5/13/17 Caverns, Canyons, Sand Dunes and SciFi (New Mexico)

Carlsbad Cavern Formation, NM

While we were camped at Guadeloupe National Park, TX (see out last blog), we visited Carlsbad Caverns in NM.  They are close to each other and run by the same unit of the National Park Service.  Similar to the Guadeloupe Mountains, the topside of the Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the Chihuahua Desert of southern New Mexico / northern West Texas.  It features high ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus.  We hiked quite a few spring fed canyons to hopefully see some wildlife, but only saw a few rabbits and lots of lizards, snakes and birds.  

Steep Switchback Trail into Natural Entrance

Carlsbad Caverns National Park has over 119 caves, all formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone (old sea beds), leaving behind caverns of all sizes.  We entered the original “Natural Entrance”, a steep 1.25 mile tour that follows the original explorer’s route.  The route drops 750 feet down a tall and spacious passage, the Main Corridor.  Alternatively, you can take an elevator down rather than take the 1.5 hour hike in.  If you are in good health, the Natural Entrance tour brings you to parts of the cave you would not otherwise see:  Bat Cave, Devils Spring, Green Lake Overlook and the Boneyard, a complex maze of highly-dissolved limestone that looks like swiss cheese.  You also pass Iceberg Rock, a single 200,000 ton boulder that fell from the cave ceiling.   

Small Park of Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns

The main visitor area, the Big Room or the Hall of the Giants, is the largest single cave chamber, by volume, in North America.  It is the largest chamber in Carlsbad Caverns; it almost 4000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 255 feet high.  The 1.25 mile trail is relatively flat and some of it is wheel chair accessible so that anyone can see its wonders.   Stalactites (from the roof down), stalagmites (from the floor up), columns (stalactites meeting stalagmites) , drapes (large wavy stalactite type forms from the roof) , and all other cave formations types in all sizes can be seen.  As usual, many of the larger formations are named, although many times you cannot understand how it was names??  We saw the rope ladder used by the explorers in 1924, and the rickety stairs and difficult paths taken by the first tourists.   Much of the cave is not accessible to visitors and there are still some unexplored areas left!   

Candle Lantern Tour, Left Hand Tunnel

In addition to the Natural Entrance and Big Room visit, we took a special guided tour, Left Turn Tunnel,  down through an unimproved section of the cave on dirt trails using only candle lit lanterns. There were some steep, slippery sections, made more difficult by the very low light level. We navigated around cavern pools and fragile formations, trying not to touch them as we passed.   It was very cool to visit the caverns as the early visitors would have seen the cave.  We highly recommend this tour. 

 

Bob and Linda with Candle Lantern

Everywhere we have visited, we are struck by the challenges the early tourists in the late 1800s and early 1900s endured to visit these natural wonders.   The early tourists had incredible difficulties, first to reach such remote places and then to actually visit and see these wonders; they must have really wanted to see them.   

Bats exiting Cave, Dusk, Carlsbad Caverns (NPS photo)

We made sure to see the Bat Flight exit the cave at dusk.  We were lucky to be there after some of the bats had returned from their annual winter migration, usually about mid to late April.  Seventeen species of bats live in the caves, including a large number of Mexican free-tailed bats.  Studies have shown as many as a 750,000 bats in the cave in recent years, but there were only about 200,000 when we visited; many of bats had not yet returned from migration.  The bats started to “boil” out of the cave right at dusk, and incredibly, were still coming out in droves 35 minutes later.  They fly up in a spiral pattern, which looked similar to a tornado.  They head out to hunt insects for food and water and can travel up to 60 miles away during their nightly flight.   Photographs are not allowed since any type of electronic device which emits either light or an electronic signal, can cause changes in bat behavior.   

Bob on rim of sinkhole, Bottomless Lakes State Pk, NM

We drove north to Bottomless Lakes State Park, near Roswell, NM.  This was the first state park established in NM.  The unique lakes in this park are sinkholes, ranging in depth from 17 to 90 feet.   The greenish-blue color created by aquatic plants give the lakes the illusion of greater “bottomless” depth.  The nine small, deep lakes are located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River Valley.  The escarpment is part of an ancient shallow sea limestone reef, similar to the limestone mountains of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadeloupe Mountains. High evaporation rates in the shallow seas formed gypsum in limestone which is easily dissolved by underground water percolating through the rocks resulting in sinkholes and lakes.  The present-day high evaporation rate produces brackish (salty) water in the lakes. Only 2 of the lakes support fish and the fish are very small with the largest being about 4 inches long.  We camped at Lee Lake, the largest lake and the only one in which recreation is allowed and is heavily used by Roswell residents and SCUBA divers.  It was an excellent camping base from which to spend a day in Roswell.   

