May 27-29, 2005 Most Recent Posts:
Tuesday – Thursday The Impressive Millicent Rogers Museum
Traveling East I Took the Low Road and the High Road
TAOS VALLEY RV PARK
Taos New Mexico
It was a sad pull out at 11 am from this site at Taos Valley RV Park. I could have easily stayed another 2 weeks or maybe a month if money were no object.
SANTA ROSA RV PARK
Santa Rosa New Mexico
Arrived 178 miles later without incident at the Santa Rosa RV Park on route 40 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico where the site was so unlevel that I didn’t put the slides out. I’m only here for a night and don’t want to take the car off to jack the rig to level. The park has a BBQ restaurant so I took advantage of it for dinner. It was fine. Not great but easy and close for those without a car.
Took a walk around and around the RV park the next morning and quit at 6000 steps. The land around the park is undeveloped so there were some lovely wildflowers (aka weeds to some).
I think this is tree chola cactus. I don’t think of cactus as trees.
I love the way it grows.
I wish I were going to be near one to see it bloom.
Being unfamiliar with desert plants, I have no idea what all was blooming here beside the RV park in New Mexico. If you know, please identify.
Love the bark and the prickly pear.
OASIS RV PARK
Amarillo, Texas
On Wednesday, I headed into Texas where I lost an hour coming into Central Time. 158 miles to Oasis RV Park on the west side of Amarillo. Oasis is big and like an upscale parking lot. Few trees. Lots of sites in rows. Each site is a wide concrete square with blacktop front and back ends. $59 a night during the week, $62 weekends. Seems like a lot for what it is but it’s full hookups. I’ll be here 3 nights.
On the way here I saw an old metal windmill like I imagine Auntie Em had at her farm. It was surrounded by rows and rows of wind turbines. How things have changed. Wish I could have gotten that picture but, I was driving. A real drawback of not being just the navigator. I miss you David.
Sadly, I also saw and smelled cattle pens LOTS of them right along the highway, still I-40, with cattle standing in what from the horrific smell could only have been above the ankle deep manure. No green anywhere. It was sickening. The smell was in the RV for over an hour afterwards. How can we eat beef or chicken or pork knowing how these animals are kept in their own waste? I had a grain bowl with tofu for dinner.
The next morning, Thursday, I was up early to stop by the famous or infamous Cadillac Ranch on my way to Palo Duro Canyon.
The “Ranch” is literally right along Highway.
The out of control spray paint started on the I-40 service road used for parking.
I struggled to see why it is such an “event” for anyone other than teens with spray paint cans. I thought it was ugly and stupid. What was beautiful was the waving fields of grain surrounding it and being spray painted by children who need parental supervision.
I could hardly tell they were cars.
The closer I got, the even less they looked like cars or trucks maybe?? I picked the costume clad beaver painter to follow.
Clearly she thinks this is fun.
I guess you have to paint every one until your can is empty??
Not sure why they wanted to paint the ground? Use up the can?
I wondered if a friend had painted her hair with the yellow that was in her can or if she had done it herself.
I seen enough after perhaps 10 minutes and turned around in the Cadillac Diner to head toward Palo Duro Canyon. Seems there is no shortage of Cadillacs. Wonder how long it will be before sprayers will come in the dark to “decorate” these.
Definitely Texas. He was several stories tall.
Does this mean we should all be able to own an AK47?
I chose this stop in Amarillo to revisit Palo Duro Canyon which I had loved when David and I visited in 2011. For a blast from the past, you can see that post here. I had always wanted to return. It was a place that inspired O’Keeffe when she lived and taught art for a few years in nearby Canyon Texas. The town is the closest to the Palo Duro. She frequently visited and painted the canyon. It deserves its own post. Coming up next.
The low growing purple wildflower is a verbena. In central Texas, when I grew up they were called "sweet william." Why, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that information Judith. I love that they are called sweet William even if you don't know why.
DeleteWe stayed in Amarillo several times. Went to the stupid spray-painted Cadillacs just to say we did. Really enjoyed Palo-Duro canyon, just lovely. I've always enjoyed desert flowers, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Laurie. The Cadillacs were definitely a waste of time
DeleteOn a good note, I was able to see the photos on the phone by pressing and holding the image icons so I could see your post from the phone yesterday. However I do not even attempt to write a decent comment with my thumbs on the phone. The orange flower is desert orange globemallow a plant that is very prolific in the red rock country of Utah where I first identified it. The purple flower is Desert Sand Verbena, a plant that covers the hills around Desert Hot Springs and many areas around the desert toward Yuma. I had no idea it was in New Mexico as well. The cholla is a weird one I would have to see in person to identify. We had never stopped at the Cadillacs on our way east along this route. Now I am very glad we made that choice. Palo Verde Canyon is a favorite stopover for Jeanne and Alan from Vermont as they travel west every year. They love that place. We have only seen it from the Visitor Center view along the interstate with thoughts that we might someday visit, although we have lost the desire to travel I-10 or I-40 or I-70 across the country every again. I will miss Florida but not the 10 and all tthe horrid road surface for much of that route. We stayed at a free campground just north of Amarillo once, It was a city park with hookups and we really liked it.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand your feeling about I10 particularly and I40. I hated them both. Unfortunately there isn't any way to get West without them. It's been a while since I took i70 so I don't remember it and I'm sorry to hear you include it among those you avoid. Thanks for the mention of the city park. Should I go back that way I may well want to go to Palo duro again and if so I think I'll try to camp somewhere closer to the Canyon and not bother with Amarillo. Thanks for the flower Ids I figured you could do it.
DeleteIt's great that Winona is designed in a way that allows you to live with her slides in when necessary! The orange globemallow is my favorite desert flower, but we don't get any of it in our area :-( The butter yellow blooms on the beavertail are so lovely, they look like roses! I would never go back to Wall Drug, but had to stop so we could say we did. Same with the Cad Ranch I guess. But for folks who want to spray paint stuff, be a tiny piece of "road trip history", and get some fun photos, I'm glad they have this safe and limited space to make it happen. We used to laugh at ourselves when we "didn't get" why people found certain things entertaining: "They're doing fun wrong!" was our lament :-)) Looking forward to seeing your Palo Duro visit!
ReplyDeleteI so admire your attitude Jodee. I thought it was silly and didn't really understand but it was okay . I just wish they would stick to the cars which you can hardly tell her cars anymore with so many layers of paint. I wasn't happy that they were spray painting, the really beautiful grasses or wheat or whatever that was. We never did do Wall drug. One of the best things about that campground was the wild area that had not been landscaped all around it.
DeleteI often wonder if there are any cars left under all that paint. One can only wonder what the attraction is to paint something like that. A terrible waste of perfectly good paint. At least you got a chance to stretch your legs and see a "beaver" in the desert. :cD
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Paul. Where else could I see a beaver in the desert. Love your cheery happy spin on everything!
DeleteI love the desert flowers. So beautiful! I remember a time when I couldn’t imagine anything in a desert being beautiful, but my first trip to the desert changed my mind. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Pam!. Thanks so much for your comment. I was really pleasantly surprised to see so many flowers around the edges of a very ordinary RV park, simply because they hadn't mowed everything down.
DeleteThe things people enjoy... seems like that painting cars (and the road) event is quite popular. That would not be something that would interest me either - as I recall us often saying..."to each their own." Texas is definitely unique. Nice to see the flowers around the park in NM and that not everything was cleared and concrete.
ReplyDeleteIt's mostly teenagers of course doing the painting.
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