July 25,2009

Sorry, no photos today. It was so hot today we didn't do any sightseeing. We did go to a movie, PublicEnemies, with Johnny Depp. It was pretty good. Baba and Uncle Bill really liked it.

We went to church at St. Benedict's The priest gave a wonderful homily. They did not come around for the offering. You had to walk it up. Baba got in the wrong pew after communion and almost sat on some lady's lap. It was easy to understand his confusion- first, I am certain he was deep in prayer; second- she looked a lot like me dark skinned, long black hair, probably Mexican. We all got to laughing even the Mexican lady. I guess need to keep him on a tighter leash.

Tomorrow we leave for Houston to visit the Houston Space Center. I hope it is cooler there. When Baba came in tonight at 9:30 pm, it was 104 degrees.

Happy Birthday, Neil. I am sure your 40th birthday party was a big success.

July 24, 2009

Today we rode the bus to downtown San Antonio. It was a fast ride through the worst parts of down.

The bus had a special seat dedicated to Rosa Parks. Naturally, it was in the front of the bus. They also have a parkway named for Rosa Parks.

We visited the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We planned to stay until evening, but the heat was unbearable!! It was about 101 degrees.

Baba and Uncle Bill drove into town to find a church for tomorrow. There ar plenty of Catholic churches here.

Boat Ride

We took the boat ride down the San Antonio River through the Riverwalk. It was interesting, but the heat nearly did us in ! Aunt Marie and I only visited 2 shops--now that's hot !! Of course, being packed in like sardines didn't help.

Lunch

We had lunch at Durty Nelly's. The bill for the 4 of us was over $100. It was tasty, but definitely not gourmet.

Durty Nelly's Irish Pub

Baba remebered this pub from when we visited San Antonio 10 years ago. Of all the things on the Riverwalk this was our first stop.

Remember the Alamo

One new injury at the Alamo. No guns involved in this one, just a collison with a nwall.

Alamo

Uncle Bill, Aunt Marie, and Baba leaving the Alamo. It was very crowded.

July 23, 2009

We arrived in San Antonio today a little after noon. We had lunch. Baba and Uncle Bill went to Wal Mart to get groceries. They were the only English speaking people there. Even the announcements were in Spanish. When they were ready to check out, they had to pay cash because there was a problem with the credit machines.

We had a great steak dinner and a nice relaxing evening.

Tomorrow we will go to the River Walk and the Alamo.

Uncle Bill and Baba wash their campers in the dark.

Baba rolls up his hose and I guess you can imagine what Uncle Bill is doing. It must have been too far to walk to his motorhome.

Happy Campers

After a good meal, we were able to relax outside for the first time in several weeks.

July 22, 2009

We were stopped by the border patrol this morning. We stayed near the border of Texas and Mexico so I assume they were looking for illegal aliens.

Today is the first time in 3 weeks we have had a picnic table at our campsite. In fact, there is a huge pecan tree providing shade-usually there are no trees, a stone patio, grill and fire ring. Uncle Bill has hauled firewood for 5,000 miles, but it has been too hot for a fire. It was 104 degrees when we arrived, but the wind picked up so we were able to eat outside- the first time since we left Cousin Dave's.

Again, we brought rain with us. We will stay there for 3 nights and 4 days. Hopefully, I'll be able to get more photos tomorrow. I have already filled one SD card.

Texas Travel

We left camp this morning at 4:00 am, yes, am, to avoid the El Paso morning traffic. We drove for about 8 hours. This is about the most interesting thing Baba and I saw on the trip- the back of Uncle Bill and Aunt Marie's motorhome. Uncle Bill said he saw a dead animal and smelled a skunk.

Aunt Marie and I slept most of the time. She did a little yoyoing on the way.

July 21, 2009

We are now in Texas. Sorry kids, Aunt Marie and I didn't get postcards in New Mexico, but mark it on your maps because we were there.

We are finally heading east. We will be traveling tomorrow and plan to reach San Antonio on Thursday. We plan to spend 3 nights there and then head for Houston.

The temperature got up to 105 degrees today. I made sun tea and it was ready in about 20 minutes. It was as warm as my hot tea that I drink in the morning.

The Sad Sagan of Baba Miller

Everyone knows about the broken canoe. But, poor Baba continues to have mishaps along the way.