"Alien" lightpost, Roswell, NM

Linda is an avid science fiction fan; therefore, Roswell was a must stop while in New Mexico.  The International UFO Museum and Research Center focuses not only on the events surrounding the UFO crash in 1947, but also other related UFO phenomena:  crop circles, alien abductions, Area 51, ancient peoples artifacts showing “space ships and aliens”, etc.   

 

 

 

 

 

Sketch by Nurse of "alien" beings

Most of the museum is about the events of July 4 through July 9, 1947.  A UFO crashed just north of town.  Detailed investigations of the events and cover-up, conducted during the early 1990s, are the basis of the information provided at the museum.  Many people witnessed the crash, including the control tower at the army air base, which recorded the crash on radar.  The debris, covering three football fields, was found the next day, along with 5 “small, childlike, non-human bodies”.  Mr. Brazel, the rancher who found the debris, brought it to the sheriff, who notified the Intelligence Officer at the base.  Personnel from the army converged on the site and shut down access to everyone.  Then the cover up started:  the military claimed it was a “weather balloon”.  However, everyone at the base who was involved in the events, were quickly dispersed to other bases around the county.  Local, non-military, people were visited by military personnel, who threaten their lives and family’s lives if they talked about the events and what they saw.  The radio station was threatened with loss of license if they published anything about the events.  Several significant witnesses “disappeared” and were declared dead by the military.    

In 1990, there were many eye witnesses that were still alive and they felt compelled to talk about the events and subsequent cover-up during renewed investigations.  Our culture has changed during those 40 years to allow people to feel comfortable to now talk; these witnesses talked about their own personal observations, their interviews were videotaped, and they signed affidavits as to the events.  If you believe the scientific evidence (metallurgy of the metal from the crash site, etc.) and the eye witness testimonies, you would come to the following conclusion:  “something” did crash in Roswell, the metal is unknown even today, 5 child-sized “alien” beings were recovered, and the remains and debris shipped elsewhere.  

Published Picture of "weather balloon"

The most interesting evidence for a “cover-up” comes from the “weather balloon” picture disseminated by the military at that time and widely published in the newspaper.  In the picture of the “weather balloon”, taken in a military office, the military officer showing the “balloon”  has a piece of paper in his hand.  When it was enlarged and read, the paper is a telex/telegram to Washington, marked urgent and confidential, and states they have recovered flying saucer crash debris and alien beings!  So much for honesty.  Many of the witnesses confirm an UFO crash.  The rest of the museum is dedicated to other UFO events and information:  early people recordings of alien beings and spaceships, crop circles and people abductions.  As you go through the museum, you see much of the evidence is quite compelling…  Linda believes it is very probable that we are not alone and are being constantly visited by other beings, Bob is more skeptical.  

We spent the rest of the day in Roswell enjoying more “earthly” pursuits.  We visited two excellent modern art museums, and then spent some time at the Pecos Flavor Winery tasting some New Mexico wines.  It turns out they have a lot of wineries in New Mexico, many located by Los Cruses, and the wines are surprisingly good.  We skipped the expected sweet white wines, but there is a very good dry Riesling, and some of the reds are very good.  We enjoyed an Italian montepulciano, Syrah, and a petit Syrah, but the Zinfandel was a little too sweet for us.   The music was excellent, so we stayed for a glass after our tasting…we chose the petit Syrah.  For you Elks, the Roswell Elks Lodge is also a good place for a less expensive refreshment and surprisingly full and good menu.  

White Sands National Monument, NM

Our next stop in New Mexico was Alamogordo to visit White Sands National Monument.  Great wave-like dunes of rare white gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert.  The monument preserves most of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that live there.  We camped at the near-by Holloman AFB. 

Ten thousand years ago, when the Ice Age was over, the climate in the area became drier, and a large inland sea dried up.  Selenite crystals, formed beneath the clay and silt surface of the dried up sea, eventually became exposed.  The large selenite crystals broke up into smaller chunks, finally turning into sand.  The tiny grains are picked up by the wind and bounce along the desert floor, constantly moving to the northeast, eventually forming the famous white dunes.  

