Land of Counterpane

WHEN I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay
To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.

 

 

When I took the above picture in NM.  When I saw this, all I cound think of was a child's poem, The Land  of Counterpane by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Today is Sunday and  I am typing this as we drive down I-40, because I am finally able to use a phone line for 15 minutes tonight, I think.   hope hope It doesn't take much to make me happy folks.  We are in Arkansas and very glad to be out of  Oklahoma.  We has spent the last week dodging thunderstorms hail, flooding andf tornadoes.  I honestly don't know how these people deal with it day after day.  We never turned off our weather alert radio even when we slept.  One morning it went off at 3:30AM.  Good Lord.       Catch you all later. Hey  I forgot, what's going on with the Journal Picks again.   I hear they are at it again.   Been there, done that!

Santa Fe, NM.

Sunday April 18th    The Miracle Staircase        We are still in Albuquerque but took a ride to Santa Fe about 1 hr away.  One of the things we were interested in was the Loretto Chapel.  It is best know  for the legend of its "miraculous staircase."  It seems that the Sisters of Loretto asked in a novena for a carpenter who could build them a spiral choir staircase for a small fee.  This carpenter appeared at their door and agreed to build the staircase.  He used a saw, hammer, carpenters square, wood and hot water to bend the wood.  No nails were used and it is considered an engineering marvel.  It was built without center or side supports.   When it was finished the carpenter vanished without pay.   We visited several shops and art galleries all in Old Town.   There was also another old interesting church there.  It was the San Miguel Church which is the oldest church structure in the USA.   The original adobe and alter were built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico in 1610.   After all that walking around I was to tired to cook and was forced to go out to dinner.  LOL     When we got back the office was still open and I was able to post my journal notes from Friday.   We are staying here until Tuesday.  Maybe  I'll be able to post this Monday.
 

25 Random facts

John Scalzi of By The Way has given us an assignment to list 25 random facts about ourselves. So, here are mine.  

 1.  My  closest  friend Esmarelda  is a witch.
2.  I know that  Pepsi is the drink of the Gods.
3.  I once hit a police cruiser with my future father-in-laws car.
4.  My favorite drink is a frozen key lime margaretta.
5.  I have been on several drug raids with CID. 6.  I have everything I want except a grandchild.
7.  I once got shingles in my eye.
8.  My favorite shoes are flip flops.
9.  I saw a UFO and was it  investagated by the University of Colorado and the  police chased it!
10.  I am not blessed with a lot of patience.
11. The smartest thing I ever did was to marry Bob.
12. In high school I was the leader of the baton squard.
13. I am considered by some to be affluent homeless.
14. I saw Johnny Ray cry.
14. George W. is my favorite cowboy.
15. While in high school I was a soda jerk.
16. I retired 4 years ago this month.
17. I  am left handed but was forced to write with my right hand.
18. When I was 15, I bought a car for $1 at a local dealership advertising first one in line buys it for $1.
19. I was once considered a good dancer.
20. I would like to be able to speak Spanish.
21. I like a good horror movie.
22. Not everyone knows this, but I have my own police issue handcuffs.
23. I love to sing, but can't carry a tune.  My children would go to sleep when I stopped singing.
24. I have 2 neices older than me.
25. I enjoy journaling and the new friends I have made.       

Meteor Crater, Petrified Forest & Painted Desert

Friday  Meteor Crater, The Petrified Forest and The Painted Desert   Some 50,000 years ago, a brilliant meteor hurtling about 35,000 miles per hour passed through our atmosphere and in a blinding flash struck the rocky plain with a force more than 20 million tons of TNT. And within a few seconds it left this giant bowl shaped cavity.  This crater is still in the middle of no where.  The topographical terrain of this area so closely resembles that of the earth's moon and other planets, NASA designated it as an official training site for all Apollo astronauts. From there we drove to the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert, which is a National Park.  We were listening to the radio, country music with the host and commercial in the language of Navajo. It was a scenic drive with snow capped mountains on the high plains, elevation about 6000. The  28 mile park road has lots of overlooks and parking areas with access to hiking trails.    Some  of the most colorful petrified wood deposits found in the park were in The Giant Logs Trail.  They ask that you stay on the designated trails and leave everything as you found it.   Our next stop is Gallup, N.M.  Catch you all later.

The Meteor Crater is so big that 20 football games could be played at the same time on this crater floor, while over two million fans watch from the sloping walls of the impact site.  550 feet deep and 4,100 feet across.

