TGJFRTO of 2012 - Day 4

Sunday.  After breakfast at the hotel, and a little family church service (with a rather restless congregation), we got on the road.  My goal of minimal technology so we could watch all the lovely scenery has only been partly realized, since I guess even after a while mountains get a little boring.

Of course, we did the requisite family photos (sans me, of course, since I was the photographer) by the "Welcome to **enter name of state here**" signs. And stumbled across a town having a fair so stopped to play at the playground and let the boys do the "bubble" ride, which consists of crawling into giant clear plastic bubbles, which are then inflated, sealed, and rolled into a pool of water where the inhabitant spins, attempts to walk, but mostly flops like a giant human hamster. Good times.

We ate lunch at KFC.  Not that that's particularly exciting, but I happened to receive a text from a friend with a picture with of their KFC, assuming it was her Sunday lunch, and it prompted cravings among some of the passengers in our vehicle. (And maybe the driver too.) Turns out the text was from her trip to Kenya and was weeks old.  Don't know what that has to do with anything, but I thought it was funny.  And I don't need to eat there again anytime soon. 

The drive through Colorado was beautiful and Utah has some amazing rock formations. I totally get why folks in this part of the country are so into all their outdoor activities.  In fact, our waiter tonight (Blue Pig Barbecue, in case you're interested) told us Moab is the mountain biking capital of the world. Good to know. Still not doing it. 

Good night. 

TGJFRTO of 2012 - Day 3

Saturday morning we left El Paso headed for Albuquerque.  At one point traffic was diverted off the freeway by the Border Patrol and an officer with a large German Shepherd circled the car; fortunately for us, it was not trained to sniff out dirty camp laundry.  And the Border Agent at the guardhouse took our word for it that we are all American citizens.  Go figure.  (Could it have been our glow-in-the-dark complexions or the fact that we travel like the Clampetts, but without the rocking chair?)

We stopped in Truth or Consequences for gas, bathroom, and lunch. I don't know why it's called that...that would necessitate doing a google search.  We scored with customer appreciation day at Sonic and fed the five of us for $14. (Yeah, I know it's not organic, grass-fed, or sprouted, but I find that when we're on the road I forgo some of my high-falutin food philosophies.)

After checking in, we headed to the Sandia Peak aerial tram and took a 15 minute ride from the base (6559 ft) to the peak (10358 ft). If you don't like heights , do not get on this tram. Surrounded by windows, hanging from a couple of steel cables, with the occasional sway back-and-forth from the wind, looking down at the boulders and sheer drops below....  But the view from the top is amazing. And the temp 20 degrees cooler. Which we Texans appreciated. We hiked around up there for a while (avoiding the edge like the plague, cause nothing will put a damper on a vacation like someone plummeting down a mountain),  checked out the closed-for-the-season chair lifts on the back side of the mountain, and then trammed back down. Which was not as knot-in-the-stomach-inducing as the ride up...I assume because we weren't smack in the front of the tram car.

Next we stopped at Trader Joe's to pick up some stuff for dinner.  (And some stuff not for dinner.)  (Chocolate-covered almonds and dark chocolate mint creams, anyone?)

Historic Route 66 also winds through a stretch of Albuquerque, and is lit up with neon lights, but unfortunately for us, they were either out of service or not on yet when we drove it at dusk. Also, it's a rather eclectic-artsy-sketchy part of town with lots of vintage (and some just plain old) style motels, restaurants and other businesses (slightly reminiscent of the Montrose area at home) so not really conducive to stopping with three boys for photo ops.

And we capped off the night by doing laundry.  Finally.  And our noses rejoiced.

Tomorrow, Moab, UT. 

TGJFRT of 2012 - Day 2

M & I woke up to rain in Fort Davis. Which made me wish I'd hit up the Historical Site the day before, but whatevs...we headed there after breakfast anyway. Fort Davis was an army post on the old San Antonio-El Paso Road during the 1800s. The army barracks have been restored and many of the old buildings, or in some cases the foundations, still remain. It also happened to be Junior Ranger day so M strung warrior beads and scored a Junior Ranger patch. From there we headed to Buffalo Trails Scout Ranch to pick up J and the boys. BTSR is back up the highway the way we'd come about 25 miles, then another 12 miles on a winding ranch road heading into the mountains. Oh, and did I mention the loose livestock? And the low spots where water may be running over the road from the week's rains? Cause, yeah, they have flash floods out there when it rains a lot. The first low spot was only about 300 yards off the highway, with water over the road. After reversing all the way back to the highway and weighing my options, which were few, I went back, got out, looked it over, and hoping the flood gauge by the side of the road was accurate, decided to try it...praying all the while. Oh, and absolutely no cell phone connection either, so no way to call if something happened. But, it was fine...as were the four or five other low spots. Needless to say, since it was still drizzling and looked like more rain was expected when we arrived, we did not stay for the scenic tour. We arrived in El Paso that afternoon, got settled into the hotel, and set out in search of the laundry room, because, hello, stinky camp clothes. Sadly, none was to be found, so the "no shoe removal" rules have been implemented until stink remediation has occurred. Also, I forgot a toothbrush or two at home (well, I forgot one; an unnamed scout forgot the other) but what's a road trip without a stop at the Walmarts, right? J's nephew, wife and kids also live in El Paso (at least for one more week...how's that for good timing?) so we met them for dinner at - what else? - a Mexican food restaurant. Isn't that what you eat in El Paso? I've got some tired guys on my hands, so bedtime will be much welcomed tonight. Tomorrow, on to Albuquerque.

The Great Jones Family Trip of 2012 - Day One

Seven-year-old M and I hit the road Thursday morning to begin our portion of The Great Jones Family Road Trip of 2012. Two almost miraculous things occurred in the launching of this journey, one of which is that I left with my house clean upon departure. It's always my goal to arrive home to order and cleanliness after a vacation; it just so rarely happens. As I am not always known for my early rising habits, the other borderline miraculous event was that I actually managed to get up at 5:00 am and pull out of the driveway at 6:07. I wanted to leave plenty of time for stops on our long drive to West Texas to pick up DH and the two big brothers who had left the Saturday before for a week of Boy Scout camp. I was a little nervous about the gas situation - it goes fast in a gas-guzzling SUV and there's not a lot to choose from when you're Deep in the Heart of Nowhere - so to be safe, we stopped to fuel up just about every time the gas gauge got below a half a tank. (And we may or may not have gotten a snack or two while we were at it.) After nine hours hauling west on I-10 (and you gotta love the 80 MPH speed limit out there), we finally exited at Balmoreah and stopped at the state park to check out the spring and pool there. Scuba divers in deep west Texas...who'd a thought? From there it was south to Fort Davis, which I though was a cute little town. Kind of in the middle of stinking nowhere, like everything else, but quaint. We got settled in our room (up narrow wooden stairs, no elevator) and ate dinner at the Fort Davis Drugstore. I was a little concerned about leaving some of our luggage in the car, but when I asked a woman if it would be safe, she said she didn't lock her car or her house. (And guess who's not from a big city?) Next on the agenda - is it just me or has this day been forever long? - we headed up into the Davis Mountains to a Star Party at the McDonald Observatory, where we were meeting up with the scouts. To say that M was happy to see J and the boys is an understatement. The night was quite cloudy, but thankfully it cleared up enough to get a good look at the moon and Saturn. And, finally, a little past midnight, blessed sleep back at our hotel.... More tomorrow as the vacation adventure continues....