Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

White City and the Post Office at White City

We got away on a right sunny day from Oklahoma City. It was windy but after three days it was time to move on. We drove a long day and the highway was much improved. What a difference from the drive to Oklahoma City. The highway was good and no bumps, cracks or holes. We stayed that night in Hobbs, New Mexico, where else but WalMart. The next morning we are up and on the road early. Still windy. We got to White City,NM the entrance to Carlsbad Caverns. We parked our motorhome there, disconnected the car and drove up to Carlsbad Caverns. We did the self tour and wish we had taken a flashlight with us. Next time as we only did half the tour which took us 2 and a half hours. After you enter the cave you descend 750 feet, the equivalent of a 80 story building. That is a long walk! As you descend the walkway is all paved and has handrails also you notice the coolness and humidity. There is several points of interest along the way and you can read the plaques posted there. At the very bottom there is a kiosk with sandwiches and drinks. Also a washroom in the "Great Room". We exited by elevator and were worn out from the walk. The entrance fee is very reasonable and was all in all an interesting tour. Pictures can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Carlsbad Caverns & Cactus

On our way back to White City and down from the caverns there was a 9 mile scenic drive on gravel. We took this road and it skirted in and around the hills of the caverns and we stopped and took some pictures of cacti. Here is a couple of shots.

Alfred P Murrah Memorial

This is a picture I have taken from the website and copied it here. This is an aerial photo taken after the bombing of the Alfred P Murrah Building. Credit for the photo goes to the http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/pubs/aug01/murrah.jpg

This inscribed on the Gates entrance to the Memorial and I have copied it here:

We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.®

When we were on our way to Oklahoma City it was of particular interest to see the Alfred P Murrah Memorial. We remember hearing and seeing the devastation that a person caused on that fateful day in April, 19,1995. We watched the reactions on the TV that day & thought how could a person be so mad at the government that they want to harm so many innocent people. The result is a memorial to the people left behind. To tour and listen to the Park Ranger as they retell the story of before and after the tragedy. When you walked through the before gate - 9:01 and leave at the 9:03 gate you are met with silence, reverence and a sense of ah.... One must go there to truly see the memorial and to feel the presence and power left behind of a resilient people of Oklahoma City. The memorial has 168 chairs representing those lives lost in the building. These chairs are arranged with the number of people lost on each of the 9 floors of the building. The second floor housed a daycare centre and you can see more than one chair with an family name inscribed. We saw two chairs with one family last name. And another two chairs with the same family last name. So we are assuming that some family may have lost there children to this tragedy. In the evening the chairs are all lit up from within the glass enclosed base of each. I have included one picture in the set although it isn't that good just to show them lit. Pictures can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Alfred P Murrah Memorial The website for the Alfred P Murrah Memorial is http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/ and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_P._Murrah_Federal_Building

Oklahoma City

Image at entrance to Cowboy Museum

From Memphis we headed towards Oklahoma City. We stopped in Alma, Arkansas at a RV resort and stayed the night. That night we had and electrical storm and wind. The next morning the storm had past and we were in sunshine again. On our continued drive to Oklahoma City we stopped at a casino for a rest and lunch stop. We thought while we were here we might as well see if we can make enough to pay for lunch. We made $46.00 between us and when we looked at the restaurant menu we didn't see anything we would like, so took our money and left. We had lunch in the motorhome instead. We continued our drive and along the way the wind picked up. By the time we got to Oklahoma City we were battling a pretty good wind & we were ready to stop. We also wondered what Oklahoma did with the road tax. Hwy 40 west from the Arkansas border left much to be desired. Bumps, cracks, holes was much the order of our drive. Horrible condition. We stayed at the Rockwell RV Resort on the west end of the city. We were parked along the fence as all available spots were taken. We had full hookups there and this was fine because we weren't planning on spending time there. The first night there we went to Toby Keiths 'I Love this Bar and Grill' restaurant. We walked around the 'Bricktown Center' and thought we must come back and investigate more. The next morning we spent over half the day at the Alfred P. Murrah Memorial site. More on this in a separate blog. After this we went back to Bricktown and walked around and sat and watched people. An interesting and inviting and relaxing place to be. On the grounds just beyond the parking lot the city is creating a reenactment of the homesteading of land in Oklahoma. Pictures can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Oklahoma City

Indian statue on new dome on State Capital Building

Memphis & Graceland

Meditation Garden and Burial plots

What can one say that hasn't been said about Elvis and Graceland. We were very impressed with the tour of his estate and also the surrounding buildings that housed his memorabilia. We were able to take all the photos we wanted to, but could not use any flash. It is incredible how much impact he has had on the world of music. It is now estimated that he has sold over a billion records, worldwide. I don't think any other performer has reached this pinacle, nor will they ever. We toured his home, his car collection, his airplane, the Lisa Marie, his trophy room, his racketball court that now houses much of his belongings, and the Meditation Garden. Pictures can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Elvis Presley.