 Distinct white layers are sandstone. The cap is clay.  Dark layers are caused by high carbon content.  Darker reds are iron-stained siltstone.  Sorry don't have time to describe each picture.

Desert dwellers

  While we were  having our coach serviced we had a little time to spare and thought you might like to see some of the beautiful desert dwellers we have here in the Spring in the park.  There is a large  selection of colors just bursting open.   The coach was ready for us before 11am.  We traveled to Flagstaff AZ. arriving there by 3pm.  Were planning on staying here two days to see the Meteor Crator and  the Petrified  Forest.   So here I sit writing off line as we have no phone service here.  But, when I get to a phone line I'll be ready.  You all behave yourselves.      Later   So much more to show you all but time  has run out.

So long for now.

Well we are just about ready to leave.  All cabinets have been neatly packed, bikes are on the car rack,  awnings are up, tow bars attatched, motor home sparkles,  and outside furniture put away.  All we have left to do is disconnect the water and electricity.    Thursday we have an appointment to have an oil change and general tune up on the motor home early in the morning.  So we will sleep there tonight night so as to be on time.  They have elec. and water available for us.   Most of our friends have already gone with only a handful left here to say good-bye to.  It's hard saying so long, but our adventure calls.   Our first stop will be in  Flagstaff, AZ. where we will see the Meteor Crater.  After that we want to see the Petrified Forest. And then on to Santa  Fa.   We will post as often as possible and hope you all will continue to drop in and say hello.

Odd Project

Here's an odd project that several journals are promoting today:

1.  Grab the nearest book
2. Open the book to page 23
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

1. The nearest book is Crossing America
2. Page 23 shows a map of the mid 19th -century Pony Express      
    route connecting Midwest and West.
3. The constituency for such governmental action grew larger with
     each passing decade.    Sorry this is kind of boring, but this was
     the nearest book tonight.
4. Done

 So lets continue this experiment.  What book is closest to you?

 

 

Getting ready to leave AZ.

Easter morning we went to a Easter Brunch here at the park.   They had  the tables all set up around the pool.  Decorationed floats pilled high with Easter eggs, live music, good friends and a bunny handing out eggs filled with candies.  What else could a couple of nomads want?   Later that day we were invited to our friend Inez's house for Easter dinner.  We are so blessed.   Today we are having the coach washed and waxed by three young ambitious gals and I must say it's the best job we have had done.  You all know how detailed women are!  When they are finished we will take one last trip down to the pool .

Christ the Lord is Risen Today

The empty cross symbolizes Jesus' Resurrection, which will be celebrated Sunday all over the world.  

  Click here                                           He Is Risen He Is Not Here

"Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God’s throne! Jesus Christ our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvatio

 

 

Happy Easter

http://www.jacquielawson.com/viewcard.asp?code=7657533490

                     

Laughlin, Nevada

 

Laughlin is a casino town 90 miles southeast of Las Vegas and just  about 5 hours from Mesa.  It is nestled on the banks of the Colorado River in the Nevada desert.   It boast the usual attractions as golf, spas, shows, and a wedding chapel or two.  Unlike Vegas you can find Crap tables and Blackjack tables for $1.  The big poker games are often Texas Hold'em.  Something for everyone, as the saying goes. We enjoyed  the Riverwalk with little shops along the way and a sandy beach.  There were river cruises, jet boat rides and water taxis.  There was also a London Bridge Jet Boat Tour to Lake Havasu to see the famed bridge. Lastly there was the "Losers Lounge".   Tuesday night was "Sin Night" and Wednesday was Ladies Night Out & Kill the Keg Party!  I guess they call this drowning your sorrows.

 

Utah

Our trip to Utah included Salt Lake, Topez Relocation Camp and a copper mine.
My main interest was to do some family research at the Family History Center.  Salt Lake has the world's largest repository of genealogical records. Where every your family came from, you can find information here.
The next stop was  the Topez Relocation Camp museum.  For thousands of Americans, Topaz was home during World War II, but not by choice. The United States government, caught up in the hysteria of war, forcibly rounded up its own citizens and locked them away in a desolate corner of Utah. Their crime was being of Japanese descent.  Maya Angelou said  " History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
Lastly we visited the  Bingham Canyon mine.  It  is the world's largest open-pit copper mine, measuring 0.5 miles deep and 2.5 miles wide. For perspective, the world's tallest building, the Sears Tower, is l,454 feet tall and would reach only half way up the side of the pit.  It's quite a sight..
Tomorrow morning we are going to Laughlin NV. for a few days.   Have a good week. Catch you when we get back.