Sand Dunes and Mountain Snow, White Sands NM

We enjoyed a short one day visit and picnic lunch in the dunes, drove through the dramatic landscape and hiked the boardwalk to experience the local flora.  It was quite a contrast to see the white sand dunes highlighted against the snow caped mountains….a true sand and snow comparison.  Interestingly, a lot of people were riding down the dunes using snow saucers – to complete the comparison to snow!  

After Albuquerque we knew we would be many miles away from the next major repair center so we made a short unexpected trip to the Albuquerque Cummins Service Center to get our engine check engine light checked out.  Luckily, it turned out to be a minor, quickly repaired item (replaced the EGR Valve), so we ended up with some unexpected time.  We decided to take an overnight diversion on our trip to Nevada, with a quick one-half day visit to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument in eastern Arizona, in the Navajo Nation.  The monument is run jointly by the Navajo Nation and the National Park Service.  

Pueblo Ruins, Canyon de Chelly, AZ

The Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center was only OK… mostly about Navajo History and not much about the canyon itself. However, this proved to be very relevant information since, for almost 5000 years, people have lived in this incredibly beautiful canyon longer than recorded anywhere on the Colorado Plateau. The archeologic record indicates the settlement history as: first the Archaic peoples (2500-200 BCE), Basketmakers (200 BCE – CE 700), Pueblos (750-1300), Hopi (1300-1600), and the Navajo (1700-present).   

Canyon del Chelly National Monument, AZ

Linda, Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly, AZ

The narrow canyon itself is beautiful; a verdant green canyon floor against the brilliant red 800-1000 feet high sandstone walls, with a year-round stream. It is easy to see why this was a desired settlement location for almost 5000 years.   Throughout the canyon, you can find Pueblo ruins from the Pueblos people period. The Navajo still use the valley to this day, and there is a lot of agriculture in the valley, and small family farm homesteads.   It is definitely worth a stop, and deserves a lot more time than our diversion allowed including taking a Navajo guided jeep tour of the canyon floor.  Unfortunately, we were not able to do the tour.   

 

We headed north for a two day trip to Great Basin National Park, NV. More to follow. Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.   

Best,

Linda and Bob  

 

 

 

 

5/2/17 West Texas Deserts and Mountains

Big Bend National Park, Texas

After an enjoyable visit to San Antonio, we headed west and south to Big Bend National Park.  Big Bend National Park is in southwest Texas and includes the entire Chisos mountain range and a large swath of the Chihuahuan Desert.  The Park is named Big Bend NP because of the large, almost 90 degree, bend in the Rio Grande (turns from southeast to northeast), which of course forms the border with Mexico. Two distinctive features of the Rio Grande are the Santa Elena Canyon and Boquillas Canyons, both carved by the Rio Grande, and feature steep limestone cliffs on the Mexican side. The Park is huge and isolated so the night skies are so dark the stars seem to jump out at you. 

Boquillas Canyon, Big Bend

We had previously been to Big Bend, once in 1985 with our son Rob on a cross country driving and camping trip when we first moved to northern California. If you can believe it, we visited Big Bend in late June or early July; the Park was deserted-no wonder with the day temperatures over 110 degrees! We only had a short one day camping stay in the Chisos Basin, but long enough to swim to Mexico across the Rio Grande, so we wanted to return and really explore the park under cooler conditions.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunset after Storm, Campground, Big Bend

This visit was very different.  It was spring, and mostly warm, and the desert was in bloom!  With the exception of one very big storm one afternoon/evening, we had sunny, clear weather.  We did a lot of hiking, including to and into the Boquillas Canyon on the east side of the park.  The canyon walls tower over 1550 feet straight up on either side of the Rio Grande.  We wanted to hike the Santa Elena Canyon on the west side of the park, but a flash flood on Terlingua Creek, which you had to cross, closed the trail while we were there.   

 

Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend

 We particularly enjoyed a visit to the Chisos Basin, a basin inside the top of the Chisos mountain range, which are wholly contained within Big Bend National Park.  The weather in the basin was at least 10-15 degrees cooler than the desert floor.  The most interesting aspect of the Chisos mountains are that they are a “mountain island” surrounded by desert.  Many species of plants and some animals are now “trapped” in the mountains, and would not survive if they left that environment. There are a few bobcat, mountain lion and bears in the high country.  

