I had a long drive over the weekend – went up to Colorado Springs to visit Harold, the guy who built the Black Canyon Railroad (see the tab in the header). While I was “In the area” I took an hour and a half drive up to Longmont to spend some time to visit with my cousin, who has been fighting juvenile diabetes since the age of 15. That was 47 years ago. I’m glad I got the chance to spend time with Bev and her husband, George. I may not get another chance.

Sunrise August 31, 2013 at Joseph City

Clouds at Window Rock

More Window Rock

I really like this stretch of I-40 and the rock formations.

East of Santa Fe on I-25

South of Raton, NM

On top of Raton Pass. It had been a long time since I came into Colorado via this route, it’s still as beautiful as ever.

Real Mountains

Real Weather. Can you believe that when it rains there, the temperature actually drops quite a bit?

Sunday Morning on the Front Range

Stadium for some kind of military school in the area … 😉

Cimarron Street in Colorado Springs, it got dark and rainy after this so I quit taking pictures while I was driving.

A bonus was driving by and confirming a childhood home in Longmont. Saw it, recognized it, and had a flood of memories come crashing back in. So overwhelmed I forgot to take pictures.

Since the trip, I’ve gotten back into updating the genealogy here on the site. I’ll be making updates now and again.

Well, I’ve probably chewed your ear enough for a while.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my friend Greybeard calls time on a motorcycle “Two Wheeled Therapy.” Not sure that I was doing it correctly, he came all the way out to Arizona to conduct a one-on-one session. I borrowed Pastor’s Shadow, and he rode the BMW that he had originally given to his son (but recently swapped out with a Suzuki. Hmmm. You think maybe that was the reason for the trip? Naaaahhh ….)

Yesterday afternoon, after I had wrapped up my work, we met at the Flying J on the west side of Phoenix (I-10 and 67th Ave.). After the initial meeting-and-greeting, we got on the interstate and headed west, to exit 103 (or, as Greybeard puts it, “halfway to California”). We stopped at that station, so he could top off his tank, and we headed north, made a couple of jogs, and then started relaxing on a two-lane road winding it’s way through the desert south of Wickenburg. We actually ended up in Wickenburg, but not before getting to appreciate some great Arizona desert back country, a lot of cattle guards, and quite a few whoops through washes – the road didn’t bridge over the washes, it was paved right through them, normal for the area. We also saw a lot of fauna that he didn’t always get to see, being from back East and all. Saguaro, of course, Teddy Bear Cholla, Prickly Pear, Ocotillo, Mesquite, bunch grass, scrub pinyon, scrubbier oak. We stopped at the Burger King southeast of Wickenburg, he bought a round of sodas, and we just talked for a while. Since he retired a couple months ago, he’s just been relaxing, mostly.

We left Wickenburg and followed highway 60 to highway 74, and then rode east until it met up with I-17. We traveled south, and we parted ways at Bethany Homes Road.

Naturally, neither one of us remembered to take any pictures.

I gotta tell ya, the therapy session was very well received and I think I got a passing grade from The Master.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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So – Friday morning dawned overcast in Anaheim. With it came the buzzing of my phone – TMBWitW is messaging me that she is on the way – 0630 and on the road. I message back, asking her to drive safely, and roll over for a short nap. I woke up about 0700, rollout, shower, get dressed, and decide that a long walk to get away from hotel conference food is in the cards. My walking takes me north on Harbor Boulevard towards the Mouse Eared Main Gate and a certain high-volume arched restaurant right across the street. I order and eat, taking my time, and people watching as the crowd surges in and out on it’s way to the park. I start walking back to the hotel and just enjoy the weather – about 72, slightly overcast from the marine layer, with the sun starting to burn off the haze.

Back in the room, I settled in for a marathon of American Chopper. Knowing that my wife will never set any land speed records (especially with her right arm in the shape it’s in) I even nap once in a while. I’ve got the sliding door open, and I’m enjoying the fresh air and cool weather. She calls around 1000, letting me know she’s napping in Indio. An hour later, she’s back on the road. I talk her in by phone once she is close, and my family joins me around 1330. TMBWitW promptly lays down for a nap (sore and tired – bad combination!) and I take another Deacon’s nephew to meet him at the Park.

When I get back to the room, TMBWitW is on the verge of a power nap – so I take MEG and head for Redondo Beach. We spend a few hours building a sand castle and chasing the waves, splashing, and having a good time. Sorry, no pictures – I was concentrating on keeping an eye on my fearless daughter, and didn’t want to run the risk of dropping a camera in the ocean.

The next morning, I pack the car, we check out, and we hit the Santa Ana Zoo. There is an adoption event going on – mostly German Shepherds. We get in, wander the zoo, ride the “canimal” and even the train. On the way out, we pass a kennel with a sweet little black lab puppy – he looks about nine months old – and it’s everything I can do to keep moving toward the car without adopting him on the spot. We hit the road, and head back for Phoenix. First stop: Mighty Mikes for dinner, then home and my own bed. Whew!

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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Friday evening I got a cab out of dispatch kind of late – a little after 1900 hours, so I had it until about 0700 Saturday morning. I slept most of Saturday, and picked up the Saturday PM cab about 1630. I turned it in Sunday about 0430, went home, took a three hour nap, went to church, went back home, and laid back down about noon. At 1445, my cousin called.