1-The Infamous Canoe

2-Left his 50 amp adapter on the top of the electrical box He remembered after we were on the road.

3-Left his gas cap for his auxilary tank at the service station.

4- Had his truck washed-minus the gas cap, resulting in water in the gas. (He did find the cap later.)

5-Left his chocks between the tires and drove that way for awhile, luckily no tire damage.

6- Finally, after locking the camper door we started to exit the campground. I thought everyone sure was friendly because they were waving goodbye to us. Then one man jumped up and pointed to the back of the camper where the door was flapping in the wind.

Isn't there a movie about RVers like us?

All I can say is Thank you, Lord that we are safe. Uncle Bill will never let his little brother live this down.

Who's Lost?

This shows Uncle Bill turning around in the middle of the desert. Were we lost? No, just going the wrong way.

New Mexico

This an example of some of the Indian homes in New Mexico. You can see the Adobe bricks o f the house.

Acoma "Sky City"

This sign gives information about Acoma, which is an Indian village in New Mexico. The village is located on a mesa. It is still inhabited by a few families year round. Others have residences there, but come around special feast days.

To take pictures in the village we would have had to paid a $10 camera fee plus the cost of the tour. I wish I would have done that. The buildings were adobe with no running water or electricity. It has been inhabited since 1150 AD. The Pueblos have a matriarchal society. The homes belong to the women. The home is passed to the youngest daughter who is then responsible for caring for aging parents and grandparents. If there are no daughters, it goes to the youngest son who will then leave it to his youngest daughter. The men are responsible for all government of the community.

It was interesting to hear about their culture and how they embrace two religions, Catholicism and their Indian beliefs.

July 20, 2009

Today we drove from Williams, Arizona, to Grants, Arizona. Tomorrow we will visit Pueblo Indian Dwellings. I certainly hope we don't need to climb like we did at the Cliff Dwellers. After our visit there, we plan to travel to New Mexico. We have been in and out of New Mexico several times, but I still haven't been able to get a picture of the welcome sign.

We re staying at the Bar S Campground. Poor Baba, no picnic tables again. Also, no alcoholic beverages outside your unit- of course this poses no problem for the tea totaling Miller boys. And the strangest of all rules: "No dying of hair in restrooms."

Petrified Forest

This is a sample of petrified wood. The Petrified Forest was not what I expected. The trees have basically turned to stone after being buried for years. It is a federal offense to remove anything from any national park. That said people illegally remove about 5 ton of petrified wood each month. Many people send letters of apology with the rock they removed saying it has brought a curse to their lives.

Painted Desert

These are shots taken on our drive through the Painted Desert. The pictures don't really show the wide variety of colors. Fantastic !!

Finger-lickin' Good

Uncle Bill certainly enjoys his chicken wings. Look closely at his face. Aunt Marie's comment-"Disgusting!" I guess everyone enjoyed Baba's barbeque wings.

July 19, 2009

We decided we would go back to the Grand Canyon today and spend more time. So we left the campground at 4:00 am-no kidding. Do you realize what time we had to get up? Conversation was at a minimum on the way to the park. The traffic was minimal and we could jump on shuttle buses without any wait at all. Also, the temperatures were perfect.

After we had visited nine overlooks and snapped pictures of the sunrise and the elks, we decided to have breakfast. That was at 10:00 am.

We visited a Hopi House and the Visitor's Center.

When we got back to camp, everyone was pretty tired so naps were in order. We are having brats and hotdogs for dinner.

Tomorrow we leave for New Mexico. We will definitely not leave at 4:00 am.!! The views were worth it, but I am still exhausted.

Canyon Views

Before we headed to the rim, we spotted several elk just like this on the lawn of the hotel.

One of the first pictures of the sunrise.

Sunrise at the Canyon

We got up "early" today. We not only wanted to see the sunrise over the Canyon, but also to avoid traffic. It was a little cloudy, but still beautiful.

Grand Canyon Scenes

#1Uncle Bill, Nana, and Aunt Marie wait for the shuttle. #2 View from one of the 9 overlooks we stopped to see.

#3 & #4 Scenes at the canyon. Picture 4 shows the Colorado River. It is between 80 and 300 feet wide. From the canyon rim it looked like a stream.