 

 

Desert Valley through The Window, Chisos Basin

 

Javelina, Rig Grand Village Campground, Big Bend

The most interesting animal we encountered was the Javelina.  These are members of the pig family and travel in small herds or “family groups”.  They are active in early morning and late afternoon, and were found throughout our campground at those times.  They usually feed on cacti, fruits and insects, but have found human food to be easy to get.  They will search in a campsite for food in coolers, or even in tents or cars if left open.  The herd we encountered was used to human interaction.   

Fossil Head, 40 Ft Crock, found only in Big Bend

Big Bend is a geologist’s paradise, partly due to easy observation of the various strata, but also the complex geologic history of the area.  The geology spans from 500 million year old rock at the north Persimmon Gap entrance, to the current sand dunes in Boquillas Canyon.  From about 200 to 300 million years ago (mya), Big Bend was under an inland sea; the sediment accumulated during that time became sandstone and shale bed.   Those strata eventually became mountains that eroded down, and are now found as the oldest rock layer near Persimmon Gap.  Subsequently, a warm, shallow sea invaded some 135 to 100 mya, allowing deposition of lime and sea organisms, which eventually became the dramatic limestone walls of the Santa Elena and Boquillas canyons, and the magnificent cliffs to the south of the Rio Grande in Mexico.  From 100 to 65 mya, the sea retreated forming lowlands which was home to dinosaurs, fish and reptiles.  The fossils found in Big Bend are incredible, including a giant flying reptile, with a wingspan of over 35 feet.  Finally, volcanic eruptions from about 38 to 32 million years ago formed the Chisos Mountains and the surrounding mountains.   Differential erosion is the key to the current topography and landscape.  There is an excellent new Fossil Discovery Center in Big Bend with incredible local early-to-late Cretaceous fossils and a fabulous explanation of the complex geology and environment found at each stage.   

 

 

Bob Hiking, Big Bend

Linda under Balanced Rock, Big Bend
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Illegal Goods", Mexican Art Stand, Big Bend Hiking Trail

There is one border crossing from Big Bend into Mexico that is open part of the week.  Boquillos Mexico is on the other side.  The Mexicans from that town routinely just cross the river anywhere, and use the US side as if their own country.  Several Mexican artists have little “gift stands” set up on the main hiking trails.  They leave their artwork, with a price, and a can for you to put $$ in.  Interestingly, the National Park Service newspaper cautions from buying from these stands since the goods are contraband and illegal.   

Orig Jersey Lilly Bar, Only Law West of the Pecos

We left Big Bend and headed west on Highway 90.  If you go that way, do make a brief interesting stop at Langfry TX (don’t blink or you will miss it), home to Judge Roy Bean-he was the ONLY law west of the Pecos River, and a very interesting story.  

 

 

 

 

Judd Concrete Art, Chianti Foundation, Marfa, TX

We camped and spent a day in Marfa, TX.  Our friends Jeffery and Louise Leibovitz highly recommended stopping at Marfa, but the published reviews were very mixed; some good, some bad.  Marfa has become a cultural center for contemporary artists.  Minimalist, Donald Judd, moved to Marfa from New York City.  Judd acquired a decommissioned military base (Fort Russel), and began transforming the fort’s buildings into art spaces in 1979.  He began to install his art for permanent display.   Since Judd’s death in 1994, two foundations work to maintain his legacy.  We had a tour of the Chinati Foundation (you need a reservation-AM only), and saw art work by Judd and other selected artists.   After seeing it, we would say it was interesting, but not really our preferred type of art.  The most interesting aspect of Marfa town was the eclectic people: old time Texan ranchers, hardworking Hispanics, and young artist/student residents and tourists; many were young millennials and quite a few from New York City….a kind of mini New York art district. Marfa bills itself like this: “New York, Paris, London, Marfa”.  We camped in Marfa with new friends we had just made at Big Bend and dinned together at one the great Marfa restaurants.  It was a fun stop.  Go there and you can judge the art for yourself.  

