Friday, Oct 21st, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Greetings!

I remember Bill Clinton claiming that he was from Hope, Arkansas. Don't tell that to the residents of Hot Springs. Signs at the entrances to the town proclaim it to be the boyhood town of the future President. And a 15-minute video playing continuously at the top of the twelve-story observation tower details his life, together with a glass case of memorabilia from his high school years.

Hot Springs National Park was the first national park in America, and has been receiving visitors from all over the world to its reputedly-healing waters since the early 1800's. Bathhouse Row attracted royalty, Presidents, film stars, gangsters, and most of America's wealthy and ailing elders for almost 150 years. As hiking in the park was an integral component of the health regimen, it began the country's pursuit of the outdoors as vital to right living.

We found a beautiful 210-acre garden, maintained by the University of Arkansas, with even some species Pat hadn't seen before, but which was made even more unique by the presence of 1.7 million light bulbs decorating the trees and shrubs in the figures of Christmas scenes. There must have been 500 miles of wires buried throughout, and it's no doubt the playground of an army of retired guys with wives who have said "Bet ya can't make this!" to them for many years. A real treasure for kids and adults who love a fantasyland of lights.

Tomorrow, we'll drive east to view some Toltec Mounds, and then to an RV campground down by a large lake (Lakes in Arkansas, but then, who figured they had hot springs either?).

Here is a link to the remainder of the photos I took today:

Hot Springs, Arkansas

Gregory

Thursday, Oct 20th, Western Arkansas

Greetings!

Who would have thought that Oklahoma and western Arkansas would be so green? What we could see from highway 40 was lots of trees, and rolling hills. By the time we got to the highest point in Arkansas (Mount Magazine, 2,753 feet), the scenic highway we were on was enough to slow us down, and amaze us. Here's a shot from the top:

Tonight, we're at the Cloud Nine RV Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We'll stay here for two nights, checking out the area's highlights. I hope to take some photos, and spend less time in the car. Then, we're headed north and east to visit some Native American ruin sites, and some parks. After a week in Arkansas, we'll head east to Tennessee.

Gregory

Wednesday, Oct 19th, Oklahoma City

Greetings!

Well, it looks like the wind turbine blades have stopped rolling past us as we head east. Our guess is that they must be manufactured somewhere around Amarillo, Texas. There was a huge wind farm near there.

Our internet connection sucks tonight, and Pat is very frustrated not gaining access to a game she loves. Driving all day today, there are only memories of how absolutely flat Texas is. Passing through Amarillo, I had some flashbacks about enduring white glove inspections of our barracks while I was stationed at a training base there for six months in 1966.

The good news is that we have fairly good cable reception, and we'll spend part of the evening planning our entry into Arkansas tomorrow. One of the books we have from the Arkansas Department of Tourism describes a natural state golf course trail, and a Bill Clinton Tour. We'll probably stick to the gardens, historical sites, and the wineries/breweries.

Gregory

Tuesday, October 18th, Santa Rosa Campground, New Mexico

Greetings!

We drove another 500 miles today, and are camped at the Santa Rosa Campground in the center of northeastern New Mexico. I don't remember on previous trips realizing how high New Mexico is. We weren't below 5000 feet all day long, and actually hit 7,000 a couple of times. The mountain rock strata colors are amazingly beautiful. And now we know that the huge wind turbine blades we saw yesterday must be made somewhere east of us, as we saw at least 20 of them being carried on trucks coming at us as we drove east on Hwy 40. I'm going to be curious if this was just a one-day transport blitz of a completed job, or a steady stream to deliver wind power to the west.

A few minutes ago, Pat asked me where we stayed the night after we left San Diego and before last night. Working backward in our minds for a few minutes, including looking at the map and not recognizing any town name, we came to the realization (only by looking at the calendar on our computer) that we were only two days out of San Diego (not three). These have been long days where we only really saw roads, gas stations, and RV parks. I've chosen to only photograph the RV parks, and the rows of customized homes on wheels has been pretty overwhelming.

I'm going to include a link to some photos I forgot to post yesterday from a visit to the Spanish Village near Balboa Park in San Diego. We drove out there on Sunday and walked around some shops where we had once bought some New Mexican pottery.

Spanish Village, San Diego Zoo

Gregory

Monday, Oct 17th, Distant Drums RV Resort

Greetings!

El Centro probably existed when I grew up in San Diego, but I’m sure it wasn’t until the major east-west freeway out of it was named after the town that San Diegans became aware of it. Heading east for Phoenix, we topped off the gas at the first Native American truck stop, and headed to El Centro. Up through ridgeline wind turbines towering over boulder piles scattered along the highway. In one stretch, Imperial and San Diego counties traded border signs six times, and we kept an eye out for what could make each of them care for this arid and isolated area. Something must be happening here, for we saw three new sleek helicopters dangling skyhooks or perched on rock platforms ready for service.

Yuma is 33 miles ahead, and I must have missed seeing the exit to El Centro. I have a feeing that someone from CalTrans probably named the freeway to honor the only thing out here. A few miles further, the road comes to within a half-mile of the U.S. Mexico border, crossing the Rio Grande east of Sand Dunes State Park. Wethe mny who have made the journey across these sands.

We drove all day today, and arrived at Camp Verde, Arizona about 5pm. It's in the middle of the state between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The Distant Drums RV Resort is homebase to a huge collection of enormous RVs, and their owners have been very welcoming. The sunset from the pool deck, as we drank beer and chatted, was spectacular. Would have been better if I'd remembered to bring my camera from the car, but I did find a photo online to show you what it looked like. We were pleased the temperature had dropped to the mid 70's this evening.

Tomorrow, we're aiming to get to somewhere east of Albuquerque. We're hoping the next night we'll be in Arkansas.

Gregory

Saturday, Oct 15th, PLHS Reunion

Mike Russell, Keith Darracq, Alex McDougall, and Blaine Roberts.

Greetings!

The PLHS 45th Anniversary Reunion was held tonight at Nick's at the Pier, and those in attendance had a great time.  My reluctance to take flash photos in the evening light probably doomed a large photo video, but I have some hopes that the several other attendees with cameras caught enough to make an enjoyable collage of our classmates.  I'll post them as I get them to a Picasa album, and send you al a link to it.

Imagine ninety faces whose eyes and smiles haven't changed much in 45 years, now beaming back from bodies which have, but are still holding up.  Small clusters of 4-6 spread all over an upstairs bar sitting our standing with drinks and hors d'oeuvres (a little slow in arriving - sorry), and re-visiting old stories and new rumors.  Will Point Loma really close?  Fortunately, english lit teacher and baseball coach Kermeen (Punkie) Fristrom and his wife were there to straighten us out again.  Though some reorganization may occur in the junior high schools in the area, PLHS will stay the same design and open.

In the end, the comments all seem to include the agreement at some point in the evening that we had a pretty good education.  Sadly, most also agreed that schools in recent years would not be given the same grades.  Many thanks were given to the Reunion organizers for an excellent evening, and all seemed to be encouraging a more robust effort for the 50th.  At least three classmates volunteered to join the Reunion Committee.

Gregory

Oct 14th, PLHS Homecoming

Greetings!

This evening, I went to the PLHS Homecoming game. Kim Melhorn, our favorite Alumni coordinator, stood near the front gate with a Pointer sign she had made today, greeting alums and letting them know there would be a parade at half-time, and that they were invited to participate. I took the opportunity to check in with her about the Reunion, and then went off to see if I could capture the game in photos.

Here's the result. Hope you enjoy it.

PLHS Homecoming Game, Oct 14th, 2011



Gregory