Road Trip Part 2

On the road again



We stopped and read quite a few historical markers on our trip. I really liked this one about Alex Albright, the sheep rancher. (Click to enlarge)

Next, we spent two days in the city where we met. We visited with a few friends, ate at some of the places we miss from those days, and got some well needed rest. I got us a room through Priceline at the Hawthorn Suites for $40 a night. I was very pleased with this because the going rate for our room started at $85!



We piled back in the car and hit the road again.

Tatum, NM is the home of Westcraft Metal Arts. Wonderful examples of their work can be seen throughout the town.



Here's an example of the street signs in town along highway 380. All of the street signs are unique. Sorry for the blurry bits in the picture, I was shooting from inside the car.



Many businesses in the area have signs from them.




This is the fence in front of Westcraft Metal Arts showing more of their work. (Click to enlarge)


To be continued...

Road Trip Part 1

Whenever I take a road trip, I think about the people of the past and how amazing they would find it that we can easily drive hundreds of miles in a single day!


The country


The city


Here we are back in the country again on the same day. (It was dark when we arrived so Mr. Hairball actually took this picture later in the week.)

This is Great-Auntie Hairball's house. See the silver gate and the white car behind it? On the night we arrived, they had left that gate open so we could park inside the yard. By the time we arrived, there were several cows in the yard. The cows were very curious about our car and luggage!



The road down the hill from her house. She lives about ten miles away from a small town so it is very dark there at night. Mr. Hairball borrowed a telescope from work and brought it with us on our trip. Unfortunately, there was a full moon while we where there so he was not able to see everything that he had hoped to view.

We also took a brief side trip to see my brother and SIL for a day, but we accidentally left the camera behind at my great-aunt's house. My brother and SIL live in a house built in the 1930's that they have restored. Almost everything inside (except for things like appliances, computers, and TVs) is from the 1930's-1950's or is a very good reproduction from those years. It's fun to walk through their house and see all of their collections from the past!

My brother would really love to buy a 1950's house in his area that has been lovingly maintained. My SIL owned their current house for many years before she met him, and also raised her sons there. She is understandably torn about moving. I am curious to see what they will decide to do about the house issue.


After about a week of visiting with Great-Auntie Hairball, Mama Hairball, and Brother & SIL Hairball, we loaded up and left for our next destination. We happened to drive by a casino on the way and since neither of us had either been in one before, we decided to stop and lose some money before we ate lunch.

My seed money

I lost my two dollars and left. I thought it was depressing in there and Mr. Hairball found it quite boring.

To be continued...

I'm back!!

I actually got back last week, but I needed some time to rest and get caught up with everything at home.


A few things I learned on this trip:


1) If I had to sleep for the rest of my life in a double bed with Mr. Hairball, I'd either end up divorced or in prison.



2) Luck Be a Lady sounds really good while driving off into the sunset.





3) Cattle are fascinated by auto trunk interiors.



4) You can leave a watermelon in your trunk for four days and it will be okay.


5) If you decide to stop and read all the "hysterical"markers on your route, bring a flashlight for the days you get a late start.


6) The weather in August is amazing at 8,000 feet.