"Star Party" Telescopes, McDonald Observatory

We next headed to Ft. Davis, TX, home of well restored and preserved historic 1860s to 1900 Army Fort Davis, built to protect the San Antonio - El Paso Road used by early settlers and travelers to California.  We made a reservation to attend a “star party” at the nearby McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mountains.  Research today at the McDonald Observatory encompasses a wide variety of topics and projects, including planetary systems, stars and stellar spectroscopy, the interstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy, and theoretical astronomy, including the newest project to discover the nature of “dark energy”, a mysterious force causing the expansion of the universe to speed up. There are three large telescope facilities for professional use.   

"Whirlpool",  intersecting galaxies, through telescope, McDonald Observatory

The star party program started about 9pm and WAS EXCELLENT.  We started at a large outdoor amphitheater, where there was a very interesting talk about the constellations and the planets.  Without a telescope, in addition to the stars and constellations, we saw the Iridium Satellite Flair, and even some meteors (shooting starts).  There was no moon showing that night (the moon was up during the day), so the stars were brilliant.  After learning about the constellations and why the Milky Way is not so bright and obvious in the winter, we then visited 7 different telescopes to see:  a brilliant Jupiter and 4 moons, the whirlpool galaxy (two intersecting galaxies), a star cluster, a nebula in Orion (some of the youngest stars in the galaxy), a very old galaxy, etc.  They have four large permanently mounted telescopes around the amphitheater for visitor use during this and other events, and some slightly smaller telescopes that are set up for the party.  We finished up at midnight and drove home down a dark road with incredible skies…this is a definitely a dark sky area, similar to Big Bend.  

El Capitan and Guadeloupe Peak, Guadeloupe Mtn Ntl Park

Our last stop in Texas was the Guadeloupe Mountains National Park, the “Texas Alps”. Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the vast Chihuahuan Desert of western Texas. It’s known for its bright-white Salt Basin Dunes, wildlife-rich grassland and fossilized reef mountains (the famous Permian Limestone Reef which formed about 250 million years ago - too early for any life except the earliest life forms).  Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at 8,749 feet, has fabulous views of El Capitan peak, to the south.  We camped at the base of Guadeloupe Peak.  It was VERY windy during our entire stay, and we had to keep the slide outs pulled in much of the time…this made for much closer living arrangements than we normally have.  Our motorhome rocked and rolled in the wind gusts – made us feel like we were back on our sailboat Villomee, but at least we did not need to worry about dragging anchor  J.  We hiked a couple of the local trails, but not the very strenuous hike to the “Top of Texas”; an 8 hour,  8.4 mile hike, with over 3000 ft elevation gain and into a 20-30 (gusts to 50) mph headwind coming down the valley and 90 degree temp.  We are not quite at that hiking level …yet J, but it is very scenic. 

McKittrick Canyon and Stream, Guadeloupe Mtn Ntl Park

We did complete the McKittrick Canyon hike; a beautiful 4.8 mile hike up an increasingly lush canyon with a year-round stream at its upper end.   This canyon is considered one of the most beautiful in Texas, especially during the fall.  Thousands of visitors come to experience the brilliant reds and oranges of the canyon (maples and other colorful deciduous trees), which contrast sharply with the desert foliage, not seen elsewhere in West Texas.   There is a homestead mid-way up the canyon, which was owned and occupied by Pratt, a geologist, from the 1930s until the 60s.  Pratt donated the land to the park service in 1961. We have seen the generosity of many people in the US, whose donations to the National Park Service and various state park systems, have helped to expand and preserve the beautiful places in our country for following generations. 

We are next headed to New Mexico, starting with Carlsbad Caverns, Roswell and White Sands. 

We continue to be blessed with a great trip and safe travels.  Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

Best,

Linda and Bob  

4/25/17 Gulf Coast Breezes and Some Favorite Places



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bob, Linda, Val, Katlynn Xmas, San Jose del Cabo                                              Val with Santa on Beach Sleigh, San Jose

 

We spent the Christmas holiday in San Jose del Cabo, Baja, Mexico with Linda’s niece Valerie and her daughter Katlynn.  We had a great time there, enjoying all the tourist activities and the warm sunny weather. 

  

 

Bob, Pam and Pat Tequilla Tasting, Todos Santos

After Val and Katlynn flew home, we drove our rental SUV 6 hours north to Loreto for a week enjoying the remote parts of the Baja peninsula before heading back south to Cabo San Lucas to spend a week with our friends Pat and Pam Cullen.  We love the Baja and all it offers; Pat and Bob caught enough fish offshore for two nice dinners at the condo. 

