New Mexico & Arizona

Slowly making our way back to the Pacific coast, we spent 4 days in New Mexico and 5 in Arizona.  In New Mexico, we visited 4 Navy friends with whom we served, all retired cryptologic officers:  Scott and Fran in Las Cruces and Mike and Jeremie in Placitas (near Albuquerque).  There were many common memories to share, as well as catching up on our individual lives since our last encounters in 2005.

Breakfast with Mike & Jeremie

Fran & Scott at their home in Las Cruces

In Peoria, AZ (a suburb of Phoenix), we connected with Dave’s cousin Nate, his wife Terri, and 3 of their 5 children.  In some ways, this last “cousin encounter” was similar to the first one in Portland, in that we had never before met as adults.  Nate is now the executive director at a Lutheran school and Terri manages sales for a large hospice corporation.  It was a joy to become acquainted again and to bring Nate up to date on the lives of other first cousins whom we had previously visited on this trip.

From left:  Carter, Terri, Davis, Nate

In Tucson we linked up with our immediate family, camping at the home of son Mike and his wife Stacey, and sharing Thanksgiving there.  We were joined by daughter Cheryl and family, who have been living in our house in Monterey, taking care of our cats, and managing our home affairs in our absence.  We also connected with daughter Laurie from San Diego and son Tanner from Los Angeles and their families, who traditionally come to Tucson to spend Thanksgiving with their paternal grandfather and other members of his clan.

Thanksgiving reunion with the whole family!

Feeding giraffes at the Tucson zoo

Brushing a friendly rhino at the Tucson zoo

Sad demise of the Skybox

In Arizona we needed a jump start at a highway rest stop when the Jeep battery refused to turn over one more time.  We replaced the battery the next day, as well as a badly worn tire on the Casita.  We have come to expect such mechanical failures on a journey of this length, and consider ourselves fortunate to find automotive services without undue difficulty or delay.  Less predictably, the bottom half of the Yakima Skybox suddenly developed long cracks and started shedding chunks of plastic.  We had to dispose of this auxiliary luggage compartment in Tucson and move its remaining contents into the car and trailer. We are confident that our rig will get us home within the next week.  California, here we come!

Traversing Texas

Along our journey around the United States, we have been reading John Steinbeck’s account of a similar adventure, Travels with Charley in Search of America.  Though we started from opposite coasts and circled the nation in opposite directions, both Steinbeck and we traveled through Texas toward the end of our respective journeys.  We can confirm one of Steinbeck’s observations about this state:  “Once you are in Texas it seems to take forever to get out, and some people never make it.”

We entered Texas on November 12^th and, after driving 1268 miles, finally escaped on the 17^th.  We entered Texas from eastern Oklahoma, headed straight south to Beaumont, then turned west through San Antonio and on to El Paso at the far western tip.  We had imagined Texas to be mostly flat dry plains, but we were surprised by beautiful tree-covered hills along the eastern portion of the state, and the many lakes and rivers near the gulf.

Like Steinbeck, we decided to visit relatives along the way.  Beaumont is the home of Cousin Bob and his lovely wife Pam.  This is the same Bob with whom Dave went fishing in Canada in July, but fishing is more than a seasonal outing for him—it is his passion, as evidenced by the mounted specimens in his trophy room and the fish images on most of his clothing.  Highlights of our visit included an inspirational folk mass at St. Anne’s Church, looking at photos of past family reunions, and consuming a large quantity of gulf shrimp, boiled in a big pot with potatoes, onions, hot sausage, and corn on the cob.

In San Antonio we camped for two nights at Fort Sam Houston and visited much younger cousins who have only vague recollections of those same family reunions.  Cousin Rebecca and A.C. have lovely 13- and 11-year-old daughters, and Cousin Anna and Billy are raising 3 boys and 2 girls, all under the age of 6.  All the children of both families were foster kids, later adopted.  What a commitment of love!  We all enjoyed a wonderfully chaotic meal at a Tex-Mex restaurant that accommodated the whole group at one long table. 

We stayed an extra day in San Antonio to visit the Alamo, another place on Jane’s “bucket list.”  The next day, we stopped in Kerrville to visit Dave’s Uncle Otts and Aunt Arlene, whom we hadn’t seen in 11 years.  We needed one more night of camping along Interstate 10 at Ft. Stockton before reaching the western border of Texas the next afternoon and finally passing into New Mexico. 

Northern Detour

It is November and we have now begun the final month of our camping odyssey, having left home four months ago.  Our general plan was to drift toward home across the southern half of the country, but our relatives are not arrayed in anything like a straight line.  Our main challenge was how to include visits to cousins in Tennessee, Kentucky, Nebraska, Texas, and Arizona.

Part of the solution was to drive from Atlanta to Chicago, where Dave's presence was required for a semiannual board meeting of Wheat Ridge Ministries.  Along the way, we visited Jane's cousin Donna in Nashville, Tennessee, and Dave's cousin Paul near Paducah, Kentucky. 

Dave with Paul in Kentucky

Bill & Donna in Nashville

After the Wheat Ridge meeting, we continued westward to Omaha, Nebraska, to see Jane's cousin Sheri, but missed seeing her other cousin, Stacie.  We then continued to Gothenburg, Nebraska, to visit Sheri's and Stacie's mom and Jane's aunt, Mary Gene.

 

 

Aunt Mary Gene and Jane

Mary-Alice, Jane, and cousin Sheri

Other friends along our path, with whom we shared at least a meal, included Dave's navy shipmate Mike near Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Mary-Alice and Mary in Omaha.   

Mary and Jane in Omaha

Though most of our nights were spent parked at the home of friends or relatives, we also enjoyed three nights in nearly deserted campgrounds in southern Illinois, eastern Iowa, and northern Oklahoma.  Other highlights during this segment included educational visits to the Herbert Hoover Museum in West Branch, Iowa, and the Cherokee National Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Our last two nights were spent at the home of Jane's college roommate, Kay, in Cookson, Oklahoma.  This was one long overdue reunion, after about 45 years since being together.

Doug and Kay in Oklahoma

Peace in the woods at Kay's house

We have now turned back south and are following the migrating geese toward Texas.  The weather has been pretty good for camping, other than one day of rain in Illinois and frost in Nebraska.  Fall colors are somewhat past their prime and the wind is beginning to strip the trees bare.  Winter is on its way, but we are hoping to outrun it.