Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We took the tram to the top of Sandia Peak. We went from 6000 feet to over 10,000 feet and then had dinner.

Cadillac Ranch

On our way to New Mexico and while still in Texas we just had to stop off and visit one of those road side weird sites, the Cadillac Ranch. This is were there is nine buried Cadillac's in a field and anyone can come and paint what every they want on them. Sandee was hard at work.

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is located near the town of Fritch, Texas and near Lake Meredith National Recreational Area.   Archeological traces of prehistoric Indian campsites, workshops and homes dot this area  of the Texas Panhandle and the Canadian River region.  Natives worked the area for flint for their personal use and for trade to other Native tribes for 12,000 years. The flint was of vital importance in their everyday life. Even before the Great Lakes were formed, Indains of the Ice Age Clovis  Culture used Alibates flint for spear points to hunt Imperial Mammoth.

Alibates flint is of excellent quality and beautiful in color. Colors range from maroon, cream, chocolate and gold look like candy or slabs of bacon. Flakes mottled with indigo and emerald resemble jewels. The flint lies below the surface at the ridge level, in a layer up to six feet thick.  Indians dug flint by hand or with sticks or bone tools.

  If you visit this site be sure to call the visitor center the day before to arrange a tour of the site as visits are by appointment only. On the day we took our hike up the ridge we were the only ones with the Ranger led hike.

 

 

Palo Duro Canyon State Park- Texas

Everything is bigger and better in Texas and after camping at Palo Duro Canyon State Park, I can honestly say I truly believe this is an apt moniker for the state. Located approximately 31 miles south of Amarillo, Texas  the park is known as the  "Grand Canyon of Texas." After staying two nights in this park I can see why.  The park is the second largest park in Texas and officially opened  on July 4, 1934. 

  Palo Duro Canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep which makes it the second largest canyon in the United States. The canyon was formed less than 1 million years ago when the Prairie Dog Town Folk of the Red River first carved its way through the Southern High Plains. The rock exposed a geologic story which began about 250 million years ago. Some of the oldest rock layers are part of the Quartermaster Formation.  Most of these rocks are located at the bottom of the canyon are noted for their bright red claystone and white gypsum.  The next layer of rock one notices are the yellow, gray and lavender mudstone which are part of the Tecovas Formation. The sandstone and coarse gravel of the Trujillo Formation can be seen as you further ascend the canyon.  The last layer of rocks are from the Ogallala Formation which consist of sand, clay and limestone.

  Given the many trails of hiking, biking and horseback riding one could spend weeks in this park  exploring.  Animal life is abundant, in our camp we had wild turkey roaming in and out of the individual camp sites without a care in the world, we even saw a mother turkey out walking her clutch of chicks, a dozen or more. We were told there are wild big horn sheep in the canyon as well, but did not see any during our visit.

    Weather you drive an RV or like to tent camp, Palo Duro has it all.  Modern, clean restrooms with showers and running hot and cold water. There are six campgrounds to choose from, we stayed at the Sagebrush camp area in site 143.  Each site has a very nice covered picnic table and plenty of room between sites.

  There is a visitor center, horse stables and an opportunity to ride horses through the canyon ran by private operators just outside the park.  The Trading Post in the park sells food and runs a small concession stand, the food is good but a bit pricey.

  A visit to this park is a must if you are in the area. For veterans with a rated 60% or more disability you get in free along with your spouse if you have your VA paperwork with you. In fact, if you show the park authorities this you will get a lifetime entrance card to al Texas State Parks. Like I said before, everything is bigger and better in Texas, and I believe it now.

Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

On November 27, 1868,  Lt. Colonel Custer, the infamous Cavalry Officer who received his just end at the Battle of Little Bighorn, attacked the small band of Cheyenne under the leadership of Black Kettle along the Washita River in Oklahoma. The Washita Battlefield National Historic Site stands as a testament to the events of that day to what happens when two different cultures clash. 

   Black Kettle was known as a "Peace Maker" among his people and it was because of his peace overtures with the white man, that Black Kettle, his wife  ( Medicine Woman Later) and many others of his band died on that day.  Before this attack, four years before, Black Kettle and his band where attacked at Sand Creek Colorado by militia units.  At the time Black Kettle had led his band to the area thinking they were under the protection of the U.S. Army while he pursued peace negotiations. Over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho were killed in this attack,  which led to a year of retaliation by the tribes ending in the Peace Treaty of Medicine Lodge of October 1867.