 

 

 

Linda and Pam swim with Dolphins, Cabo San Lucas

 

 



Panama City Skyline from our 64th floor Penthouse
 

After a few weeks home enjoying our friends in St. Augustine, we flew to Panama City, Panama and the San Blas Islands for 3 weeks.  We really got to know the city as “residents” (yes, we are now officially Panamanian residents), and found that we enjoyed “high rise condo living” in the urban environment a lot more than we thought. Panama City is a very international city, with a population and skyline resembling Miami. 

 

Tom and Linda at top of Hard Rock Cafe

Our friend, Tom Hart, joined us for a couple of weeks, so we enjoyed a lot of good wine and great food at some of the best restaurants in Panama City.  Linda cooked several excellent seared ahi tuna dinners along with the tasty fresh ceviche we obtained from the Mercado de Pescado (fish market), which was walking distance from our Penthouse rental condo.   

San Blas Islands,Panama

Traditional Dress Kuna Woman in Dugout Canoe

Our trip to the San Blas Islands on the Panamanian Caribbean coast was fabulous.  We chartered a roomy (not so fast but very comfortable) 52-ft ketch with a husband /wife crew; S/V Blue Sky. http://www.blueskysailingsanblas.com   Breeze, the captain sailed between the islands and used the motor only to anchor (Bob enjoyed tending sails only when he wanted) and Debbie,  the captain’s wife and cook, was a former chef at the Captiva Yacht Club (FL) so the food was fantastic. They worked very hard at getting fresh local seafood; they know all the local Kuna Indian veggie boats to keep them supplied with fresh fruit and veggies. 

Bob, Linda, Doug, Wendy on Kuna Island

Our friends, Wendy and Doug Pullen, joined us.  We had met them last year (they are Canadian citizens working in Panama for 5 years) while we were at the Bahia, near Coronado, Panama, on the Pacific coast.  The San Blas Islands are beautiful, with gorgeous crystal clear blue and aqua waters, idyllic islands, fabulous snorkeling (diving not allowed by the indigenous Kuna Indians), and interesting local villages on some of the larger islands.  We ate lunch locally a couple of times; the fresh seafood was delicious and the crevesas very cold.  It reminded us of our cruising days in the eastern Caribbean and our 4-day trip was over all too soon. We hated to leave and would recommend the charter highly – 4 days is too few.  We are up for going back if anyone wants to go.  

Marcello and Bob enjoying sail

After returning for a few more weeks in St. Augustine getting ready to depart on this year’s motorhome trip, we headed out on March 31.  Our first stop was to spend a weekend with our good friends, Marina and Marcello Borzatta, in Destin FL.  It’s always fun to spend time with them, and as we normally do, we ended up spending the weekend on their 42 foot Beneteau sloop sailboat out of Panama City Beach.  We sailed offshore Panama City Beach both days and enjoyed lunches anchored in the Bay and grilled dinner at the dock.  We always have a fabulous time being with them. 

Linda and Bob enjoying Sunset on Gulf Islands National Seashore

Our next stop was only a few miles west to Ft. Pickens Campground, Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Pensacola.  The Gulf Islands are barrier reefs along the gulf coast, with beautiful WHITE, fine grain beaches, dunes, and birds…lots of birds.  We enjoyed the park’s beaches and the historic forts, but also explored Pensacola.  We were able to see the Blue Angels practice: they are stationed at Pensacola Naval Air Station.   

 

Blue Angels Flyby over Pensacola Light                                        
                                                                                                              Blue Angels Overhead


 

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola

We spent a whole day at the Naval Aviation Museum, which is excellent - a must do for anyone.  The museum is devoted to the history of naval aviation, including that of the US Navy, the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guard.  It covers a full range of aircraft and spacecraft representing the development, growth and history of US Naval Aviation. In addition to the excellent exhibits in the museum, there are almost 100 aircraft parked outside in the rear; however, the back area was closed to visitors when we were there.   