About 25 years ago, my sister LeaAnn (who is seven years older than I am), fought breast cancer to a draw – she survived, but had a mastectomy. About 17 years ago she started an on-again, off-again battle with recurrence. Last April the cancer resurfaced, this time metastasized in her liver, brain, and bones. Friday was her “last” oncology appointment; they did not schedule any more after that.

My cousin (CT) had called to let me know that LeaAnn was at home, on oxygen and pain meds, and resting. I had not planned to go up to Flagstaff to see her before 1445 Sunday afternoon, but ended up going. TMBWitW and MEG stayed home; TMBWitW has month-end closing this week. MEG spent this morning at a friend’s house, and will be there tomorrow and Wednesday. I was at LeaAnn’s house by 1730 Sunday evening. Mom greeted me by looking up at my face (her vision is failing), down at my belly, back up at my face, poking me in the belly and said “Who’s this fat kid?” “Good to see you, too, Mom.”

Another of my sisters (LC) was there with her daughter (ME); I had just missed a niece (CY) and a brother (BK) by an hour or two (they left Flagstaff about the time I left Phoenix), another brother (RC) was still there with his wife (SC) and their daughter (ST), and LeaAnn’s husband (MH) and son (SH) were there. Mom, RC and his family left shortly after I got there. I went in and said hi to LeaAnn, and talked briefly – just long enough to realize that she was in and out of lucidity and the pain meds weren’t keeping her 100% free of pain yet.

I spent the night at her house. This morning LC and ME headed to Tucson to pick up a few things; LC is picking up my third sister, AW, at the airport tonight (flying in from Ohio) and then heading back to Tucson. They will be going back up to Flagstaff Tuesday morning, I will be catching a ride with them. ME is headed back to school and midterms and may rejoin the group later. My older brother, DC, lives in Salt Lake City and may not be able to get down here; he’s been out of work and eating up the savings for a few months now. LC and AW will be coming back through Phoenix late Wednesday evening, and will be dropping me off then. For those keeping track, I may not be active this week until Thursday’s Round Up and Update.

LeaAnn is a fighter. She beat cancer before, and she has not quit fighting. The treatments are not affecting the cancer anymore, but she is still fighting. Right now, cancer has the upper hand, but with God all things are possible. I’m not saying she will be healed, but I’m not saying she won’t. It is His will, not ours. After all the treatments, she looks so tiny.

This morning I talked to LeaAnn again before coming home. She asked what day it was, and I told her it was Monday, September 29, 2008. She said she needed to get up soon because she had to get to work tomorrow. Then she told me that if she said she was tired and needed a nap, it was because she was tired and needed a nap. She wanted to make sure of the date, because she thought it was Tuesday, sometime in June.

I said “No, it’s Monday, September 29.”

“Oh” she said. She seemed puzzled at the date.

I kissed her forehead. “I love you, LeaAnn.”

LeaAnn said, “I love you, too, Cary.”

I got to see my sister today.

After a delicious homemade breakfast (Thanks, GG!) I hit the road once again. Leaving Fort Worth was uneventful, as I think everyone else was headed into town:This is the merge from I-820 south to I-30 westbound.

Fort Worth in the morning:

Shortly after, I was at the end of I-30 and back on I-20:

Mile 420, I-20 westbound:Keep in mind that I-20 doesn’t go all the way to the end of Texas, after the 420 miles of I-20 I will still have quite a bit of I-10.

Saw a few of these:

Mile 320, I-20 westbound:Yes, I did say about seventy miles or one hour apart. You do the math.

Midland!

This helped:Can you see that top number? The one that starts with an eight and ends with a zero?

Since not everyone has a fast connection, and photos slow you down, I’ll skip ahead a few miles:This was at mile 70, I-20 westbound.

I-20 joins I-10:Jenn had mentioned, in our phone call last night, that she couldn’t imagine driving that far in one day. Wait ’til I talk to her tonight, and tell her how many miles…

Mile 140, I-10 westbound, near Van Horn:

Mile 70, I-10 westbound, near Fort Hancock:

Well, it was fun while it lasted:This was just inside El Paso County.

Oddly enough, I got better mileage in El Paso than I did anywhere else:Notice the higher bars to the right of the active mileage. This was even in the afternoon rush hour. By this time, I had set the clock for Pacific time, in order to call in to Jenn’s show on time.

New Mexico!Even though it wasn’t raining, I was now in the habit of taking the picture through the windshield. Why stop now?

And so, another day ends with the sun setting slowly in the west:Mile 106, I-10 west. About this time, I should have been talking to Jenn on her BlogTalk radio show. About this time, I didn’t have a cell phone signal. I stopped for gas in Savoy, New Mexico, and had just enough signal to let TMBWitW know where I was. Once back under way, I didn’t have a signal again until I got almost to Tucson.

I made an exception to the “stay in the car” pictures – because I was passing a big truck when I entered Arizona, and he was blocking the state line sign:This was in the first rest area inside Arizona on I-10.

I did manage to get a signal in time to tune in about a half hour late to Doug, to listen to the “Navy Stories” that were supposed to be on the air that night. Instead, since there were technical difficulties, we ended up just chatting.

I got to Phoenix about 2200, and pulled into my driveway about 2230.

Miles driven: about 1100 today. About 2340 total, including a few around Tampa and Clearwater. Money spent on gasoline, entire trip: $175.00 Not bad for this little car, and it was fairly comfortable, but I don’t know if I would take it on another long drive like this. Next time, I’m flying.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!