Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
El Paso, TX
Paul and I were lucky to be able to get reservations at Hueco Tanks State Park. Essentially, admission to the entire park is by advance reservation only, and is limited to 70 people at any given time. Even so, we were only able to get reservations for a guided tour, and were not able to do a self guided one.
Hueco Tanks,which basically means Hollows/Tanks, is named for the basins that are hollowed out of the rocks, which fill with rain water, and have been used as a source of water by people for thousands of years.
The reason for the severe limit on the number of people allowed into the park is to control access to the pictographs on the rocks. There are hundreds of rock paintings, some of which are 2000 years old. Unfortunately, some of them have been ruined by graffiti already. A lot of the pictures are of masks, some are of animals, and some are of people dancing. There used to be a stage coach stop in this area years ago, and there is a huge boulder that has the passenger list for one trip engraved in the stone. Apparently that was done so that any friends or family following behind would know that those are the people who made it this far, since so many people died along the way.
Our tour was 3 hours of climbing in and around the rocks and caves looking at the ancient paintings. Its amazing that they are still there and haven't faded completely away. Most of them are in small caves and never get rained on, and are always in the shade. After our outing we headed to Paul's parents for dinner.
We have spent the last couple of days doing some hiking at Franklin State Park, and eating. Paul helped his dad pull out a couple of small trees in the yard, and I have been doing some research on Arizona, our next stop on our trip. We have cooked dinner a couple of times for his parents,and they have cooked a few times for us. In general we have just been hanging out and relaxing.
Yesterday Jess flew out from Indiana. She's only here for 3 days, but still it feels great to have her here. It also helps knowing that in another 3 weeks she'll be flying out at the end of the semester to meet up with us in San Diego for a few weeks.
She had called from Chicago, between flights, from a stranger's cell phone, to let me know that her phone broke and she can't turn it on. When she got here at 10:30 pm, Paul looked at it and sure enough, it's toast. We immediately started researching options for her.
So this morning was the hunt for a new phone. I think Jess almost jumped out of her skin when we agreed that maybe she could get an iphone, if her current phone was not under warranty. We were planning on getting her an itouch for Christmas anyway,and its the same price, so really it makes sense to get her the iphone. We spent about 2 hours at the AT&T store and in the end, she got the iphone, and has been glued to it ever since. We went shopping at the outlet stores this afternoon and didn't buy ANYthing, so I think the "new phone distraction" actually saved me some money.
Paul picked up our truck finally from the dealership. The fix for the air conditioning was very expensive, but we don't feel like we have much choice. Since it's a known issue for this truck, Paul is hoping that Ford will help with the cost of it.
Tomorrow we head to his parents for Thanksgiving.....
Hueco Tanks,which basically means Hollows/Tanks, is named for the basins that are hollowed out of the rocks, which fill with rain water, and have been used as a source of water by people for thousands of years.
The reason for the severe limit on the number of people allowed into the park is to control access to the pictographs on the rocks. There are hundreds of rock paintings, some of which are 2000 years old. Unfortunately, some of them have been ruined by graffiti already. A lot of the pictures are of masks, some are of animals, and some are of people dancing. There used to be a stage coach stop in this area years ago, and there is a huge boulder that has the passenger list for one trip engraved in the stone. Apparently that was done so that any friends or family following behind would know that those are the people who made it this far, since so many people died along the way.
Our tour was 3 hours of climbing in and around the rocks and caves looking at the ancient paintings. Its amazing that they are still there and haven't faded completely away. Most of them are in small caves and never get rained on, and are always in the shade. After our outing we headed to Paul's parents for dinner.
We have spent the last couple of days doing some hiking at Franklin State Park, and eating. Paul helped his dad pull out a couple of small trees in the yard, and I have been doing some research on Arizona, our next stop on our trip. We have cooked dinner a couple of times for his parents,and they have cooked a few times for us. In general we have just been hanging out and relaxing.
Yesterday Jess flew out from Indiana. She's only here for 3 days, but still it feels great to have her here. It also helps knowing that in another 3 weeks she'll be flying out at the end of the semester to meet up with us in San Diego for a few weeks.
She had called from Chicago, between flights, from a stranger's cell phone, to let me know that her phone broke and she can't turn it on. When she got here at 10:30 pm, Paul looked at it and sure enough, it's toast. We immediately started researching options for her.
So this morning was the hunt for a new phone. I think Jess almost jumped out of her skin when we agreed that maybe she could get an iphone, if her current phone was not under warranty. We were planning on getting her an itouch for Christmas anyway,and its the same price, so really it makes sense to get her the iphone. We spent about 2 hours at the AT&T store and in the end, she got the iphone, and has been glued to it ever since. We went shopping at the outlet stores this afternoon and didn't buy ANYthing, so I think the "new phone distraction" actually saved me some money.
Paul picked up our truck finally from the dealership. The fix for the air conditioning was very expensive, but we don't feel like we have much choice. Since it's a known issue for this truck, Paul is hoping that Ford will help with the cost of it.
Tomorrow we head to his parents for Thanksgiving.....
Friday, November 20, 2009
El Paso, TX
We left Big Bend behind and hit the road for El Paso Texas on Wednesday. It was a long but uneventful drive, and we arrived mid afternoon. Paul’s parents had invited us to a dinner that was being given for the members of the El Paso Community Foundation and their families. It was great that we were able to get there in time to attend with them. We met several people who are on various committees with Tom and Gerry, Paul’s parents. The amount of energy and dedication that they all have is awe inspiring. Rather than spending their retirement growing “old”, they stay active, giving back to the community financially, but more importantly, with their time and energy.
From the Assistance League, to The Community Foundation, with other foundations and committees in between, Tom and Gerry dedicate a large portion of their time working to better the lives of others. It really makes me feel like I (like most people) don’t do enough. One of the things I would like to do while on the road is to work for Habitat For Humanity. I’ll have to check into doing that.
Yesterday we took our truck in to get the oil changed and get the air conditioning fixed. They still have the truck today, and lucky for us we were able to borrow a car so we can get around easier. We did a bunch of errands and bought 2 more batteries for the Everest, which will make it easier to spend a night or two without electricity.
We’ve had a relaxing time hanging out with Paul’s parents. After hiking so much, it feels nice to slow down a little bit. Jess flies in next Tuesday night for the Holidays and has informed me that we are going to see the newest Twilight movie. First I have to finish the first Twilight book!
Tomorrow we head to Hueco Tanks State Park for the day to take a tour of the pictographs.
From the Assistance League, to The Community Foundation, with other foundations and committees in between, Tom and Gerry dedicate a large portion of their time working to better the lives of others. It really makes me feel like I (like most people) don’t do enough. One of the things I would like to do while on the road is to work for Habitat For Humanity. I’ll have to check into doing that.
Yesterday we took our truck in to get the oil changed and get the air conditioning fixed. They still have the truck today, and lucky for us we were able to borrow a car so we can get around easier. We did a bunch of errands and bought 2 more batteries for the Everest, which will make it easier to spend a night or two without electricity.
We’ve had a relaxing time hanging out with Paul’s parents. After hiking so much, it feels nice to slow down a little bit. Jess flies in next Tuesday night for the Holidays and has informed me that we are going to see the newest Twilight movie. First I have to finish the first Twilight book!
Tomorrow we head to Hueco Tanks State Park for the day to take a tour of the pictographs.
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