 

Bob in backseat of F4 Fighter Jet

Bob really enjoyed this museum; he was able to sit in the cockpit rear seat of an F4B Phantom fighter jet like he had flown in while he was on the USS Kitty Hawk in Vietnam.  It brought back a lot of memories.   Bob was also stationed in Pensacola while in flight school.  We spent some time visiting his old “haunts”, including the Officers Club (O Club), which is now an All Hands Club.  We had a couple of drinks and a lunch there, but we have found many of the O Clubs in various military bases to be only shadows of their former selves.  With the crackdown on drinking and the political correctness in the military, the former “hell-raising” days of the Navy are gone (too bad for the Navy – MHO).  The clubs are mostly now open to everyone, serving only lunch, and mostly only open for a not-so-happy hour on a Friday or Saturday evening.   

Linda enjoying raw oysters before our BBQ Shrimp

We left Pensacola and drove to an Elks Lodge in New Orleans.  We left early enough to get there in time to have one of our favorite dinners, BBQ shrimp, New Orleans style.  It is not just shrimp cooked on the grill, but the whole shrimp, including the head which adds flavor, sautéed and served in a very spicy sauce (Worchester sauce, butter, garlic and lots of spices).  It is one of our favorite dishes and worth a “small detour” to New Orleans.  We had planned to go to Mr. B’s Bistro in the French Quarter, but we found out that there was a seafood festival going on, and we decided to not have dinner with 60,000 of our “closest friends”.  So we decided to try Pascal Manale’s, the original BBQ shrimp restaurant, which is not in the quarter. It was excellent and a much better choice.  Another favorite added to our list and a great restaurant recommendation without the hassle of the Quarter.  

RV on Galveston Ferry

On the way to Padre Island National Seashore on the Texas gulf coast, we parked our motorhome on the street in front of our cruising friend’s, Judy and Bill Rouse, house in Galveston, TX.   We had met them in the Caribbean when we started to cruise in 2005.  We have stayed in touch with them as they continued cruising and spent 11 years circumnavigating the world on their 53 foot Amel ketch, much of it with kids and grandkids, particularly in the south Pacific and Mediterranean.  They recently sold their boat and moved to Galveston to be near their family.  We had a fabulous stay with them, catching up on all their cruising adventures including the week spent dodging and riding out a typhoon (hurricane) in the Indian Ocean.  It is always a lot more fun to talk with people who have experienced cruising, so they were happy to talk about their cruising and our boats in detail with us. We enjoyed a great evening and had a delicious cioppino dinner at their favorite Galveston restaurant within walking distance to their house.   Judy is an excellent cook (as we knew from eating on their boat) and she cooked a wonderful breakfast before we headed south to see the Padre Island National Seashore and to camp at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station.   

Padre Island National Seashore, Corpus Christi

Padre Island National Seashore is a barrier island along the Texas coast.  Our best (or worst) description is: WINDY.  The wind was incessant and strong, so much so, that we could not put out the slide-outs on our motorhome.  The dunes and grasslands have made a long recovery from being overgrazed by cattle. 

Caracara, Padre Island National Seashore

The number and variety of bird species there are incredible.  It is the first stop on the migration route from the Yucatan Peninsula, with the birds flying over 800 miles over the Caribbean before they hit land and head north.   We took a birding tour with a park ranger and saw a lot of resident, but even more transient, birds.  We are not birders, but it was still interesting to see the variety.  Our biggest takeaway from this area is that it is very windy about half the year….so much so that we would be uncomfortable doing stuff outside, but the locals (and maybe crazy tourists) were on the beach.  It is a great place if you are into wind surfing, or kite surfing, particularly on the hypersaline Laguna Madre estuary between the barrier island and the mainland. 

Our stays at Gulf Islands and Padre Island completed our visits to ALL the US National Seashores and National Lakeshores.  

The Alamo, San Antonio

We were glad to head back northwest to another of our favorite stops, San Antonio.  We wanted to spend enough time to really enjoy the city.  We did the usual tourist things: the Riverwalk, the Alamo, and the San Antonio boat cruise in the downtown area.  But we also spent enough time to go visit 3 other mission sites, the Tower of the Americas, and the historic Spanish Governor’s palace. 

Riverwalk Café, San Antonio

Of course, we also had to have a few meals at the excellent restaurants along Riverwalk before we left town.

We enjoyed our visits along the Gulf Coast, and are now looking forward to going to west Texas and then on to New Mexico. It is good to on the road again.  

We continue to be blessed with a great trip and safe travels.  Feel free to pass the blog link on to anyone who might be interested.  

Best,

Linda and Bob