the intestate highway along Route 66.

Saturday was the perfect example of the benefit of planning for only 150 miles traveled in a day. We started out from our campsite on the Colorado River and when we drove into Blanding, UT, we turned in to a Visitor's Center. There we learned of The Edge of the Cedars State Park in the other end of town. There is an excavation of a Kiva, a round room where Pueblo Indians held ceremonies 700 years ago. We were allowed to actually crawl down into the structure. We then learned about Hovenweep (deserted valley in Pueblo Indian language)National Monument about 60 miles out of our way - so we went there too. It was awesome.
We ended the day in Bluff, UT where the San Juan Mission pioneers arrived in 1880. It was one of the hardest journeys ever through some of the most treacherous terrain imaginable. The photo above is of the inside of one of the original cabins. Later Saturday evening I got to meet the grandson of the builder of the cabin and learned that his father was born in the cabin. I also learned that you can find stone Pueblo Indian structures in any direction you set out from Blanding, UT.

On Friday, we visited Arches National Park near Moab, UT. What a dramatic place - everywhere you look there are the coolest natural formations. On one of our hikes, Ann agreed to return on a primitive trail. So cool! The middle photo and the one just above is of our campsite along the Colorado River. I had just finished grilling the rib eye steaks and we were sitting down for dinner. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful to listen to the river.