  During the winter of 1868, many of the Arapaho and Cheyenne, to include Black Kettle's band, moved into the Washita River valley. Black Kettle was shunned by the other bands and was forced to move away from the protection of the others further down the river to an isolated area.  It was this area that Lt Colonel Custer and the 7th Cavalry attacked at dawn.  When the attack was over, Black Kettle, his wife and many other of his band lay dead on the field. The next order was to burn everything in the village, supplies, clothes, tools and to kill over 800 horses the tribe depended on for survival.

   After two hours of fighting, 30 to 60 Cheyenne and 22 U.S. Soldiers lay dead. With re-enforcements from the surrounding camps coming to the aid of the Black Kettle band, the 7th Cavalry and Lt Colonel Custer moved out of the area to safety, with a rendezvous with his own destiny to fullfill.  

 

Hot Springs NP

  This is our second visit to Hot Springs National Park. Once again we had to stop off for a meal at the Ohio Club, one of the oldest bars in Arkansas. Back during Prohibition this was a hot spot for the likes of Al Capone and members of other gangs.  While most know Hot Springs, AR as a place folks came to rest, relax and take in the healing waters, it was also a den of sin for gambling, prostitution and general mayhem.
  During our visit last year the Larmar Bathhouse was closed for renovations, but since that visit it has reopened. We only had 15 minutes before it close so we were only able to visit the first floor.  Since there are two other floors, I guess a re-visit will be in order in the future.
  The first floor has all the comforts of a spa. private baths, hot showers and steam boxes. Looks like the rich could afford to loose weight in style.  The main feature of the first floor is a beautiful stain glass mural in the ceiling.  It was so huge I could not get it the entire glass in my frame and I had to lay down on the floor to get what I did.

 

 

 

Military Aviation Museum

  While this is not a National Park, this is one of those little known museums that if you like military aviation history it is what I consider a "must see".  Located in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia about 6 miles from where we live it is much more than your average museum filled with air planes. ALL of these airplanes are in working order and fly regularly.

  The museum is filled with airplanes from the First World War and the Second World War. The exhibits cover military history from the First World War through the Korean War.  For just $12 for adults the museum packs allot and well worth the price of admission.  This past Sunday Sandee and I took another trip to the museum as it was a nice sunny and warm day it was good to get outdoors to revisit.

  Throughout the year the museum plays host to a number of events. In May the museum puts on its own air show and re-enactment. This entails flybys by most of the planes in the museum plus a number of Confederate Air Forces planes who participate in this event. In addition, there are a number of re-enactors dressed up in US, Italian, German and British regalia. And if you like the music from the World War II era, you can relax to the live sounds re-created by the Andrew Sisters look and sound a likes.

  There are a number of other events as well, big dinner and dancing nights and flybys of aircraft to the sound of classical music just to name a few.

Anyway here are some of pictures of the aircraft you can see. In addition, the German World War hanger is REAL, not a re-creation. It was shipped to Virginia Beach, VA in pieces and put back together. In fact, you can even see the REAL bullet holes from Allied attacks on the hanger.


                                                              P-51 Mustang

 

                                                  

                                                                     Corsair

                                                              British Spitfire

                                                       Russian  Lavochkin  La 9

                                                     WWI  German Folker

                                              WWI  German Folker ( the type "Red Baron" flew

                                              German Junkers Transport Aircraft

 

 

                                                 Actual bullet holes in German Hanger

Hot Springs NP

31 July 2013

Hot Springs National Park is one of those places that everyone should visit. Yes it is a bit touristy, its hot (in the summer, very hot) a bit over priced for some things but we did enjoy ourselves very much.  After we parked Tricera- Pod (trailer) at Gulpha Gorge Campground, which by the way is one of the best National Parks campgrounds ( more about this site on our camping adventures blog) we strolled into town for our tour. We were just in time for a Ranger led tour and she was very informative. We strolled along the Promenade were once the rich and famous showed off their latest fashions and tested the 140 degree waters coming right out of the ground.

 After touring the visitor center and taking pictures of all the old spa's along the street it was time for our spa treatment.  With only two to choose from we decided on the Quapaw spa. We did stop at the other spa center but there were a few too many old creepy men (attendants) hanging around so we moved on the Quapaw. Sandee got the full Monte, message, facial, private bath etc. We wanted to do a couples treatment but there were no more openings. So I took in the bath and the steam cave. If you want to treat yourself this is the place, but be prepared to dish out a few coins for this treatment. If you just want to take the bath it is cheap. The bath's has four separate pools from 89-104 degrees. The attendants on had make sure you have plenty of cold water to drink as well.

