The Event

The reason for this fantastic cross country trip in this beautiful country of ours...

We're here in CA! 350 miles from Tahoe .... we can coast on in

My intrepid chauffeur returns after a pitstop at the western style McDonald's in Lost Pine, CA

 

Winnedumah Hotel (B&B) established in 1927 in Independence, CA
Cattle walking single file kicking up dust from the dried earth
A pleasant surprise of yellow flowers to liven up the desert



Erick Schat's Bakkery, home of Sheepherder Bread , in Bishop, CA
Part of the High Sierras mountain chain



More of the High Sierras ~ Redwoods lining Hwy 395 ~ White prickly poppies a nice contrast against the barren rocky earth

We followed 395 through most of CA ~ Serene setting at the foot of the mountains ~ Love these small mountain towns with their Old Time flavor



Lookee there! We're getting close. That's Lake Tahoe on the left. ~ The Olympic Rings greet us down the road from our hotel, Resort at Squaw Creek, Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe, CA



This must be the place. There's the welcoming banner.

Final stats for the trip ~ today on left and entire trip on right (almost 2000 miles)

Day 2 NM - AZ - CA

Rock formations in the NM desert ~ an Indian village with a church on the hill

Homes in the desert ~ the old and the new

Two fields of yellow flowers separated by a field of salt

A six engine train ~ one can easily see that America moves goods by train...long trains crossing paths

Daily stats ~ We overnighted in Ridgecrest, CA

Special for my friend, Carolyn

Portrait on the side of a building depicting early residents of Muleshoe, Bailey County

I actually had Sneed turn around to find this so I could capture this and query my friend, Carolyn, as to what she'd been up to in Muleshoe....

Sweet Carolyn (sic) you were on my mind

Trip to RROC National Meet, Day 1, TX-NM

We're on the road again...and taking advantage of a different route to snap some photographs of courthouses in the panhandle of Texas. We did do one retake, in Brady, the self-proclaimed "Heart of Texas" as it looked as if it had gotten a new paint job so we took advantage of passing it along the way to get a better photo. So, we actually traveled almost 400 miles before encountering the first courthouse on our list of 5.

L>R from top ~ McCulloch County, Brady - Lubbock County, Lubbock - Hockley County, Levelland - Lamb County, Littlefield - Bailey County, Muleshoe - Parmer County, Farwell

County Jails usually match the old courthouses so we have started added them to our portfolio. L>R Llano County, Llano (courthouse previously photographed) ~ McCulloch County, Brady

As they say, the road goes on forever... ~ Crops and Windmills ~ Crops neatly aligned

Buddy Holly evidently is from Lubbock, and Waylon Jennings from Littlefield

Lo and Behold, what manner of element is befalling us? Can it truly be rain???? - Indeed it was, as was the dust storm that followed.

We also saw two fires ignited from the many lightning strikes

Daily Stats ~ We overnighted in Santa Rosa, New Mexico

Skypeing with Burke and Annemarie

Burke has learned how to hold his teething toy and put it into his mouth

Burke is very curious

  

Dame Carol? No, just Carol

I've met a lot of people doing water exercise at the Y.  About 18 months ago, I met a special lady, Carol, who is from the UK. She was here visiting her son and daughter-in-law and their two daughters, and came to the Y with her daughter-in-law to work out in the pool. She's a nursery school teacher in the UK, but manages to get to Katy about every 3 months or so.  Since I've known her she has received an MBE from the Queen. Fortunately I don't have to address her as Dame as she said she was the same old Carol.

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Carol.  She would be here in August and hoped we'd get to see each other. She'd love to continue coming to the pool, but the Y is no longer allowing guests during regular class time so we have to make other arrangements to meet.  Immediately I replied to find out the dates in August as we would be leaving for Lake Tahoe on the 11th. Our schedules meshed and we were able to enjoy  a coffee at Kosmos across from the Y today. Carol will be back in December (if not sooner) for the birth of her new grandchild. How exciting. Sooo, here we are. 


Carol went home this past weekend. I got this email from her today. What a scary situation.