New Mexico to Texas

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Staying in a RV park in Santa Fe was a change from the wide open spaces of Colorado. Friends, relatives and people we met provided us a list of things to do and see during our 7 days in town.

Armed with our must see and must do list, we set out for the Plaza, which was only a handful of miles away. The Plaza was filled with people and vendors celebrating the Fiesta de Santa Fe, an annual festival commemorating the re-conquest by the Spanish in 1692. As part of the Fiesta de Santa Fe, Sunday morning mass at St. Francis Cathedral included a procession with men carrying the statue of La Conquistadora (a small wooden statue of the Virgin Mary) followed by a mariachi band, Native Americans in ceremonial dress, and dozens of other people some representing Spanish Royalty and General Don Diego de Vargas. The Mass included Native prayers and dance, and a very inclusive message.

St. Francis Cathedral

St. Francis Cathedral also has a garden with life size sculptures of the Stations of the Cross done by famed artist Gib Singleton. (The “bowed cross” carried by Pope Francis is one his works.) Mike had to stop at Loretta Chapel to see the Miraculous Staircase, miraculous because of its free standing and structurally sound design.

San Miguel Chapel known locally as the oldest church in the United States.

A trip to Santa Fe must include art galleries. We walked Canyon Row and visited dozens of galleries. Luckily living in an RV kept us from spending thousands of dollars on exquisite art pieces. Besides the list of galleries, historic places and museums, we had a list of restaurants. All we can say is the food was delicious, and we now know and love Hatch green chilies. Being from the Midwest, we know nothing about chilies.

We have received quite an education about the Hatch Green Chile. We know about roasting, cleaning and freezing the chilies. We have several bags in our freezer. Later we found out we could buy a very large jar of Hatch Chile at Costco.

Pecos National Historical Park

One more state capital has been marked off of our list. The New Mexico capital building, informally known as “the Roundhouse,” suggests why it is the most unusual capital building we have visited. Not only does its shape make it unusual, it feels like an art museum because of the enormous collection of New Mexico art.

Buffalo, 1992 Artist Holly Hughes

Albuquerque, New Mexico

In March we spent days trying to decide where we would travel for the next 6 months. The planning included researching RV parks, having a specific dates, as well as things to do once we arrive. That itinerary ended in Albuquerque. Besides visiting the Plaza in old town Albuquerque and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, we had to begin arranging places to stay until our reservations at Christmas. It was also nice to visit with Mike’s cousin and her husband and abandon the frenetic pace of the week before.

We stopped for a couple of days at Tucumcari (TWO-come-carry), NM because Mike liked the name and it broke up the drive to Amarillo. Tucumcari is an example of what was. The main street, Route 66, is still lined with motels, some very nice murals, gas stations, restaurants and souvenir shops, but many are abandoned and decrepit. Walking down the street, it was easy to imagine the illumination of neon signs luring travelers to spend the night. In an effort to remake itself, some of the motels offer nostalgic accommodations or display names of famous people or events from the past. Some buildings were repurposed into services that people want or need. Some have succeeded, while others have been abandoned once again. I am sure there are dozens of towns like Tucumcari lining the once heavily traveled Route 66.

Amarillo, Texas

In the movie The Guilt Trip, Barbara Streisand plays a mother who travels across the country with her adult son. One evening they stop at what was supposed to be a famous Texas steak house where if you can eat its 72 oz steak dinner, it is free. Barbara manages to have her dinner for free. When in Amarillo as a tourist, it is a must to eat at The Big Texas Steak House, where you can get a free 72 oz steak dinner if you can consume it in an hour. Just so you don’t have to do the math that is 4½ pounds of steak. Our steaks were significantly smaller.

Amarillo has one more attraction that is worth mentioning, if only to discourage anyone else from stopping. Amarillo boasts Cadillac Ranch. (Remember Carhenge, the really well done car sculpture resembling Stonehenge?) Well Cadillac Ranch was probably once a clever outdoor sculpture that drew attention. It still draws lots of visitors, but now it is littered and decaying, as well as really muddy on the day we were there.

Since it has rained for the past 6 days, we are finishing our travel plans and other indoor chores. Between rain drops, we went to an RV museum; it seemed only fitting. After stepping back into RV history, which was really fascinating, we appreciate the luxury live in even more.

Oklahoma

After three weeks of hearing highway and city noises, it was time to get off the beaten path. We arrived at Foss Lake State Park, OK in the late afternoon. After getting set up, the people in the campsite in front of us arrived with their pets. Unlike like many RVers and campers, their pets were two beautiful horses that they placed into a corral that we hadn’t even noticed.

After introducing ourselves, we invited Chris and Kay for happy hour. We learned from our conversation that both of them are involved within the horse racing industry. Kay is a veterinarian and Chris works in broadcasting at Remington Park. They suggested several attractions that we should see during our next stop in Oklahoma City, which included an invitation to meet at the race track.

Photo courtesy of Chris Kotulak

Since Chris was working, Kay taught us how to bet on horses. She is an excellent teacher; Francie doubled her betting money. Through dinner we watched several races while listening to Chris on closed circuit TV introduce each race and provide the audience with information as well as his favorite horses for that race. Chris and Kay gave us a “back stage” tour and we were able to get up close and watch the horses get ready for the race and watch the finish. They both shared with us insights into horses and racing from their years in the industry.

Since Oklahoma City is the state capital, we visited the building which is six months into a five year renovation project.

Replica of Statue from top of Oklahoma State Capital.

After leaving the capital, we found our way to the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. The museum takes its visitors through the moments before and after the devastating explosion outside of the Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. We became intimately familiar with the heroes and victims of that morning through personal narratives and footage of the chaos that ensued.

The Museum and Memorial are exceptional, both moving and sad. It inspires gratitude and humility as it reflects on the courage of the victims and responders. The Memorial itself stands where the Murrah building once stood. To add to the emotions of the day, that morning we had watched additional news coverage from the mass shootings in Las Vegas Sunday night.

Woodie Guthrie fiddle - "This machine killed 10 fascists"

Since Tulsa was a short distance from Oklahoma City, it was a perfect opportunity for us to visit Brother Kevin, Mike’s good friend and high school teacher. Kevin gave us a tour of Tulsa with a stop at the Woody Guthrie Museum. We could have spent a whole day listening to his songs and those of John Denver who was being featured in a special exhibit.

The following day we drove to Frank Phillips’ (Phillips 66), Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve and Price Tower, a nineteen-story building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was wonderful getting to spend time with Kevin, while Francie learned a little about the high school Mike!