 All in all it was a great experience and we do plane to re-visit Hot Springs  National Park, but when the weather is not so hot.

                                                   Quapaw bath where we took the waters

                                         Ranger led tour at one of the open springs, 140 degree's

                                              Promenade where the ladies showed off

                                                Hot water cascading down hill into a pool

 

 

Fort Smith NHS

30  July 2013

Our visit to Fort Smith National Historic Site took place on a day George Wilson was hung on 30 July, 1896 until he was dead.  The Rangers were going to give a talk on the man and his trial but we would have had to wait two hours for that so we decided we needed to move along.  You can still see a re-created gallows complete with a hangman's noose which is only displayed on the days a person was hung.

  Inside the old court and jail building you can see many displays on frontier justice as it was dealt by Judge Parker, aka "The Hanging Judge".  Which is really a misnomer as the law of the land in his day said he had to hang a person if they were found guilty. So over 150 times men and some women were found guilty of crimes that called for the death penalty and Judge Parker so ordered these folks death. However, only about 86 of those found guilty under Judge Parker were ever hung for their offences.

  You can visit the old court room as it was seen back in Judge Parkers day. This exhibit and the gallows was the most interesting part of the entire site.  There is also an exhibit on the Trail of Tears, as many of the Native Americans found Fort Smith the last stop before they entered Indian Territory and their new home.

 If you have ever seen the movies "Hang'em High" or "True Grit" these movies are based in part around Fort Smith, however the films were never filmed on the Fort Smith location. The lead characters in both these movies could be based in part on a real life person, Deputy Marshal Bass Reeves. A former slave turned lawman he along with Native American lawman were mostly responsible for being outlaws to justice when Fort Smith was an active court. I had heard a number of stories about Bass Reeves and I picked up what I hope is a pretty good book on his life to find out more about the man.

 A couple hours will give you a pretty good feel what life was like back during the time of Judge Parker so if you are near Fort Smith do take the time to stop.

                                                     Fort Smith Court House and Jail

                                  Jail area, no heat, no a/c, & a bucket for a toilet back in the day

 

                                                        The hangman's noose

 

                                                       Judge Parker's Courtroom

George Washington Carver NM

30 July 2013

After our visit to the Tuskegee Institute a few years ago we thought we would really enjoy our visit to George Washington Carver National Monument. While we were not totally disappointed, we were a bit let down. That is not to say we did not like the site, we somehow expected allot more. While Tuskegee had allot more on Mr. Carver's scientific life, at his boyhood home it dwelled more on his earlier life and  his love for nature.

 The visitor center is a beautiful building with allot of updated exhibits and very nicely done. One can spend an entire day walking around the building reading and listening about the life of Mr. Carver. When you are done inside take time to walk the trail around the park. It is very peaceful and you will find yourself deep in thought not only about Mr. Carver's life but yours as well.

  In the end, George Washington Carver NM and Tuskegee are two different aspects on the life on Mr. Carver and you must visit both to get the entire affect of his life.

 

 

Praire Grove Battlefield State Park

29 July 2013

Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, Arkansas while not a National Park is worth the effort to visit. We have been too many state run historical sites but I have to say this is the best we have ever visited. The visitor center is first rate. You can watch a film about the battle and wonderful exhibits abound for those to view.  The book selections is one of the best I have ever seen in any type of park. Of course I had to pick a few myself.  Once you are done with the visitor center you can walk the grounds surrounding the visitor center and then take a self guided tour in your vehicle of the battlefield.

The battlefield looks much the same as it did on December 7, 1862 Union and Confederate forces collided. But while there is not much else to see other than the scenery, one can just image what it was like on that day. At the end of the day's battle the Confederates retreated and the Union was carried the day.  The battle of Prairie Grove marked the last major Civil War engagement in northwest Arkansas and never again would a southern army attempt to use the area as an invasion point into Missouri.

 While the site may not have the backing of the National Parks, it is still one of those hidden gems and if you are into Civil War history it is must on your list to visit.

                            Visitor Center. Its hard to see but the mural above the doors is beautiful 

                                                        Large monument to the fallen

                                     Re-constructed Post Office that stood on the day of the battle