Hurricane Mills, TN

We had been told to make a stop at Loretta Lynns home in Hurricane Mills, TN. So we did and we enjoyed the tour of her Plantation home. Also she had an exact replica built of the home she was raised in Butcher Holler. Also toured a replica of the mine her dad worked in. We could only take pictures of the outside of buildings, sorry no pics inside. So there are a few pics of her ranch and dude ranch at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Lorretta Lynns Plantation .

Rochester, NY to Nashville, TN

We got away from Rochester on a day that had a few rain drops but soon turned to sunny blue skies. Once we crossed the state line into Pennsylvania we noticed that the leaves were turning in color. When we arrived in Hershey, PA we found out that there was a car show on and all RV parks and resorts were full. So on we go to Harrisburg and stayed there. We went back to the Hershey Chocolate Factory the next day. We took the tour and after the tour you are deposited into the gift shop. We were awestruck at the amount of chocolate and similar products are available in the gift shop. Pictures at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Hershey, PA heading

We took a trip out into the surrounding countryside and saw many old beautiful homes. Once we were back to where the motorhome was parked we reconnected the car & headed in a south westerly direction. On the morning of the 11th we found the temperature a little cooler and some cloud cover. We continued on and on our travel we stopped at Natural Bridge, Virginia. This bridge is a natural bridge and Hwy 11 travels on the top of it. Pictures at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Natural Bridge, VA. This was an interesting tour and the tour guide was most informative. George Washington was a surveyor and his mark has been left here according to the records.

From here we drove to Knoxville, TN staying overnight there. The next morning we continued on and stayed at a resort in Nashville, TN. We went to the Nashville Nightlife theatre and the star of the evening was Steve Hall & Shotgun Red. The next day we toured around Nashville and finding out where the locals hangout. That evening we went to the Grand Ole Opry. We saw several established stars and also some up and coming stars. The following day we walked around the Opryland Hotel Courtyard. This courtyard has many shops, and the interesting part is the roof is all glass. In fact 4 & 1/2 acres is all under glass. That evening we took the General Jackson Showboat tour that included a dinner and show. Excellent all the way around. Pictures can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under Nashville, TN .

Rochester, NY

Leaving Thamesford we were on our way further west then south. First a stop in Rochester to see more friends. We travelled from Thamesford and drove to Port Colborne the evening of the 5th, parked in a large lot overnight so we would get an early start on the 6th. We arrived in Ft. Erie and we were one hour from the time we crossed over to the US through Buffalo, NY. Easy entry with very few questions, swiped our passports & returned them, told to have a good trip. We drove via Hwy 90 thruway and jumped off on HWY 490 and arrived mid morning at our friends in Rochester (Greece). We spent three wonderful days with them before moving on. Didn’t get any pictures as the weather wasn’t clear enough to take any. We experienced rain on several occasions, both during the night and during the day. We did go to Widmer Winery in Naples, NY and got in on the tasting but not the tour as we had spent most of the day travelling from here to there and no where in particular. We got away on the morning of the 9th and travelled to Harrisburg, PA.

Sarnia, Ontario -- My hometown

Arrived in Sarnia, ON on Sept. 24th. We crossed over on the Blue Water Bridge from Port Huron. ((Website of City -- http://www.sarnia.ca/ )) The line-up was short and we were only at customs for about two minutes. We were in Sarnia for a family reunion. I hadn’t been back there since 1994. We stayed over in a mobile home park where a good friend lives now. We were best of buds when I lived there as a young person. We were given a spot next to the maintenance shed, and one couldn’t have asked for a better spot. That afternoon we drove down to the St.Clair River, under the Blue Water Bridge and had a burger and fries from Albert’s Rolling Lunch wagon. Still in operation, only managed by younger members of his family. Still just as good though. We sat and reminisced about the “Good Ole Days” with my wife listening & taking it all in. Many good laughs. Lake Huron empties into the St. Clair River and flows on to Lake Ontario and Lake Erie & eventually to the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean. We stayed a week in Sarnia, as we didn’t have the family reunion until Saturday, September 29th. My sister came from southern California with her son, my wife & I from Kamloops, British Columbia, Oldest brother lives just east of London, ON in a town called Thamesford, and another brother from Brantford. We were all at my youngest brothers place in Sarnia for the reunion. On Sunday in the afternoon we all seemed to gather “under the bridge” and had fresh made French fries. Watched several lake freighters cruise down the river along with several pleasure boats and sailing boats. Monday was a lazy day and my brother took us on a tour in the car down the coastline on old HWY 40. We travelled thru Corruna, Courtright, and Sombra stopping there for lunch and wound our way back thru Charlemont, Brigden, Bradshaw and back to Sarnia. We got up on Tuesday morn and said goodbye to Bruce and Carol and travelled to Thamesford where we stayed until the morning of the 6th. Pictures can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 "Sarnia, ON" album

Rapid City, SD

This is the former Firehall in Rapid City. It is now a restaurant and we had lunch here. Very good food!








As we were staying just outside Rapid City, we decided to spend one day in the city as tourists. We had seen several of the bronze statues of former presidents on differents corners in the city so decided to investigate. We started our tour at the "Presidents Information Center" that is on the corner of 7th & Main Street. This center provides a pamphlet on the location of each of the Presidents Statues and information about each President. It also provides information on the artist & sculpturer of these statues. The pamphlet describes how each artist portrays the President they are sculpting. 27 Presidents are now in place. Each year 4 more are dedicated. The Saturday we were leaving, 4 more were being placed on corners. We were able to get a picture of Franklin Pierce, one of the 4 being dedicated this year. The society has selected 4 artists to sculpt one president per year until all are done. They started with two from the present and two from the past of Presidents. So George H.W. Bush & Ronald Reagan were two from the present while George Washington & John Adams were the two from the past. Clinton & Bush will be portrayed after all others are done. We took pictures of each and were were really impressed with the statues. Pictures can be viewed at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 "Presidents of the United States" album



View down one of the alleys behind stores. The walls were done with murals and some good art was evident. Also all the power/electric lines were in the alley thus leaving the streets clean.

Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse

We arrived at Rushmore Shadows RV Resort on Sept. 12th in the early morn. Set up and then went into Rapid City. Did a little shopping an returned back to the park. I should say we are using our Coast to Coast membership here so cost is minimum. Sites are okay, but not a lot of room between units. The unit that was parked beside us last night with there awning out, had about 6 inches before it touched our coach.

On Thursday we left the park with a packed lunch. First stop was at the Borglum museum and interpretive centre. I would recommend a stop here and do the tour before proceeding to Mt. Rushmore. It was most informative and his sculptures and paintings were awesome. He died 6 months before the completion of the mountain and his son Lincoln completed his work. After a visit to Mt. Rushmore we continued on and went next to Crazy Horse. This is a work in progress & totally financed by private and public donations. No government money has been spent on this project. We felt that the $20.00 entrance fee was a bit steep! The interpretive center was very impressive & I felt that this must be where all the money is spent. I am sure and this is only my opinion but, our great grandchildren will not see the finished project! Good venture & a lifelong project for many families to come. On our trip we spotted mountain goat and antelope. Tomorrow we are going to spend the day in Rapid City. On a lot of street corners they have have previous Presidents figures from history as bronze statues.

View pictures at http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56 under the Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse heading.

Trip East from Kamloops - Left Sept.4th

It has been a long time since I last posted. We left Kamloops on Sept 4th and headed for the US border. We traveled on the Coquihala hwy from Kamloops to Merritt, meeting friends Brian & Bev there for coffee at the local White Spot. Then continued across Hwy 97C to Summerland and down Hwy 97 to Oliver, BC where we spent the night in the local Super Valu lot along with another RV. We left early the next morning and after crossing the border at Osoyoos, BC we travelled until arriving at Helena, MT. we arrived fairly late about 9PM, MT. Along the way we had an incident with the motorhome windshield acquiring a large rock? hitting the windshield about 20 miles west of Missoula, MT. The mark is about 9 inches in diameter and the outside layer has pieces missing. That was a shock! We spent the two nights at friends home, Vern & Donna, parking in the yard complete with electricity & water(not required). We had a wonderful time with them as they were looking to buy some property, so looked at the property and discussed its value and where we would be parked when we next returned...... From there we proceeded on to Livingston, MT. We spent the night at Osen's RV Park there. We visited with friends Lynn & Joan there. We had seen Joan several times as she had come to Kamloops to visit, but Lynn was never able to come because of work commitments. They were neighbours of ours 27 years ago, so it was really nice to be able to see & visit with them. The next morning (Sep. 8th) we left & drove to Yellowstone National Park. We had reservations there at Fishing Bridge RV campground. Full hookups. The camphost I had corresponded with thru a newsgroup that I read on a steady basis. I was only able to secure one night thru reservations, but Bob the camphost was able to secure us an additional 2 days. Wonderful. He & his wife Mary are great people. At Yellowstone (YNP) we spent the next two days touring around the park. What sights to see. We saw elk at Mammoth Lodge -- several eating the grass & big daddy watching his harem. A young buck was trying to enter but bid daddy made sure he was never able to succeed. We saw thousands ( & I mean thousands) of Buffalo throughout our park travels. They are one large animal! We went to "Old Faithful" and watched her perform. Super!!! After there we continued on and on the last night there we went to Lake Butte Lookout and saw a good sunset. We toured several of the park stores & gift centers. I must say that we were presently surprised at how reasonable the prices were. No expensive surprises. Even the food that was available at the food cafeterias was reasonable. We left there on the morning of the 11th after saying goodbye to Bob & Mary. We drove to Gillette, WY that night arriving fairly early in the afternoon. After asking the Wal-Mart personnel if we could park there, the answer was yes. We stayed there for the evening of course shopping at the store and leaving some cash! You can view some of the pictures taken here under the "Yellowstone National Park" heading.
http://community.webshots.com/user/ramit56